Preparation
Nihari is cooked overnight in various vessels, sometimes even buried underground while it cooked, as Shab Deg (cooked overnight) is, which results in extremely tender morsels of meat, including the flavourful bone marrow. It is served with a number of side dishes. The Baghaar is lightly fried in ghee to reduce the heat of chilis and the tarka is an additional oily chilli to spice up the flavour. Cooked brains and bone marrow are served alongside the stew. The Nihari is garnished according to individual tastes with coriander leaves, fried onions, green chillies, strips of ginger, lemons and sliced white radishes. In addition, garam masala, a blend of powdered spices is sprinkled over the stew. Salt is added to taste. In restaurants many of the garnishings are already added to increase customer turnover.
Traditional Nihari recipes call for 6–8 hours of cooking time, in addition to the preparation of the ingredients. This is much less common today with the use of tenderer cuts of meat, sirloin or shank. Traditionally the dish is eaten in the early hours of the morning. Because the stew is so rich, one is supposed to have an extended nap till the afternoon Muslim Zhuhr prayers which occur after midday.
Nihari is now cooked in pressure cooking to save time. The Nihari ingredients are now also available in packaging.
Here is a version of Nihari popular in Hyderabad (India): prepare the broth by boiling water along with goat or beef shanks (sometimes chicken) or vegetables (if you want to make a vegetarian version of it) along with some salt. If you are using mutton paya, then the process takes longer.
Grind onions, Shahi Zeera (Black cumin), Cloves and Cardamom together. Once the broth is ready, heat oil in a large pan, add the spice paste and let it fry till the raw smell of Onion disappears, then add Ginger and Garlic paste. Fry for a few more minutes, add salt, chili powder and the broth and let it cook over medium heat till all the spices have blended well into the soup. The Nihari is ready. Best enjoyed during winter or when down with a cold and best eaten with Naan or Phulka.
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