Mutton Nihari Recipe

Aslam-o-Alakaum My Lovelies !!

 In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Mutton Nihari 

Nihari is one of most favorite and traditional dishes of every Muslim home. Be it mutton, chicken or beef nihari, it can be relished with any kind of meat. Traditionally nihari made with the bone marrow meat. It’s a deliciously smooth flour based stew with slow cooked mutton and a myriad of spices.  Mutton Nihari takes a long time to cook but is easy to put together.

mutton-nihari

There are lot of ready made Nihari spices available in the market. But I would not Never Never recommend. As they are full of artificial colors and preservative agents. Not a healthy approach. 🙁 You can make the Nihari powder at home by following my Nihari Masala Mix and store it in airtight container for many days.

This is a must try recipe from my Mommy.  We normally make Nihari with small pieces of mutton as we prefer it over the bone-in mutton.

 Mutton Nihari Recipe
Photo: Mutton Nihari

Note:

Preferably it must be cook on low flame, but those of you who would rather prefer a faster process can cook it in a pressure cooker though the Nihari taste wont be the same as cooked on a low flame.

So about this Mutton Nihari recipe. As you can see, there’s no layer of fat floating on top of the nihari, As many of you know, when we go out to eat it, we want the brain, marrow and floating oil on top, not a very healthy option. My mommy tried to make it just a little healthy by adding as little butter as possible without compromising on the flavor. Less fat and believe me, just as good. Or if you do like a little oil on top, when you are ready it dish it out, leave it covered on very low heat for about 5-7 minutes. Voila, the ‘little’ amount of oil will rise to the top! 

Mutton Nihari with ginger and fried onion
Mutton Nihari with ginger and fried onion

Traditionally Nihari  served with ginger, fried onion, green chilies and the hottest crisp khameeri roti or naan.

mutton nihari recipe
Nihari goes great with ginger, green chilies, fried onion, lemon and Khamiri Roti.

Let’s get started!

Mutton  Nihari with Step by Step Picture

Step 1

Check it out the Mutton Nihari recipe and printable version below!!

mutton nihari

Mutton Nihari Recipe

Bushra Waheed
Nihari is one of most favorite and traditional dishes of every Muslim home. Be it mutton, chicken or beef nihari, it can be relished with any kind of meat. Traditionally nihari made with the bone marrow meat. It’s a deliciously smooth flour based stew with slow cooked mutton and a myriad of spices. This Mutton Nihari recipe takes a long time to cook but is easy to put together.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours 5 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1-1/2 kg mutton shank portion, cut into 8 pieces
  • 1/4 cup clarified butter or desi ghee
  • 3 medium onions thinly sliced
  • 1 tablspeoon ginger paste
  • 1 tablespoon garlic paste
  • 2 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • salt to taste
  • 4 tablebspoon wheat flour
  • 4 tablespoon nihari masala Mix

Nihari Masala Mix

  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon soonth dry ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
  • 5-6 green cardamoms
  • 2 black cardamoms
  • 5 cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 10 black peppercorns

For Garnishing

  • 1/2 cup crispy fried onion
  • 1 inch ginger cut into this strips
  • 1 lime cut into wedges
  • 2 green chilies thinly sliced
  • few fresh coriander leaves chopped
  • Juice of 1 lime

Instructions
 

Niahri Masala Mix Method

  • To make your own Nihari masala from scratch, dry roast all the whole spices for the masala and grind them to a fine powder.

Mutton Nihari Method

  • Melt butter or ghee (you can use oil as well but ghee makes it tastier) in a heavy bottom pot.
  • saute onion slices and fry till they start to turn brown(about4-5 minutes).
  • Now add mutton pieces, ginger paste and garlic paste.
  • Stir and cook for 5-8 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and all juices run clear.
  • Now add coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt.
  • Sauté for 5 minutes.
  • Add the nihari masala and 8 cups of water.
  • Stir well.
  • Cover the pot and cook on very low flame for about 4 hours until the meat is tender.
  • Keep checking in between. The way to know that the meat is cooked is when it breaks easily with a wooden spoon.
  • Remove the lid and increase the flame.
  • Dissolve wheat flour in half cup of water such that there are no lumps.
  • Slowly pour wheat mixture into the gravy.
  • Stir to mix well.
  • Let it simmer for another 15 minutes or until the gravy is thickened.
  • Drizzle some lime juice over it.
  • Garnish with fried onion, ginger slices, green chilies and fresh coriander leaves.
  • Delicious Mutton Nihari is ready to serve. Enjoy!!

Notes

Serving Suggestions:
Serve with Khameeri Roti or Naan. At time of serving, add chop fresh coriander, green chilies, Julienne cut ginger and fry onions.. and also lemon…. these things will improve the taste of nihari.

 

 

Put your own spin on it. And lemme know how it turns out. Post a photo on Facebook (Recipestable) or  on Twitter so I can see how lovely yours turn out.

Happy Cooking!!

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8 comments

Saleeha says:

Hi Bushrah…Thank you for ur website and this mutton nihari recipe. Indeed a great service to us who have been living far away from Pakistan. I just tried this dish and it turned out awesome. It’s going to be frequently made in my kitchen. My family loved it.

Zany says:

That looks absolutely yummylicious. Shame I am on a self-imposed diet. Food porn like this keeps me going :-).

Kausalya Devy says:

Hi,first time in ur blog…gr8 variety of recipes…nihari looks yum…

Divyansh says:

Wa-alaikum salaam Bushrah, made this for my family… and it turned out really amazing… I’m from India and love recipes you post.. in love with Pakistani cusine.

amir says:

Yummy… looks so delicious

sehrish sultan says:

Made this today for my dad. Such a great recipe!

Shilpa says:

Hi Bushra,

Thank you for sharing this recipe. Looks amazing , I’ve just tried Nihari but a slightly different recipe. Am sure your masalas from scratch will make that difference. Will try it again soon.

Love from Dubai. Shilpa

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