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NIHARI
Once a poor man’s food, now the toast of gourmet
Finding the famous Kallu Nihari in the cramped alleyway of Chatta Mian in old Delhi is like embarking on a treasure hunt. As one wades through the traffic of children, goats and bicyclists, one hopes that the nihari lives up to its reputation. And it does. The warmth of the spices in this velvety meat stew light up a bleak winter day. Today, a staple of foodies across India, the nihari used to be a poor man’s food. “It used to be a breakfast dish for soldiers, as they didn’t know when their next meal would be,” says Pawan Soni, founder of the Indian Food Freak, a group for like minded foodies. It is believed that the word nihari comes from the Arabic word nahar which means after sunrise. “That’s why it is traditionally eaten in the morning to break the fast. Some say that the nihari originated in Lucknow, some say in Delhi; in Pakistan it is considered a national dish,” says Ashish Chopra. “All the cooks from Delhi went to Karachi after the partition and made it popular there. Hyderabad has a great version of the nihari as well, but they use the tongue of the lamb as well. The nalli and trotters used in the dish are very rich in calcium and a great source of energy. In winter, it is a remedy for cough and cold as well.” So what differentiates an authentic nihari from the me-toos? “The gravy should have a gelatinous quality that shows it has been cooked for a long time. Sometimes one finds niharis that are loaded with chillies. That is definitely not a good nihari. The use of spices should be warming and not overpowering,” says Manish Mehrotra, executive chef, Indian Accent. Meanwhile at Kallu Nihari, people start gathering at 4.30 pm for a serving that is available only between 5.15 pm and 6.15 pm. “My walid sahab (father) Rabibuddin started the shop 22 years ago,” says Rehaan who manages the shop. In a day, he sells 60 kilos of nihari. “Raza Murad is a regular. Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Emraan Hashmi have eaten here as well,” adds Rehaan.
Ingredients: (Makes 6)
2 kg mutton, ½ kg ghee, 250 gm onions, 250 gm tomatoes, 100 gm nihari masala (available in supermarkets), 50 gm red chilli powder, salt to taste, 50 gm atta ka ghol (flour and water)
Method
First heat the ghee and brown the onions and add tomatoes.
Add the meat and bhoono for nearly half an hour.
Now add masala, red chilli powder, salt and water.
After 5-10 minutes add atta ka ghol.
Cook on low heat, mutton ideally for an hour or so and lamb for a bit longer.
- By Rehaan of Kallu Nihari
The stew of Arab conquerors now a click away
A stew of meat, wheat, barley, lentils, spices, rose petals and ghee slow cooked to perfection and drizzled with lime juice — nothing spells winter comfort like haleem. “It’s a complete meal in itself, packed with energy,” says MA Majeed, proprietor of Hyderabad’s famous Pista House. Originally favoured by Arab traders and conquerors, this dish has now become synonymous with Hyderabad’s old city and was even awarded a Geographical Indication (GI) status in 2010. “I tasted the best haleem near Charminar. There is a place where sellers sit with huge earthenware pots and the haleem literally flies off the shelves,” says Bal. Now, people from across the country can savour the Hyderabadi haleem because Pista House has tied up with Gati courier services to ferry the dish to cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram. You can place the orders on its website. “Making haleem is a 12-hour process. So as soon as we finish the dish, we pack it and send it to the airport for onward transport to the various cities. Top film actors and politicians place orders with us regularly,” says Majeed. The cooking time makes all the difference to the dish. “Even though it’s cooked to a pulp, the dish needs to have texture. The garam masala needs to be fresh. It is very important to garnish it with lime, onions and coriander. You can’t hurry it up,” says Bal.
Ingredients (Makes 6)
1 kg boneless mutton / with bones, 200 gms broken wheat, 4 teaspoons of ginger-garlic paste, 1 cup urad dal, 1 cup chana dal, 1 cup tuvar dal, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, 5-6 cardamom pieces, 3 small cinnamon sticks, 4-5 cloves, 2 teaspoons dried rose petals, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper seeds, 1/2 tsp cubeb seeds also known as kawab chini, 1/2 tsp black cumin seed, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 8 tbsp ghee, 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, 5-6 mint leaves, 8 green chillies, 1/2 cup cashew nuts, salt to taste, oil for frying onions
Method
Soak broken wheat in water. The water should be 2 inches above the wheat. Fry the sliced onions till golden brown, keep aside.
