Nihari: The Indulgent Weekend Brunch
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Nihari is a weekend brunch classic for a reason. This version features meat so tender it falls apart at the touch of a fork, served in a rich, deeply aromatic gravy. It’s the kind of slow-cooked comfort food that was practically made for scooping up with a warm piece of naan bread.
Nihari
Nihari (also spelled Nehari) is a traditional weekend brunch menu item for the Nawab (noblemen) during the Mughal era in the Indian subcontinent. It is slow-cooked meat in aromatic spices, with a rich, savory flavor that one will surely not resist trying.
This flavorfully spiced stew often uses beef as the key ingredient. However, goat meat, mutton, and lamb are also popular options.
Apart from being part of a special weekend brunch menu, this dish is often served at family gatherings and celebrations.
There are many versions of Nihari across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and more. The recipe I’m sharing here is based on the Pakistani way of cooking.
My extended family taught me how to cook Nihari for the first time. However, they used a ready-made spice mix, which is really spicy. So, I tried and tested mixing my own spices. It took me countless attempts to get the spice balance right.
I think I’m happy with this recipe as it gives a deliciously aromatic lamb stew with well-balanced spices. The best thing is that you can always add chili powder (or cayenne pepper powder) to your liking without compromising the spice balance.
What Is So Special About Nihari?
Apart from its flavour, Nihari also offers the goodness of the meat and bones. All because of its slow cooking.
When mixed with spices, the bone broth that comes out of the cooking process tastes very rich and of high quality.
How to Enjoy It?
The best way to eat this Nehari is with fluffy naan bread. Of course, you can also enjoy it with roti/ chapati or any other flatbread, but definitely not with rice.
To elevate the taste, sprinkle with crispy fried onions, sliced fresh ginger, chopped cilantro, chopped fresh green chilies, and a squeeze of lemon before serving. I promise it will be more than the mouth-watering spicy lamb stew you’ll ever have.
What Meat Do You Use?
As mentioned above, this dish is traditionally made with beef because beef is simply more affordable for Pakistani people.
However, I tend to make it with lamb more often than not. You can choose whichever meat you prefer.
I usually use lamb shoulder or leg and cut it into small pieces, or use whole lamb shanks. In this recipe, I used lamb shanks. But feel free to use a different one that you like.
I believe some people now make this dish with chicken well. But I never tried it.
Can I Use a Ready-Made Nihari Spice Mix?
Yes, of course, you can. If you want to use the ready-made spice mix, just omit the Nihari masala recipe below.
But I must warn you that ready-made spice mix tends to contain a high amount of hot chili powder. So, if you’re okay with hot, spicy food, you’re good to use the spice mix.
My personal preference for the Nihari spice mix is by Laziza and Shan, though I rarely use it, simply because the Nihari is so spicy that my kids cannot eat it.
That is why I prefer mixing my spices. So I have more control over how much chili powder I can add.
Ways to Make Nihari in the Slow Cooker
We all know the convenience of using a slow cooker: You can throw everything in, set it, and forget about it—there is no need to attend to it every so often.
This recipe uses a slow cooker/ crockpot for the exact reason.
But I appreciate that sometimes we forget to prepare things to cook way in advance. Or, we happen to fancy this Nihari just hours before.
Below are the options for how long you can cook your Nihari in a slow cooker.
- You only have 5-6 hours to cook. Set your slow cooker on high all the way through. If possible, turn the meat once halfway through. Stir in the flour mixture an hour before your cooking is finished.
- You start in the morning or at night before you go to sleep, and have 8-10 hours to cook. You can set the crockpot/slow cooker to high for about 30 minutes to an hour. Then, leave it to cook on low for the rest of the time. Stir in the flour mixture at least an hour before the cooking ends.
Ingredient You Need
- Lamb Shanks or any red meat you prefer: For lamb, you can always use the leg of the lamb, neck, or shoulder. If you like, you can also use beef. Chuck beef, short ribs, or brisket can be a good choice.
- Fried Onions: Use 3 medium-sized brown onions, finely slice them, and fry them until golden brown. Set them aside on a kitchen towel/ paper.
- Wholemeal Flour/ Chapati Flour: We need this to thicken the stew gravy.
- Cooking Oil. Just enough to brown the meat before we cook it in the slow cooker.
- Dried Whole Spices: You can grind them using a spice/coffee grinder. The spices you need are nutmeg, whole fennel seeds, bay leaves, mace, and cinnamon sticks.
- Dried Ground Spices: ground black pepper, ginger powder, Kashmiri red chili powder or cayenne pepper, and red paprika powder.
