Nihari

                                         Nihari

 

There is a dispute in the origin story of Nihari, some say it was invented in 18^th century Delhi during the last days of Mughal civilisation, while others say the magic was created in the royal kitchens of Awadh (now Lucknow). Nihari gained its popularity as a dish that kept the Mughals warm as temperatures dropped, and also had medicinal purpose to solve the sinus issues.

Nihari comes from the arabic word nahaar meaning day. Hence, it’s a delicacy best enjoyed in the mornings. Muslim Nawabs would eat Nihari after their sunrise prayers (Fajr), and they would then nap until the afternoon Muslim prayers (Zhuhr).

Because of the techniques and the usage of spices, this dish was served to the rich Muslim Nawabs of pre-partition India but soon they realised that once eaten they need to digest this heavy food which cannot be done if you just sleep till the evening. Hence they thought it’d be a perfect breakfast food for labourers busy in building hawelis or mahals. The high protein meat allowed for a progressively slow increase in blood sugar and therefore resulted in decreased cravings through the day.

In our kitchen,Nihari made its way recently. My husbands Pakistani friends often invite him for Nihari dinners and he just loves this delicacy.As I am an enthusiastic  cook, I combined their recipes with some research of my own,and came up with this preparation which my hubby told was just perfect! I made this for one person because I am a vegetarian but trust me this is really delicious as my husband is very picky,he never praises any average preparation.

Nihari

Nihari, in my opinion, is that one single dish you can serve in a party and there is no need for other sides. It is perfect in itself. Nihari goes very good with tandoori roti,naan, or any kind of flatbread.

For Nihari, it is mandatory to use a lot of oil otherwise the dish will not turn out good.Later you can take out the oil from the surface and save for other Non-veg dishes; but you must use plenty of oil to make this dish. Also,the quality of your spices should be pure and top class,otherwise the flavor of Nihari will be missing. Some of our friends cook their Nihari with Nihari masala, but I made it from home-made spices. Here is my version of Iconic Nihari----

 IMPORTANT NOTE: FDA agrees with expert groups such as the Institute of Medicine and the American Heart Association, that trans fatty acids have a stronger effect on the risk of coronary heart disease than saturated fatty acids. for more information click the link below. http://www.fda.gov/downloads/food/pop...

Ingredients:

1. Goat meat or Mutton-Bones and Raan (large pieces) 1/2 kg.
2. Salt
3. Red chilli powder-2 tsp.
4. Kashmiri red chilli powder-2 tsp.
5. Dry ginger powder-1 tsp. (I was out of this,so I used grated ginger 1tsp.
6. Turmeric-1/2 tsp.
7. Pipali-1/2 (Main Ingredient of Nihari known as Long Pepper)
8. Black Pepper-4-5
9. Fennel seeds or saunf-1 tsp.( Main Ingredient of Nihari)
10. Green cardamom-3
11. White cumin-1/4 tsp.
12. Black cumin or shahjeera-1/4 tsp.
13. Cinnamon stick-1/2 " stick
14. Mace-1/2 blade
15. Nutmeg-1/8 (This spice is very strong,don't use more)
16. Cloves-2
17. Black cardamom-1
18. Ajwain-1/4 tsp.
19. Star Anise or Chakri phool-less than 1
20. Bay leaf-3
21. Whole coriander-1 tbsp.
22.  Desi ghee-3 tbsp.
23. Oil-2 tbsp.
24. Minced garlic or paste-1 tsp.
25. Minced ginger or paste-1 tsp.
26. Ginger juliene-3 tbsp.
27. Lemon or lime-thin wedges
28. Wheat flour or aata-3 tbsp. (Whisked in 1 cup water)
29. Green chiilies-finely chopped 2 tsp.
30. 6 spice special for garnishing-( Long pepper 1/4 stick,Black cardamom 1small, Cinnamon 1/4", White cumin1/2 tsp.,Black pepper 1 tsp. Cloves 2). This will double the taste. Finely grind these.
31.  Water 2 cups

Procedure:

• Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker. The authentic Nihari is made in Dalda.
• On high flame,add meat pieces and brown a little. Approx. 3-4 minutes.
• Now add minces ginger-garlic.
• Add 1 tsp. salt.
• After adding ginger-garlic, saute for 3-4 minutes.
• Add Bay leaves and whole coriander in a potli or muslin cloth. 
• Add water till your meat is dunked into that water,approx.less than a litre. 
• Add salt and all the powdered spices plus all the whole spices except coriander and bay leaves finely ground.
• Cook till 2 whistles and after opening the lid,cook for about one hour loosely covering the lid.
• When mutton is very tender, the whole oil or rogan will float on top,in a separate bowl, take out all the oil floating on the surface. Keep aside.
• Now again turn on the stove and start boiling Nihari.
• When boil comes,add Wheat flour whisked in water,water should be at least three times more than flour and start pouring it in Nihari while stirring cotinuously.
• Cover the lid with weight on,on sim flame put it on dum for about 6 minutes and turn off the heat.
• Open the lid after steam is completely absorbed and add special masala that we made to garnish. You can mix this masala with dry flour also before adding water.
• Dish out and on top of Nihari, pour oil which we have kept aside.
• Garnish with ginger julienne, thinly chopped green chillies and Lemon.
• Enjoy with any flatbread of your choice. 

PS. If you are cooking in a pot, then goat meat will take about 4 hours at least to be cooked thoroughly.You can just start cooking after dinner and leave it with enough water on lowest setting of stove overnight. it will be ready for sehri in Ramadan months. 

Also, you can use store bought Nihari masala.