Lamb Nihari

🍲 Cheats Lamb Nihari (with beef chunks)

🛒 Ingredients

For the stew:

• 800g beef chunks (well-marbled stewing beef works best)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
• 2 medium onions, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 1–2 tsp nihari masala (store-bought or homemade)
• 1.2 litres beef stock (or water + stock cube)
• Salt, to taste

Gluten-free slurry:

• 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
• 3 tbsp water

To finish (essential!):

• 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, cut into fine matchsticks
• Small handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
• Optional: sliced green chillies & lemon wedges

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👩‍🍳 Method

1. Brown the beef
   Heat oil or ghee in a heavy pot. Sear the beef chunks until nicely browned on all sides. Remove and set aside.
2. Build the base
   In the same pot, add sliced onions and cook on medium heat until deep golden (this is key for flavour).
3. Add aromatics
   Stir in ginger and garlic paste. Cook for a minute until fragrant.
4. Spice it up
   Add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, cumin, black pepper, garam masala, and nihari masala. Cook briefly until the oil starts to separate.
5. Simmer low & slow
   Return beef to the pot. Add stock, bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 1.5–2 hours until the meat is tender and the gravy rich.
6. Thicken (the cheat move)
   Mix cornflour and water into a smooth slurry. Slowly stir it into the stew while simmering, until the sauce thickens to that classic nihari consistency.
7. Final seasoning
   Taste and adjust salt, spice, and richness (a little extra ghee here is never a bad idea).

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🌿 To Serve (don’t skip this part)

Ladle into bowls and finish generously with:

• Fresh ginger matchsticks
• Chopped coriander
• Optional green chillies and a squeeze of lemon

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🍽️ Serving ideas

• Best with warm naan or roti
• Also great with plain basmati rice

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🔥 Notes

• Traditional nihari uses long-simmered shank for that gelatin-rich texture—your slurry is doing the heavy lifting here.
• If you have time, let it sit overnight—the flavour gets even better the next day.