- Fresh Ginger: You can use ready-made fresh ginger paste that is often available in the freezer section of Asian shops. Or you can make it yourself by peeling and chopping/ pounding the ginger until it almost becomes a paste.
How to Make Nihari
- Brown the lamb shanks in a frying pan.
- Get the spices ready and grind them until they become a smooth spice powder.
- Fry the ginger paste, and then add the Kashmiri red chili powder and paprika powder.
- Cook the spices until they release aroma, then add the fried onion slices. Stir fry for about 5 seconds.
- Next, add the remaining ground spices and fry for about half a minute, until they release their aroma.
- Place the lamb shanks in the slow cooker bowl. Add the fried spices to the oil and pour in the water. Set the slow cooker to high for 1 hour, then to low for about 5 hours.
- Mix the chapati flour with water and stir it into the Nihari. Leave it to cook for another hour on low.
Storage Matter
You can keep your cool-down Nihari in the refrigerator/ fridge for about one week.
If you wish, you can freeze it too. And it keeps well for 2 months.
When you need it, take the Nihari out of the freezer, keep it in the refrigerator overnight, and reheat it until it is piping hot before serving. Once it is thawed, you must eat it within a few days and do not refreeze it.
What Can You Serve With Nihari?
Because of its rich, filling taste, Nihari is typically served with just naan bread, with no side dishes except garnishes such as ginger julienne, chopped cilantro, chopped chilies, fried onions, and lemon.
People don’t usually serve any other side dishes with it because this dish is quite rich and satisfying. If anything, we usually just make a salad on the side and have some desserts to finish the meal.
Our dessert choices will include Kheer, Gajar ka Halwa, or Besan Ladoos.
Right, thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you will try it and let me know how you like it. I really appreciate it.
Last but not least, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest to see what’s cooking in my kitchen.
Take care and all the best.
Nihari
Equipment
- Spice grinder
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- 3.5 -4 pounds lamb shanks approximately 3 pieces.
- 3 medium brown onions finely sliced, and deep fried until golden brown and crispy.
- 2 tablespoons wholemeal flour/ chapati flour.
- 8 tablespoons oil for frying.
- 25 fluid ounces water.
Nihari masala:
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt or according to taste.
- 2 small pieces of mace.
- ¼ whole nutmeg crushed.
- 2 inches/ 5 cm of ginger peeled and chopped.
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.
- 2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds.
- 2 inches cinnamon stick broken into smaller pieces.
- 2-3 bay leaves.
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder.
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chilli powder or cayenne pepper.
- 1 teaspoon red paprika powder.
Instructions
- Prepare the lamb shanks, wash and dry them. Using a skewer or a fork, pierce the meat all over. This can help the spice and flavour be absorbed better.
- Brown lamb shanks on a skillet/ frying pan with 2 tablespoons oil. Set aside.
- Grind the nutmeg, whole fennel seeds, bay leaves, mace, and cinnamon until you get a fine mixture. You can use a spice grinder or coffee grinder. Add the ginger powder, ground black pepper, and salt. Set aside.
- Fry the ginger paste in 6 tablespoons of oil for about 20 seconds. Then add Kashmiri red chili powder and paprika powder.
- Add the fried onion slices to the spices, followed by the ground spices mixture. Fry for about a minute or until the spices release a delicious aroma. Add about ½ cup of water and stir well.
- Place the lamb shanks in the slow cooker/ crockpot bowl. Then, spoon the spice mixture all over the lamb shanks. Spread it as evenly as possible.
- Pour the remaining water into the bowl and set the microwave/ crockpot to high. Cook on high for about an hour, then turn it to low. Leave to cook for 5 hours. If possible, turn the meat halfway through.
- Mix the wholemeal flour with 3 tablespoons of water until smooth, and then stir it in the nihari gravy. Put the lid back on and cook further on high for an hour or until you see the gravy is simmering again.
- Serve the nihari with crispy fried onions, sliced ginger, lemon and chopped fresh green chillies.
Notes
- To make the grinder work better, cut your mace, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks into small pieces before you grind them. This way, you’ll get a finer mixture easily.
- If you want to cook this nihari overnight, or over a longer time such as from morning to evening, you can skip the first hour of cooking it on high. Just set it on low from the beginning.
- When cooking on low for a longer time, try to add the flour mixture about 2 hours before your nihari is ready.
- You can use cayenne pepper to replace Kashmiri chili powder.
Nutrition
Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appétit, and more.
Made this in the slow cooker and the meat was falling off the bone and the sauce was tasty! Had with chunky naan. Brilliant dish in the cold weather!
It is a comfort dish for the season. I’m glad you like it.
Though I have not tried this recipe but it’s look amazing.
Amazing recipe, thank you!
You’re most welcome. I’m glad it worked for you.