Nihari

Shank and marrow cooked overnight, flavoured with long pepper rather than black.

Beef, Lamb. Not vegetarian — contains beef, lamb.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg shank of mutton or beef, in thick slices
• 4 marrow bones, split
• 4 tablespoons wheat flour
• 150 g ghee
• 3 onions, sliced
• 3 tablespoons ginger and garlic paste
• 2 teaspoons long pepper, pippali, ground
• 2 teaspoons ground fennel
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• a 5 cm piece of ginger, in fine shreds
• 2 limes, in wedges
• a handful of coriander leaves

Method

1. THE CUT IS SHANK AND THE SPICE IS LONG PEPPER, NOT BLACK. Its article names both where it names little else: nihari CONSISTS OF SLOW-COOKED MEAT, MAINLY A SHANK CUT OF BEEF, LAMB AND MUTTON, OR GOAT MEAT, AS WELL AS BONE MARROW, and IT IS FLAVOURED WITH LONG PEPPER (PIPPALI), A RELATIVE OF BLACK PEPPER. Pippali is sweeter and more resinous than black pepper and there is no substitute that tastes like it.
2. AND THE NAME IS THE COOKING TIME. Its article takes nihari from the Arabic for MORNING, which is when a pot left on the embers all night is eaten. Eight hours is the shape of this recipe even if a modern hob reaches the same place in four.
3. SHANK AND MARROW TOGETHER, BECAUSE THE MARROW IS THE BODY OF IT. Thick slices of shank with the bone in, and split marrow bones alongside. The collagen in the shank and the fat from the marrow are what make the gravy cling without cream or nuts in it.
4. BROWN THE ONIONS IN THE GHEE AND TAKE HALF OUT. A hundred and fifty grams of ghee is not a misprint: this is a dish with a layer of fat on top by design.
5. SEAR THE MEAT, THEN ADD WATER TO COVER AND LEAVE IT ALONE FOR FOUR HOURS. Barely a simmer, lid on. The meat should be falling off the bone and the liquid reduced by a third.
6. THE FLOUR IS THE THICKENER AND IT GOES IN AS A SLURRY. Four tablespoons whisked into a cup of cold water and stirred into the pot in a thin stream. Nihari is thickened with wheat flour rather than with nuts or dairy, which is what keeps it clear and dark.
7. SIMMER ANOTHER HOUR AFTER THE FLOUR, UNCOVERED. It goes from thin to glossy. Stir the base often now -- flour catches.
8. THE GARNISH IS NOT DECORATION. Fine shreds of raw ginger, lime, coriander and the reserved fried onions, with naan, roti or rice, which its article gives as the accompaniment. After four hours of fat and marrow, the raw ginger and the lime are what make it eatable.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes