Chicken Nihari

                                                    

Chicken ‘Nihari’ derives its name from ‘Nahar’ which means early morning in Arabic. The recipe I followed says indulgent Nihari stew originated from Nawab’s culture of Delhi, India. In the ancient days stew was served early in the morning right after their prayers.

      I thank +maria nasir  for introducing me to this wonderful recipe. If you’d like to watch a video recipe of this kindly visit foodaholic.biz.  All you need to have is dry spice mix beforehand to make this stew super easy. Serve with steamed rice or Naan/rotis. I usually enjoy this rich, indulgent, spicy stew either for lunch or dinner. This is not the dish for weight watchers as the recipe has more ghee/oil, I highly recommend not to cut down oil as the taste differs.

Ingredients:

500 gm chicken (with bone)

3 tbsp vegetable oil/ghee (clarified butter)

Salt to taste

2 tbsp wheat flour/cornflour (mix flour with 3 tbsp water)

For Spice mix

4 dried red chillies (I used Kashmiri)
1 tbsp corinader seeds

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

1 dried bay leaf

1 ½ inch cinnamon

3 cloves

2 black cardamoms

1 star anise

1 nutmeg

Pinch of turmeric

Pinch for ginger powder

For tempering

3 tbsp ghee/oil

1 medium onion, chopped lengthwise

Julienned ginger

 

Method:

Step 1:  Heat the skillet, put all spices on it, dry roast for a minute and turn off. Let stand on for one more minute. Grind to fine spice mix.

Step 2:  Heat oil in a thick bottom pan/pot, add chicken pieces and fry for a minute until it’s browned in medium heat.

Step 3: Mix spice powder with half cup of water and pour into chicken and sauté for 2 minutes.

Step 4: Add 3 cups of water, cook covered for 12 to 15 minutes or till water is reduced to half in low heat.

Step 5: Now add wheat flour mix with constant stirring to ensure no lumps are formed. Cook covered for 2-3 minutes.

Step 6: For tempering, heat ghee in small pan, fry onions till light brown and pour it to the chicken nihari, quick stir and turn off. Garnish with julienned ginger and or cilantro. Enjoy!

Note:

Adjust the consistency by diluting with water if it is too thick.

Add some more water for reheating.

As I always say adjust spice according to your taste.