Nihari

Method

1. Pat the beef dry and cut it, bone and all, into 5 cm pieces (a butcher will happily do this). Slice the onion thinly and grate the garlic and ginger to a fine paste. For the garnish, cut the ginger into fine matchsticks, slice the chillies, chop the coriander and cut the lemon into wedges.

2. Melt the ghee in a heavy 22 cm pot over medium heat and fry the onion for 8 min, stirring often, until deep golden at the edges. Don't let it blacken or the gravy turns bitter.

   Add in this stepGhee or vegetable oil 3 tbspOnion (medium) 1

   medium heat

3. Turn the heat up to medium-high heat, add the beef and the garlic-ginger paste and cook for 8 min, until the meat has lost its raw red colour and the sharp garlic smell turns nutty.

   Add in this stepBone-in beef shank 500 gGarlic cloves 5Fresh ginger, grated 15 g

   medium-high heat

4. Lower the heat to medium-low heat and add the Kashmiri chilli, turmeric, ground fennel, ground ginger, garam masala and salt with 2 to 3 tbsp of water. Stir constantly for 3 min so the spices don't scorch; move on when red-tinged oil starts seeping out at the edges.

   Add in this stepKashmiri chilli powder 1½ tspGround turmeric ½ tspGround fennel seeds 1 tspGround ginger ½ tspGaram masala 0.6 tspSalt 1¼ tsp

   medium-low heat

5. Pour in the water, bring to a rolling boil over high heat for 7 min and skim off the foam. Cover, turn down to low heat and simmer for 2 h 40 min, stirring every 30 minutes and topping up with a little hot water if the liquid drops below the meat. It is ready when the meat shreds easily with a fork and comes away from the bone.

   Add in this stepWater 1,200 ml

   high heat→low heat

6. Whisk the flour into the cold water until completely smooth. Stirring the pot, pour the slurry in a thin stream, add the rest of the garam masala and simmer over low heat for 15 min, stirring often because it catches easily. When the gravy coats the back of a spoon and no longer tastes of raw flour, check the salt.

   Add in this stepWholewheat flour (atta) or plain flour 2½ tbspCold water (for the flour) 100 mlGaram masala 0.4 tsp

   low heat

7. Warm the remaining ghee in a small pan over medium-low heat for 1 min and pour it over the nihari for a glossy finish. Serve topped with ginger matchsticks, chillies and coriander, with lemon squeezed over and naan or bread on the side.

   Add in this stepGhee or vegetable oil 1 tbspFresh ginger, cut into fine matchsticks (garnish) 10 gHot green chillies 1Fresh coriander (cilantro) 5 gLemon ½

   medium-low heat