Lucknowi lamb nihari (lamb stew with ginger, nutmeg and chilli)

This is a traditional Lucknowi stew that has been cooked for generations. Nihari is served for breakfast or throughout the day with tandoori roti or naan. The humble stew is so full of flavour and is garnished with ginger, green chillies and lime juice.

Lucknowi lamb nihari. Credit: Quadrille / Haarala Hamilton

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  1:40 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp ghee
• 150 g (5½ oz) onions, thinly sliced
• 800 g (1 lb 12 oz) bone-in lamb shoulder, diced into bite-size pieces
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
• 5 cm (2 inch) piece of fresh ginger root, ground to a paste
• 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
• 800 ml (27 fl oz/3 1⁄3 cups) water

For the masala

• 12 green cardamom pods (seeds only)
• 1 black cardamom pod (seeds only)
• 6 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 2 blades mace
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2.5 cm (1 inch) cinnamon stick
• 3 tsp dried rose petals

For the atta mix

• 2 tbsp wholemeal flour (or chapatti flour/atta)
• 200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) water

To finish and serve

• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 green bird’s eye chillies, slit lengthways
• 2.5 cm (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger root, cut into thin matchsticks
• handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, roughly chopped
• lime wedges

Instructions

1. First, make the masala. Combine all the ingredients in a spice grinder and grind to a powder, then set aside.
2. Make the atta mix by combining the flour and water in a bowl and stirring well to ensure there are no lumps. Set aside.
3. Heat the ghee in a large heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 15–16 minutes until softened and light brown. Add the lamb pieces and seal for 8 minutes, stirring well. At this stage, add the garlic paste and ginger paste and fry for 2 minutes, stirring well as the raw flavours cook out. Add the chilli powder fry for 1 minute, stirring so the lamb is coated in the spices. Add the water, season with salt, cover and simmer over a low heat for 50 minutes until the meat is tender, stirring halfway through. The stew will be soupy, but that’s good.
4. Stir in half of the masala. Store the remaining masala in an airtight jar and use another time (see Note). Add the atta mix and stir well, then cover again and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. The gravy will begin to thicken, so make sure to stir a couple of times.
5. Finish with the nutmeg, green chillies and ginger. Stir well and remove from the heat, then stir in the coriander and serve with the lime wedges.
   

Note

The masala mix makes double what you need, so you can save the rest to make the stew another time – it will last for months, stored in an airtight jar.

This is an edited extract from Curry by Maunika Gowardhan (Quadrille, HB$55). Photography by Haarala Hamilton

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.