This is a hearty meat stew from the Indian sub-continent. It is made from lamb, goat or been leg or shank meat cooked in the medley of spices. Also, known as Nihari, its name comes from the Urdu word nihar which originated from the Arabic nahaar, meaning "morning". Goes without saying that Nihari was traditionally eaten for breakfast. However, these days it is eaten for lunch and dinner too. Nihari is slow cooked for about 4 to 4.5 hours over low heat or in an oven. It can be served with a warm naan or steamed rice.
Serves 4
For marination
2 lb lamb or mutton, 2½ inch bone-in pieces, preferably from the leg. I used mutton
2 tbsp papaya paste
1½ tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli powder. Use a mild version such a Deghi or Kashmiri chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp salt
For making the stew
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)
3¼ tbsp of meat stew spice mix (nihari masala). Recipe can be found in the spice mix section
6⅓ cups of water
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
For garnishing
1 tbsp Kashimiri chilli powder (optional)
3 tbsp vegetable oil (optional)
3 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and julienned
3 green chillies, seeds removed and julienned
4 lime wedges
1 Add the meat, papaya paste, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, 1 tsp of red chilli powder and salt to a mixing bowl. Mix well and let the meat marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.
2 Heat the 1 tbsp of the oil and 2 tbsp of the clarified butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the marinated meat and sear it for a couple of minutes, turning it once or twice.
3 Add the spice stew spice mix to the meat and stir so that the meat is coated by the spices. Cook for a couple of minutes stirring a couple of times.
4 Add 6 cups of water to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot with an aluminum foil and place the lid securely on top. Place a heavy weight on top of the lid, if possible. The meat should cook slowly on low heat. Cook for about 4-4.5 hours till the meat is almost falling apart. Check the regularly, every 40-45 minutes, to make sure there is enough water in the pot to stew the meat. Add more water if required.
5 Once the meat is cooked, gently remove it from the pot and place it on a plate. Mix the all-purpose flour with the ⅓ cup of water. Make sure there are no lumps of the flour. Pour the mixture into the pot while stirring constantly. Add the meat back to the pot. You do not have to remove the meat, but I remove it to make sure the meat does not break while stirring in the flour-water mixture. Let it cook for another 10-15 minutes. The gravy will thicken during this time. Remove from heat.
6 This step is optional. Do it if you want to kick up the spice level further. 3 tbsp of the oil in a small pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add 1 tbsp of Kashmiri chilli powder. Stir once and remove from heat.
7 Serve the meat stew in a bowl. Pour 1 tsp of the Kashimiri chilli infused oil over the meat stew (optional). Garnish with the chopped cilantro, julienned ginger, julienned green chillies and lime wedges as you serve.
Serve with warm naan or steamed rice.
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