← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 2 Black cardamom pods
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 6 Cloves
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 Star anise
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• ½ tsp Mace (javitri)
• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger (sonth)
• 4 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 4 lamb shanks (about 1.5 kg), or 1.2 kg bone-in beef shin
• 3 cm piece Ginger, finely grated
• 4 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1½ tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• ½ tsp Ground turmeric
• 1½ tsp salt, or to taste
• 1.5 l hot water
• 3 tbsp atta or plain flour
• 150 ml cold water, for the flour
• 5 cm piece Ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
• 2 Green chilli, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 4 tbsp crispy fried onions
• 2 Lemon, cut into wedges

Method

1. Toast all the masala spices except the nutmeg and ground ginger in a dry pan over low heat for 2–3 min until fragrant. Cool, grind to a fine powder and mix in the nutmeg and ground ginger.
2. Heat the oil and ghee in a large heavy casserole over medium heat. Fry the onion for 10 min until deep golden, then lift half of it out to use as a garnish.
3. Add the shanks and brown them for 8–10 min, turning. Stir in the grated ginger, garlic, chilli powder, turmeric, salt and 2 tbsp of the nihari masala and fry for 2 min.
4. Pour in the hot water and bring to the boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 3 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone. (You can also cook it in the oven at 150°C (300°F) for the same time.)
5. Whisk the atta with the cold water until smooth, then stir it slowly into the simmering pot. Cook uncovered for 20–25 min, stirring often, until the gravy turns silky and thick.
6. Stir in more masala to taste and skim off some of the fat that rises (traditionally a little is spooned back over each bowl). Serve with the reserved onions, ginger, chillies, coriander, fried onions and lemon, with naan.

Tips

• Nihari is even better made a day ahead: chill it, lift off some of the fat and reheat gently.
• The thickening flour contains gluten; use rice flour or sorghum flour for a gluten-free gravy.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Tea for Turmeric Archana's Kitchen