Yesterday Sunday special cooking was Mutton Nihari, which is a dish from Lucknow. Many exotic spices (Nihari Masalas) like Peepli, Galangal, Paan ki jad, dry rose petal, kabab cheeni are used in this dish.  I didn’t had all of these spices, but still you can cook with whatever spices available at home. This dish is cooked only in Mustard Oil.  Mutton Nihari will surely taste good.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • Fresh Goat meat (mutton) –  1 kg. Curry cut pieces.
  • Onion – 5 medium size.  Sliced.
  • Green Chilli – 1. Finely chopped.
  • Fresh Ginger Paste – 2 tbs.
  • Fresh Garlic Paste – 2 tbs.
  • Garlic Water – 4 tbs. (Take one tbs of garlic paste and half a cup of water, mix and garlic water is ready).
  • Ginger Julians – 2 tbs.
  • Black Pepper – 15 corns.
  • Cinnamon stick – 2 inch.
  • Shahi Jeera – 2 tsp.
  • Coriander seeds – 2 tbs.
  • Tej Patta (Bay Leaves) – 2 to 3.
  • Dagad Phool (Stone flower) – 2 inch piece.
  • Green Cardamom – 5 pieces.
  • Black Cardamom – 2 pieces.
  • Lawang (Cloves) – 6 pieces.
  • Star Anise – 2 pieces.
  • Kabab Cheeni – One tsp.
  • Fennil seeds (Soaf) – 1 tbs.
  • Khas Khas – 1 tsp.
  • Nutmeg (Jai Phal) – Half tsp.
  • Normal Jeera seeds – 1 tsp.
  • Mace (Javitri) – 2 pieces.
  • Mustard Oil – 6 tbs.
  • Ghee – 4 tbs.
  • Yoghurt – 250 gms.
  • Tumeric – 1 tsp.
  • Kashmiri Red Chilli powder – 4 to 5 tsp.
  • Coriander powder – 2 tsp.
  • Kewra water – 4 tsp.
  • Wheat Flour – 2 tbs.
  • Coriander Leaves – finely chopped about one cup.
  • Salt to taste.

Method:

  • Clean the mutton with water.  Marinate the mutton with half tsp of ginger paste, half tsp of garlic paste, pinch of salt, half lime juice.  Mix them well with mutton and marinate for 1 hour in the Fridge.
  • Take yoghurt in a large bowl.  Whisk it well.  Add 3 tbs of kashmiri red chilli powder, all tumeric powder, all coriander powder to yoghurt.  Mix them well and keep it aside.
  • Prepare Nihari special masala – Take a frying pan and add all whole spices (except Bay leaves) coriander seeds, mace, black pepper, kabab cheeni, green cardamom, black cardamom, cinnamon, khas khas, shahi jeera, dagad phool, star anise, lawang, jai phal powder, fennil seeds, and roast them on medium flame for 2 minutes only.  Remove it from the frying pan and allow it to cool. Take a mortar and pestle and crush all roasted masalas into fine powder.  Take a sieve and filter the masala seperating fine masala powder and coarse masalas.  Keep both of these masalas aside seperately.
  • Take wheat flour, powder (fine filtered) nihari masala, and 2 tsp of kewra water in a mixing bowl.  Add 2 cups of water to it and mix it well.  Keep it aside.
  • Take a large kadai.  Add mustard oil and heat it up until it smokes.  When you see smoke coming out of heating oil, sprinkle garlic water twice or thrice into the heating oil.  Be very careful when you sprinkle garlic water to heating oil because oil will splash and hot oil mist will come up.  
  • Add normal jeera seeds, bay leaves  to the mustard oil.  
  • Immediately add sliced onion and green chillis to the hot oil and stir well.  Fry the onions until it is translucent on high flame.
  • Add marinated mutton to the kadai.  Mix them mutton well with onions.  Roast the mutton properly until it changes its colour and water is reduced. 
  • Add salt to taste to the mutton and mix it well for about 2 minutes.
  • Add ginger and garlic paste to the kadai.  Mix it well.  Cook the mutton along with ginger and garlic paste.  Keep stiring and don’t allow ginger and garlic paste to stick to kadai bottom or burn. Fry it until ginger and garlic is cooked properly.
  • Add yoghurt (mixed with kashmiri chilli powder, tumeric and coriander powder) to the mutton.  Stir and mix it well.  Cook the mutton along with the yoghurt.  Keep stiring it and avoid burnt yoghurt at bottom of kadai.
  • Cook / Stir mutton on high flame until all the water from yoghurt is dried up.
  • Once the water from yoghurt is dried up, add 500 ml or sufficient water to the kadai.  Mix it well.  Allow the mutton to cook on medium flame and lid covered on kadai.  This takes between 20 to 30 minutes.  Keep checking and stiring the mutton.
  • Once the mutton is cooked well, add the wheat flour/fine powdered nihari masala/tumeric/water mixture to the kadai.  Stir it continuously for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Reduce the flame to low and close the lid on kadai.  Cook it for another 8 to 10 minutes.
  • In the mean time, prepare Nihari Tari which will go at the end.  Take a frying pan and add all the ghee to it.  Heat up the ghee.  Add corse (leftover nihari masala after filter) nihari masala to the hot ghee.  Stir it for 2 minutes.  Add 2 tbs of kashmiri red chilli powder to the hot ghee.  Stir for a minute only.
  • Add the hot ghee/coarse nihari masala/kashmiri red chilli powder mixture immediatly to the Kadai.  Mix it well.  Close the lid and allow the mutton nihari to cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Add chopped coriander leaves to the kadai. Mix it well and close the lid.  Turn of the flame. Open lid after 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Mutton Nihari is ready to be served hot.
  • Mutton Nihari is eaten with Paratha or Naan or Tandoori Roti or Chapati and even Jeera Rice.  Serve hot Mutton Nihari along with sliced onion and lime.
  • Happy Eating.