Recipe of Mutton Nihari

Nali Nihari is a stew consisting of slow cooked beef along with bone marrow, the whole basic idea is to slow cook in pot itself , as the marrow leaves the bones and get emerged in the gravy , which in turn give a perfect, aromatic and mesmerizing flavor to Nihari. The mutton is so soft and juicy , full of flavor as its cooked on slow flame until done. Tempering is also done of fried onions in ghee to reduce the heat of chilies and is garnished according to the individual taste with few coriander leaves , fried onions , strips of  ginger , finely chopped green chilies and lemon wedges to enhance the flavor.

At some places Nali nihari is cooked over night, sometimes even buried underground as it gets cooked over night , which results in extremely tender morsels of meat, including the flavorful bone marrow. Though you can cook in pressure cooker too , but the best way is slow cooking method which gives the dish that much needed flavors. I believe the best way of cooking any mutton gravy is to cook on slow for hours, to extract those best flavors and secondly the more the quantity , the taste gets better and better.

I have grown up having Nali Nihari at home , in fact during Ramadan we specially visit Mohammed Ali Road where Nali Nihari is being served, the taste is heavenly, as they cook in a pot on slow flame for hours and secondly they make in a good quantity. 

Here is my  Nali Nihari recipe , hope you like it....!

INGREDIENTS : 

• 500 gms lamb leg pieces
• 2 medium sized finely chopped onions
• 2 tsp kashmiri red chilly powder 
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste 
• 1 tsp coriander powder 
• 1 green chilly finely chopped 
• ghee and oil 
• 1 tbsp lemon juice / lemon wedges 
• coriander leaves for garnishing 
• green chilies finely chopped for garnishing 
• strips of ginger for garnishing 
• 2-3 tbsp nihari masala ( for recipe scroll down ) 

METHOD : 

1. In a pot or deep pan add 2-3 tbsp oil and 1 green chilly chopped with 1 chopped onion , fry until golden brown .

2. Once the onions turn golden brown ,  add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell disappears.

3. Now add niihari masala , fry for half a minute and add 1/2 cup water so that masala does not stick at the bottom and roast the grounded masala.

4. Add mutton, salt, coriander powder, red chilly powder and roast the masala for a minute again. Add 2 -3 glass of water , bring to a boil , slow down the flame , cover and cook the mutton in the pot for about 2 hours.

5. In a bowl add 1/ 2 cup of water and 2-3 tbsp wheat flour , mix well so that no lumps are formed.

6. Now bring the mutton gravy to boil ( at this stage if the gravy is less , add 1 cup of water or how much ever you need ) add that flour mixture to nihari and stir continuously so that no lumps are formed. 

7. Side by side in a fry pan, add ghee and one chopped onion , fry until golden brown and add to the gravy .

8. Simmer for about 15 minutes , adjust salt and add 1 tbsp lemon juice.
While serving garnish with coriander leaves, chopped green chilies , ginger strips and lemon wedges. ( Recipe by Zulekha Arafat)

NOTE: 

• Increase the number of green chilies as per your preferences.
• If your red chilly powder is too hot , then add less as per your taste and preferences.
• increase or decrease the number of red chilly powder as per your taste.
• You can add lemon juice at the time of simmering or while serving , this totally depends upon your preferences.
• For best results take fresh lamb meat.
• You can cook the mutton in pressure cooker too, the procedure is same , just after you add water to the gravy and keep on low flame for cooking , at that time close the lid and make 3-4 whistle on high flame, then slow down the flame and let it make 3 - 4 whistle again. Off the gas, once cool , open the lid , if the mutton is yet to be cooked let it whistle again and if its done but there is no gravy left then add 1-2 cups of water or as much as you desire, bring to a boil  and then add the flour paste do ghee onion tempering .
• If you are adding whole dry red chillies with the rest whole spices , then add 1/2 tsp red chilly powder as per your preferences or do not add it.

NIHARI HOME MADE MASALA 

2 tsp coriander seeds ( roasted ) 

2 tsp fennel seeds 

2 cardamom ( badi elaichie) 

3-4 green cardamom ( seeds) 

2 tsp cumin seeds ( roasted ) 

7 -8 pepper corns 

7-8 cloves 

1 small stick 

1 bay leaf 

1/4 tsp nutmeg powder 

METHOD : 

• Blend all the above dry whole spices in a clean dry food processor and make into powder.
• Store in an air tight container for further use.

NOTE: 

You can add 3-4 whole dry red chilies too, with these whole spices, but if you do so then add red chilly powder just 1/2 tsp or do not add red chilly powder , how ever it totally depends on your preferences.

PREPARATION TIME: Slow Cooking -2 hours 

SERVES: 4 PERSONS.