Nihari recipe

An overnight shank stew thickened with a wholemeal flour slurry and served under its own layer of spiced fat.

8 hourshard12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 1000 g beef shank
• 3 bone marrow
• 5 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 3 tbsp nihari spice mix
• 2 long pepper
• 6 tbsp ghee
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp ginger
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 1 lemon
• 2 tsp salt
• 3000 ml water

How to make Nihari

1. Heat 6 tbsp ghee in a heavy pot and fry 1 thinly sliced onion for about 12 minutes until deep brown, then lift half of it out and keep it for the garnish.
2. Add 1 tbsp minced garlic and 1 tbsp minced ginger, then 1 kg beef shank and 3 marrow bones, and sear on all sides.
3. Stir in 3 tbsp nihari spice mix and 2 crushed long peppers and fry 2 minutes so the spices bloom in the fat.
4. Pour in 3 litres of water, bring to the boil, then cover and hold at the barest simmer for 6 to 8 hours; this is an overnight dish and the marrow has to slip out of the bones on its own.
5. Ladle out 250 ml of the hot broth, let it cool slightly, and whisk 5 tbsp whole wheat flour into it until completely smooth with no lumps.
6. Stir the slurry back into the pot and simmer 20 minutes more; this is what gives nihari its glossy clinging gravy, and without it you only have beef broth.
7. Let the layer of red spiced fat rise to the surface and leave it there, because it is served rather than skimmed off.
8. Salt to taste and serve with the reserved fried onion, finely julienned ginger and a wedge of lemon, alongside naan.

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