Make an easy one-pot Pakistani beef Nihari recipe with little preps of less than 30 minutes and fewer ingredients. I can tell you this will be best the curried beef stew you ever had!
Ready for a spicy flour-based beef stew? I know the description of the Pakistani beef nihari recipe is unique and difficult to imagine. If you love curried beef, you'd just love it. This Nihari recipe is a tribute to my love of Karachi Nihari.
Nihari is made of beef shank stew loaded with bone fat spiced with nihari masala and thickened with whole wheat flour slurry.
The fun doesn't end here, it is loaded with tarka, and accompanied by the garnish of sliced green chilies, coriander, ginger, and lemon. Paired with naan, it is a nostalgic meal and that's what makes it so important and special.
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Origin
Nihari Recipe originated around the end of the eighteenth century in old Dehli in Nawab’s Kitchen. (Nawabs were semi-autonomous rulers of princely states of South Asia in Mughal times and also after that period.) So we are having some royal Nawabi food.
Nihari comes from the Urdu and Arabic word Nihar, which means morning. In those times Nawabs would have Nihari for breakfast.
After the Partition of India and neighboring Pakistan, the dish is extremely popular in Pakistan, especially in Karachi. Karachi foodies love spicy food and Karachi Nihari is all about spices. Here you can read more about nihari at Dawn blogs.
Nihari is most fervently eaten in the holy month of Ramadan and Eid-ul-Adha.
But, if you ask where does Nihari come from? It is still doubtful but most probably in old Dehli or Lucknow. Afterward, it became popular amongst Muslims in South Asia.
There are different types of Nihari, plain (sada) nihari and Nalli Nihari. The untold secret to restaurant nihari is the use of lean camel meat that has thick grains and is chewier than beef.
This makes it perfect for the long cooking of nihari. Of course, homemade nihari is made with beef only.
How does this recipe work?
The right cut for Nihari: The key to a good Nihari recipe is the beef shank and large bones with bone marrow. This ingredient provides the actual buttery flavor and stickiness to the stew.
The fat that is released from the bones is the key to flavor and stickiness in the gravy. So if you've got extra bones, throw them in! Just remove them once the beef is completely cooked.
Nihari Masala: Nihari Masala mix is a combination of many Indian spices, black cardamom, cloves, cumin seeds, bay leaves, fennel seeds, turmeric powder, cinnamon, black pepper, red chili, coriander, long pepper, green cardamom pods, and Kashmiri red chili powder.
I've done a separate post on the Homemade Nihari Masala here. But if your pantry doesn't have Indian spices you can always buy ready-made spice mix from an Indian store or online. How convenient.
Ingredients
The ingredients are simple and visible in the labeled pictures. Below I've discussed only ingredients for which I wish to suggest a substitute.
Meat: Nihari is best made with beef shin or shank and bone marrow. 'Nalli' is an Urdu word that means bone marrow. The is also called 'boong' meat in Urdu.
Bone marrow and bones are key to the flavor of nihari while tough beef shank meat is perfect for long hours of cooking and rich flavor. So I'd suggest sticking to this cut of meat for best results.
Nihari masala: I've tried both homemade and pre-made spices. Pre-made spices are convenient and with extra flavors and seasoning that give you the perfect taste without much hassle.
Another reason is getting a spice mix is far cheaper than buying all the spices separately. But the ready-made spice mix is spicier and has a flavor enhancer too.
If you have some time and all the spices in hand, making your spice mix is also easy. I recommend double or tripling the recipe and storing the extra nihari seasoning in the fridge.
So all the effort you put to nihari masala powder making is worth it.
Onion: Purple onions work best, if using other varieties avoid sweet onions.
Whole Wheat flour or Atta flour: If you do not have wheat flour (AKA atta ). You can use plain flour (maida). For gluten-free options, you can use tapioca flour or corn meal. I've tried cornmeal. It doesn't provide thickness like wheat flour but does the job.
Yogurt: It improves the color of the stew, lightens the spice level, and adds a subtle tanginess to the stew. Low-fat yogurt can be used as well.
Garnish: Fresh ginger, chilies, and lemon juice are extremely important to serve with nihari. It adds so much flavor and is a treat to the taste buds. Use large less spicy chilies for garnish.
How to make it?
Traditionally, Nihari was cooked overnight for at least 5-6 hours and served in the morning. Today, it is eaten more frequently as the main course than breakfast. Let's go through the steps.
- For making nihari you need a large pot and fry sliced onions on medium heat until lightly golden.
