Photo: stu_spivack · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Punjab · Dinner

Nihari + Naan

Slow-cooked bone-in beef or mutton shank braised overnight in a deeply spiced gravy thickened with wheat flour — a dish of extraordinary depth originally eaten at dawn but now a celebrated dinner.

🧺 Ingredients

• Beef or mutton shank: 800g, bone-in
• Onion, sliced: 400g (fried until deep brown)
• Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tbsp
• Nihari masala: 3 tbsp (fennel, coriander, chilli, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace)
• Wheat flour: 3 tbsp (dissolved in water)
• Desi ghee: 4 tbsp
• Ginger, julienned: 30g (to serve)
• Green chillies: to serve
• Lemon wedges: to serve
• Salt: to taste
• Nihari demands time — 5 hours minimum; shortcuts destroy its character.

👩‍🍳 How to make Nihari + Naan

1. Fry onions in ghee until very dark brown and crisp.
2. Drain; set aside.
3. In a heavy pot, heat ghee.
4. Brown meat deeply on all sides.
5. Add ginger-garlic paste; cook 3 min.
6. Add nihari masala; cook 3 min.
7. Add fried onions; stir.
8. Add 1.5 litres hot water.
9. Simmer on very low flame for 4–5 hours.
10. Add dissolved wheat flour for the last 30 minutes, stirring well to prevent lumps.
11. Gravy should be thick, dark brown, and glossy.
12. Bone marrow should melt into the broth.
13. Top with julienned ginger, green chillies, a squeeze of lemon, and a drizzle of ghee.
14. Serve with kulcha or naan.

Track the macros of Nihari + Naan and 100s of Indian dishes with Nutri Macro India.