Hii Foodies ! Today we are going to share Nihari Recipe (Nahari) . “Nihari” comes from the Urdu word “Nihar”. So, ‘Nihar’ which means ‘morning’ in Urdu and known as ‘Nahaar’ in Arabic. The name originates form there. So, Food eaten in the morning, that is ‘Nihari’.
It was believed that as soon as the morning Namaaz (prayers) ends, people would head to work. They would stop for Nihari on their way and it was such a power-packed, nourishing and rich dish. It was the food of the working class who need nourishment and energy to sustain through a long working day.
I have always learnt this Nihari Recipe by guessing through estimation, like ‘add this much’ oil, onion, and ‘these many’ spices and Nihari is ready. Converting that rough estimate into measurement is very difficult. Today, I will convert this rough estimate into exact quantities for all of you. From today there will be this Nihari Recipe on the internet which can never fail!
Let’s head to the recipe….
Nihari Recipe (Nahari)
Ingredients For Nihari Masala
- 5 grams green cardamom
- 3 grams mace
- 1 gms all spice (kabab cheeni)
- 5 nos long pepper
- 2 grams stone flower
- 3 grams black cumin seeds
- 2 dried galangal
- 1/2 grams vetiver roots
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 20 grams black pepper
- 5 grams dried rose petals
Ingredients For Nihari Recipe
- 1/2 cup mustard oil
- 5 cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 700 grams onions (sliced)
- 1 kg lamb/mutton
- 3 black cardamom
- 1 tbsp garlic juice
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 5 grams red chilli powder
- 15 grams turmeric powder
- 15 grams coriander powder
- 1 tbsp wheat flour
- 11/2 cup curd
- 2 tbsp prepared Nihari Masala
- 1 tbsp kewra water
- Water as required
- Salt to taste
Ingredients For Tira
- 1 tbsp prepared Nihari Masala
- 1/2 cup desi ghee
- 11/2 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp kewra water
Ingredients For Garnish
- Ginger juliennes
- Coriander leaves (finely chopped)
- Lemon wedge
- Green Chillies (finely chopped)
Instructions For Nihari Recipe
- In a deep handi, heat mustard oil and let it smoke.
- Sprinkle some garlic juice, add bay leaves, cloves, black cardamom, onion and saute well.
- Add lamb, salt to taste, and ginger garlic paste and roast them well.
- In a bowl, add red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder and curd mix well.
- Now, add the curd mixture into the handi, add water as required and mix well.
- Cover and cook on low flame till the mutton is completely cooked.
Instructions For Nihari Masala
- Heat a pan, add mace, green cardamom, all spice, long pepper, stone flower, black cumin seeds, dried galangal, vetiver root, cinnamon stick, black pepper and dry rose petals. Dry roast till fragrant.
- Transfer the spices into a blender and blend it to a fine powder and keep it aside for further use.
- In a bowl, add wheat flour, prepared nihari masala, water as required, black pepper and kewra water mix well. Transfer this slurry into handi.
- Cook till the gravy slightly thickened.
Instructions For Tira
- Heat a pan, add ghee, nihari masala, red chilli powder and kewra water, mix well then strain the mixture and transfer it to handi.
- Garnish with coriander leaves, ginger juliennes, chopped green chilli and lemon wedge.
- Serve hot with Khamiri Roti.
Tips :
- Mustard oil is very essential to give this Nihari Recipe a nice aromatic flavour.
- The sauteing of onions along with the meat is very important.
- Spice, curd, onions and meat have to be sauteed together. Saute this till the moisture in the curd is cooked out and the ghee rises to the top.
- Don’t be stingy while adding water. The hallmark of a Nihari Recipe is that it is a kind of Stew, The sauce or gravy should not be less.
- Traditionally, the cooking of Nihari Recipe would start at 2 past midnight and it would be ready at 5 or 6 am in the morning for everyone to enjoy.
- You can find all the whole spices easily on any Indian grocery store.
- Let it cook slowly on a gentle and low heat.