- Add Boneless beef and bones with bone marrow. Fry beef on medium-high heat for 2-3 until color changes and it is slightly golden. Now add all the ingredients in the spice list and stir further for 1 minute.
- Add 4 cups of water that is enough to cover the beef completely. Bring it to a boil then reduce heat to slow and cook for 4 hours or overnight (on very low heat). Make sure the lid is tightly closed. (If using an instant pot or pressure cooker, cook time will be 45 minutes.)
- Once the meat is tender, check by breaking meat with a fork.
- Remove the bones. Extract the bone marrow from bones by holding it with a kitchen towel jerking carefully over a bowl. Or insert the back of the spoon to remove it. Removing bone marrow from cool bone is difficult. set the extracted bone marrow aside.
- Make flour slurry by mixing flour with cold water until smooth.
- Add flour slurry and whipped yogurt to the beef stew.
- Adjust water as needed and bring it to a boil. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon so the flour slurry doesn't form lumps. Once the nihari starts boiling. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes until a thick layer of oil rises naturally.
- Serve it with garnish and lemon wedges. (Ideally, it should be served 3-4 hours after cooking that is why leftovers taste best.)
How to Serve?
Nihari pairs best with naan or kulcha, you can also enjoy it with karak double roti or toasted bread. However, you can pair it with most bread. Rice is never served as a side.
Garnish: But that's somewhat secondary, the real heroes are garnish, julienned ginger, large and less spicy green chili sliced, freshly chopped cilantro, and lemon wedges.
Nihari is festive food meant to be dressed up for the occasion with proper garnish.
Temper: Sometimes a separate tarri of animal fat or ghee is also prepared by heating fat and adding red chili and nihari masala to the fat.
This tari is poured over individual servings. I've skipped that and I like to add some hot ghee or just butter on top to simplify.
What food to serve with it: Nihari is the main course and can be served alone like biryani. If you are thinking what to serve with nihari on a festive accasion?Usually bihari boti or chiken tikka or similar barbecued food pairs very well with Nihari.
Expert Tips
- Try to make Beef Nihari 4-6 hours ahead and let it sit for a few hours for enhanced flavors. People usually cook it at night and store it in the fridge until the next day.
- You always freeze the leftover nihari as it pretty much retains its flavor upon freezing.
- You can also pour 2-3 tablespoons of heated butter on the nihari before serving which adds flavor and also mild down the spices.
Variation
With innovations in cooking and the growing consumption of chicken. People also make quick and easy Chicken Nihari at home.
You can also make mutton nihari with mutton shanks. But a nihari lover knows that both versions are a compromise on actual beef nihari flavors.
Recipe FAQs
Nihari is present on most Pakistani restaurant menus and is widely enjoyed all over Pakistan. It is an integral part of home cooking made on special occasions like Eid and Ramadan. So in this regard Nihari is Pakistani food.
After nihari is cooked, bone marrow is taken out of nihari. When you serve nihari in a bowl then add the soft fatty extract of bone marrow (bone is discarded) on top, and finally, add garnish and tempering. This is called nalli nihari. So Nihari with nalli (bone marrow extracts) is nalli Nihari. Similarly, the cooked brain is also served over the Nihari, it is called Maghaz nihari. 'Maghaz' means brain in Urdu.
Adding 2-3 tablespoons of butter mellows down the spices of nihari. If it is still spicy, add extra wheat flour slurry and water to dilute the spices. Lastly, you can cook a raw potato in the stew that will absorb the spices and salt but some potato flavor will be added to nihari.
Add extra nihari masala or chili powder to the nihari and simmer for 5 minutes so the spices are cooked. Serve with green chili garnish.
Hungry for more?
If you try this Nihari recipe, I'd LOVE to hear your feedback in the comments. Your 5-ratings motivate me to do my best. Stay connected for more recipes and videos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.
📖 Recipe
Nihari Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup oil
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 500 grams beef shank, see notes
- 500 grams bones with bone marrow
Spices
- 3-4 tablespoon Nihari Masala, Start with less add more as needed. (the recipe is linked here or buy online)
- 1 ½ tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 ½ tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon green chilli paste
other
- 4-6 water , to cook beef, more to thin out gravy.
- ½ cup wheat flour or more for thicker, mixed in 1 cup water.
- ½ cup plain yogurt, whipped
Garnish
- 2 inch ginger , cut thinly in julliene
- 4 lemon wedges
- 2 large green chili, less spicy one
- a handful fresh coriander / cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot and fry sliced onions on low until lightly golden.
- Add beef and bones. Fry beef on medium-high heat for 2-3 until color changes and it is slightly golden. Now add all the ingredients in the spice list and stir further for 1 minute.
