So here is my Nihari Masala Recipe that has simple spices that should be easily available in any Indian kitchen. Getting a ready-made nihari masala is super convenient. But if you make nihari often or you can't find nihari masala the effort is totally worth it. And you can easily do it in a coffee grinder.
If you are wondering what is nihari masala? It is a spice mix used to make spicy flour-based meat and curry called Nihari. Here's you can find the recipe for nihari here.
Making your own masala is easy and gives you complete control over spices. Since homemade means healthy and tastier choice. This masala is flavorful, very close to the store-bought
- aromatic.
- fresh
- no preservative
- no artificial colors
- no MSG.
This is a small batch recipe. I purposely kept the recipe small-sized so you can try a small batch before doubling or tripling the recipe for a large batch. Although, I feel this recipe is very close to the store-bought product with less red chili.
Homemade vs pre made spice mix?
I like both and use both homemade and pre-made spices. Pre-made spices are convenient and with extra flavors and seasoning gives you perfect taste without much hassle. Another reason is getting a spice mix is far cheaper than buying all the spices separately.
The ready-made spice mix is spicier and has a flavor enhancer too. You can use most spices in Indian cooking the less used spices are long pepper (which you can skip) and fennel. You can use fennel seeds to make mukhwas or fennel tea which has many benefits.
How to make Nihari Masala?
You can make the Nihari spice mix several days ahead and store it in the fridge in an airtight jar. Doubling or tripling the spice mix recipe for next time is totally worth it. You can buy store-bought Nihari seasoning from amazon and skip the below step.
- Take whole spices in a pan and dry roast for a minute on medium heat.
- Add powdered spices, and roast another for 2-3 seconds. Remove from heat and transfer to a food processor. Grind into a fine powder.
- Sieve the spice mix through a fine strainer. Grind the remains left in the strainer once again. Sieve once more and discard the remains. (Fennel seed is difficult to ground smoothly and they will spoil the texture of nihari. So sieving is important.)
My other spice mix recipes,
Nihari Masala Recipe (spice mix)
Ingredients
Whole spices
- 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 ½ tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 inch cinnamon stick, broken
- 1 nos black cardamom
- 5 nos green cardamom*
- 5 nos cloves
- 1 bay leaf*
- ½ flower star anise*
- 1 long pepper*, optional (piply)
Powdered spices
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri chilli powder, or paprika for color
- 1 tablespoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder*
- 1½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Nihari Masala Recipe
- Take whole spices in a pan and dry roast for a minute on medium heat.
- Add powdered spices, and roast another for 2-3 seconds. Remove from heat and transfer to a food processor. Grind into a fine powder.
- Sieve the spice mix through a fine strainer. Grind the remains left in the strainer once again. Sieve once more and discard the remains.
- You'll need 3 tablespoons of this spice mix for 500 kg beef nihari. Add more after tasting.
Notes
- Look for these spices in Indian stores, where you can find them easily and at reasonable rates.
- I understand finding all spices can be difficult even at an Indian home, particularly long pepper. Just skip if making a small batch.
- I've tried this recipe without bay leaf, star anise, and long pepper, and still tastes good. I've marked anything that is not necessary with star (*).
- Fennel seeds are particularly necessary for this recipe as they have a prominent aroma in nihari so don't skip it.
- Consider doubling the recipe if you make nihari often or for a large family.
- Store spice mix in an airtight jar in the fridge for 1 year.
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