Old Delhi nihari gosht

The word 'nihari' comes from the Arabic word 'nahar' which means morning. Traditionally, the nihari was slow cooked for 6 – 8 hours in big pots over an open fire for working class laborers involved in construction of forts and palaces to have first thing in the morning.

Ingredients

• 300 g goat meat on the bone
• 1 ½ tbsp ginger and garlic paste
• salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 green cardamom pods, bruised
• 1 black cardamom pod, bruised
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken
• ¼ tsp fennel seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 brown onion, thinly sliced
• 2 green chillies, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 pinch saffron threads
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tbsp gram flour (besan)
• 2 - 3 drops rosewater
• 2 - 3 drops kewra water (screwpine)

Nihari spice

• 3 dried red chillies
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken
• 10 green cardamom pods
• 1 black cardamom pod
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• ½ tsp white peppercorns
• ¼ tsp ground clove
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

To serve

• coarsely chopped coriander leaves
• ginger cut into julienne
• fried onion
• lemon wedges

Instructions

1. For the spice mix, lightly toast all the ingredients in a dry frying pan just until warmed through. Transfer to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to a powder.
2. Place the goat meat in a large bowl, add half the ginger and garlic paste, a good pinch of salt and half the spice mix and toss to combine well.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Add the whole spices and bay leaf and stir for a few seconds or until fragrant. Add the sliced onion and stir for 5–6 minutes or until translucent.
4. Add the remaining ginger and garlic paste and stir until fragrant. Add the sliced green chilli and stir for 1–2 minutes.
5. Increase the heat to medium–high and add the marinated meat. Cook until very lightly browned on all sides, then season with salt.
6. Pour over just enough hot water to cover the meat. Bring to a gentle simmer, removing any scum that rises to the top. Stir in the ground coriander, chilli powder, turmeric powder, black pepper and saffron along with the remaining spice mix. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 3–3 ½ hours or until the goat is tender.
7. Once the goat is cooked, remove from the cooking liquid and set aside.
8. Heat the ghee in a small frying pan and stir in the gram flour until well combined. Add 1 large ladleful of the cooking liquid and stir until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the pan with the cooking liquid and simmer for about 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the rose water and kewra water.
9. Transfer to a large serving dish, scatter with coriander leaves, ginger and fried onions and serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Photography by Adam Liaw.

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The word 'nihari' comes from the Arabic word 'nahar' which means morning. Traditionally, the nihari was slow cooked for 6 – 8 hours in big pots over an open fire for working class laborers involved in construction of forts and palaces to have first thing in the morning.