- Now, add 4 cups of water that is enough to cover the beef completely. Bring it to boil then reduce heat to slow and cook for 4 hours or overnight (on very low heat). Make sure the lid is tightly closed. (If using instant pot or pressure cooker, cook time will be 45 minutes.)
- Once the meat is tender, remove the bones. Carefully extract the bone marrow from hot bones and aside in bowl. (If using bones with marrow)
- Make flour slurry by mixing flour with cold water until smooth. Add flour slurry and whipped yogurt to the beef stew.
- Adjust water as needed and bring it to boil. Keep stirring so the flour slurry doesn't form lumps. Once the nihari starts boiling. Reduce heat and let it simmer slowly for 15 minutes until a thick layer of oil rises naturally.
- Now add extrated bone marrow to nihari (if using) and serve hot Nihari with garnish and lemon wedges. Fill extra garnish in a plate and serve along nihari.
Shehroz Malik says
I like your recipe. I made beef nihari with your recipe and the results are awesome.
Mariam Sodawater says
Thanks a lot Shehroz for leaving a lovely comment. Keep coming!
Jefferson Fostwr says
This is maybe the 3rd recipe I found for nihari. Made the nihari masala from scratch, threw in extra Lindi Pippli and some mace -- other than that followed exact. Holy cow (pun intended?) This was amazing. I'm a white guy from Illinois (near Chicago) and have loved south Asian food for quite some time. At $2.99 a lb for bone in shank, this recipe is not only affordable, but literally the best tasting variation I have made. I double the meat, onion and masal, 1.5x the liquid. Result is amazingly tasty stew. Fed it to random coworkers, fed it to my girlfriend, her family. Everybody has liked it.
I cook it in an enameled cast iron braiser or Dutch oven, and somehow it is tender but not stringy. The flavors soak into naan and roti, and even good with basmati.
I do add 2 black cardamom, 4 green, and a few inches of cinnamon right after onion as well to add a little extra bloom to the flavor.
Enough rambling. Let's eat!
Mariam Sodawater says
OMG! that's the most beautiful rambling I've heard in a while. Thank you so much for the detailed feedback. I'm so so glad you liked it.
Gui Vdb says
I don't agree about the recipe being too spicy, in fact my two year old is able to eat this delicious dish without any problem, and I used 4 tablespoons of the spice mix. Then again culturally we eat very spicy from a young age, so I will be objective and say this dish may be spicy to some, but not to those used to Desi or (real) Mexican food
Mariam Sodawater says
Thanks a lot, I must say you've made my day.
Mike says
I notice your photos being used at https://pakistanichefs.com/easy-delicious-beef-nalli-nihari-pakistani-food-recipe/
I also note other recipes on this site, posted by "shabo" seem to replicate those on other sites and use the same photos. I mention this as a possible incidence of plaguarism / copyright-infringement. My apologies for bothering you if it's just another outlet for your creative skills.
Recipe 52 says
Thanks a lot Mike for notifying. All content on the mentioned site is stolen, I’ll see whatever action I can take against it.
John Marshall says
It was far too hot and I like my curries fairly hot. What this did was disguise the flavour
of the beef. I went to the trouble of getting marrow bones and shin beef (shank) So all i can say is there were far too many spices in there which as previously stated killed the flavour of the beef and everything else. The beef was very tender though. I MAY make again with a lot less (A LOT) of recommended spices so as to taste BEEF. Thank you for your recipe.
Recipe 52 says
Thanks a lot for the valuable feedback. Nihari is hot and spicy, but I’ll check the post again to see if I need to state more clearly that the dish is spicy and how to reduce it.
Just add less of the Nihari spice mix for less spicy.
Hope this helps.
RICHARD G ANDERSON says
It's delicious. Sorry for the previous commenter who thinks it is too spicy somehow, they must not have access to a good Pakistani restaurant. I order a nihari at every restaurant where it's on the menu and this is not anywhere in the realm of over spiced.
To the commenter, also realize that peppers vary in spiciness from one to the next, take a taste of your batches before you cook and adjust accordingly to your palate.
Mariam Sodawater says
Hi Richard, thanks a lot for your kind words. I'm glad you liked this recipe.
I'm from Karachi (Karachi is famous for Nihari) and a true nihari is very spicy. This version is pretty mild, but most cooks understand that they can add 1-2 tablespoon extra nihari masala for spicy nihari. Those making this nihari with store-bought Nihari spice mix, will need to adjust according to the brand. We use homemade or Shan Masala. I think, I'll add a section for adjusting spice in the post when I update this post with the video.