Chicken Nihari: Muslim recipe of Meat Stew

DAASTAAN -E- NIHARI

Let me first take you all to the very meaning of the word, "Nihari":

Nihari (Urdu: نہاری) is an extremely popular national dish in Pakistan and also eaten among Muslims in India. The word Nihar (Urdu: نہار) means morning in Urdu and this dish was usually eaten in the late morning. It is one of the very popular breakfast stew specially eaten during the Id festival. Nihari are basic breakfast dishes, but can be eaten for dinner as well, accompanied with dishes such as chicken and mutton dum biryani.

More of a delicacy, it is very popular in Pakistan as well as in India for its unique combination of spices which lends a very good flavour and aroma to the dish. It is usually cooked overnight in a big earthern pots with tight lids, sometimes, even buried underground. Mostly the recipe calls for red meat, like goat and beef, but you can very easily make a easier and quiker version o fit by replacing them with chicken (bone-in) or even vegetables (even Kofta!!)!!

The bhaghaar(Tarkaa) is lightly fried in desi ghee to reduce the heat of red peppers and the "Tarkaa" is an additional oily chilli to spice up the flavour. Cooked brain and bone marrow are served alongside the stew. The Nihari is garnished according to individual tastes with cilantro leaves, crispy fried onions , green chillies, strips of ginger , and lemons . In addition, garam masala, a blend of powdered spices is sprinkled over the stew just before serving.

My enthusiasm for Nihari grew when I saw one of the video online, lol ,I have nothing but time on my hand . After doing much research, here is the ultimate recipe of it.

This is the recipe for 3 lbs of Bone-in Chicken, mostly thigh and drumsticks. If you want to replace it with mutton, buy big chunks with bones.

First step

Take two large yellow onions and slice it very thin.
Fry half of the sliced onion in ghee until crisp brown, as you will do for biryani.
Keep the other half aside for later use in taarka.

Second step:

Reconstructing spice mix: Take each of the spice and roast them one by one in hot tava.
2 tbs. Fennel (Saunf)
½ tsp black pepper (Kali Mirch)
½ tsp. cumin seeds (Zeera)
2 green cardamom (Chhoti Ilaichi) seeds
10 cloves (Laung)
2 black cardamom (Bari Ilaichi)
1 stick of cinnamon (Dalchini)
1 bay leaves (Tezpatta)
¼ tsp. nutmeg (Jaiphal)
and mace (Javitri)
2 tbs. coriander (Dhaniya) seeds
1 stick (Piplee)
1 aniseed flower (Badian)

cool them and grind them to fine powder. Sieve and store in an airtight container until ready to use. This is also a variation of Kashmiri Garam Masala and can be used in various other vegetarian dishes.

Ingredients:-
1½ tsp. salt
½ tsp red chili powder
½ tsp. Kashmiri chili powder
¼ tsp. turmeric (Haldi) powder
1 tbs. coriander (Dhaniya) powder
1 cup melted ghee or oil
3 tbs. all wheat flour
1 tsp ginger (Adrak) paste
½ tsp. garlic (Lehsan) paste


Steps:

• Take a heavy bottom deep pan or skillet. I use 6 quarts Dutch Oven.
• Pour 3/4 cup of ghee in it.
• Heat the ghee on medium heat and then add ginger and garlic paste.
• Dissolve 2 heaping Tbsp of the Nihari spice in water, along with , turmeric, chili ,dhaniya and garam masala.
• Add this concoction to the skillet and cook for 2 mins.
• Add chicken and fry for 3-4 minutes and then add salt.
• Cover with tight lid on a very low flame for 20 minutes.
• Side-by-side start browning the whole wheat flour. Dissolve this browned flour with water and make a smooth paste. People have used cornflour and maida for thickning the gravy, but the people who browned the whole wheat flour ( regular gehhu ka aata) stand by it anf really i have tried both, authencity is in wheat flour. If you dont dissolve the atta before mixing it in gravy it might form lumps and then the gravy will have a raw chunky lumps.
• Open the lid carefully and add this paste to the cooking chicken slowly and stirring it often.
• Now close the lid tight for the final time and leave the chicken to cook for another 45 minutes. Make sure the flame is still on very low setting . If you dont have a tight lid then you can use aluminium foil to cover the vessel and then put a lid on it by securing all the sides.
• Check for the doneness of chicken after 45 mintues.
• To Prepare Tarkaa: Take half of the sliced onion and fry it in ghee until brown. Add 1 tbsp of the nihari spice mix to it with chopped mint and cilantro leaves.
• Pour this tarkaa on the cooked chicken gravy and serve hot topped with thinly sliced onions and green chillies and lemon as garnish. I add grated cheese and sour cream to make it milder for my toddler. If you are serving kids just take out their portion before doing the Tarkaa.