Wash mutton pieces and add them to the cooker (the original procedure for haleem is to cook it on wood, but you can use a cooker at home). Now add water and green chillies. Close the lid and pressure cook it for 5 whistles. Open the pressure cooker and add the broken wheat.
After the wheat gets cooked , the meat and the wheat should become a semi-solid paste. Add all the spices including cinnamon, cardamom , cumin seeds, black cumin seeds, cubeb, rose petals, black pepper, turmeric; cook it on low flame for 5-10 mins.
While the meat is being cooked take another aluminum container and put the soaked and boiled urad, chana and tuvar dal mixture in it. Add 2 glasses of water.
To the dal mixture add the mutton mixture from the cooker and stir with a wooden spoon. After the content becomes a smooth paste add salt . Mash the mixture with the wooden spoon for about 10 minutes. The contents should not stick to the bottom of the container. If you want a good texture you must stir all the ingredients in the container thoroughly every minute.
After one hour check if the mixture has become a thick paste and turned golden in colour. Make sure that you do not overcook.
Add 3 tbsp of ghee to it and close the lid of the aluminum container. Keep it on low flame.
Fry the thinly sliced onions and cashew nuts in a separate pan. Use this as topping and also garnish with coriander leaves Now add 2-4 tsp of teera . To make teera — take 3 tsp of oil in a pan, add two tsp of ghee. Add 1/4 tsp red chilli powder, ginger-garlic, water and salt. Warm till golden brown and sieve.
- Recipe by MA Majeed of Pista House
From Persian royal kitchens to the streets of India
It’s 9 am and Karim’s, located under the looming shadow of the Jama Masjid, is bustling with customers. There is only one word on everybody’s lips — paya (goat trotter soup). “We sell the paya between 9 am and 11 am. You will find people from Gurgaon and other far flung places here to have the dish,” says Zaeemuddin Ahmed, the managing director of Karim’s. The use of trotters gives this soupy dish a warming quality. “We make a yakhni from it, jab tak trotters ka gelatin nikal nahi aata hai,” says Ahmed. Paya is a breakfast dish. “It is said that it originated in Multan and is very rich in calcium,” says culinary historian Ashish Chopra. While old Delhi is teeming with paya sellers, places like Bhopal and Lucknow too have vendors lining up with their fare. “Paya is a very delicate dish and needs to cooked gently till all the connective tissues gelatinise,” says Aditya Bal, chef and host of Bachelor’s Kitchen on NDTV Good Times.
Ingredients (Makes 6)
1 tbsp refined oil, ½ kg lamb shanks trimmed, 6 goat trotters blanched, 6 green cardamoms, 2 sticks cassia, 8 to 10 cloves, 2 brown cardamoms, 1 tsp peppercorns, 1 ½ tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp hot red chilli powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 2 tsp coriander powder, salt to taste, 2 onions, 10 cloves garlic, ½ inch ginger, 6 green chillies, ¼ bunch fresh coriander, 2 limes
Method
Heat refined oil in a heavy-base deep-cooking vessel, add the lamb shanks and trotters and sear on all sides until well browned. Add the whole spices and sauté on medium heat till fragrant. Add salt and about 6 litres of water to the pan, bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer.
Skim any impurities that rise to the top. Cover the vessel and simmer gently for 3 to 5 hours till the shank meat is falling off the bone and all the natural gelatin has been extracted from the shanks and trotters.
Grind the onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies to a fine paste with a little water, then heat 2 tsp of refined oil in a frying pan and sauté the paste until it is a deep golden brown. Add the spice powders and fry until fragrant, add some water and bhuno till the oil rises to the top.
Add this masala to the soup and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, remove the trotters and shanks from the vessel, shred the meat from the shanks and add it to the pot, simmer the soup for a further hour till it is thick and concentrated in flavor. Then scatter fresh coriander, squeeze in a lime and serve hot with bread or rotis.
- By Chef Aditya Bal
