Nihari (Pakistani Beef Shank Stew)

Nihari (Pakistani Beef Shank Stew) is a delicious and ancient one-pot recipe. After 15 minutes of prep, the shank stew is slow-cooked for 4 hours. The result is a delightful and aromatic stew with meat that melts in your mouth.

This slow-cooked Pakistani stew made with beef shank dates back to the late 17th or Early 18th Century. The word Nihari comes from the Arabic word Nihar which means morning. The name is apt as the shank stew was served to the Nawabs during the early morning prayer.

This Pakistani beef shank stew recipe continues to be a popular choice for breakfast and brunch today. A popular street food, Nihari is a special weekend breakfast treat like sooji halwa, aloo masala, and chana masala.

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• The ingredients
• Substitutions & variations
• Step-by-step instructions
• Expert tips
• Recipe FAQS
• Other recipes you may like
• Nihari Recipe (Pakistani Beef Shank Stew)

Why you'll love this recipe

• The perfect recipe to feed a crowd - This hearty Pakistani beef shank stew is a stand-alone recipe that's always a crowd-pleaser. No complicated menus to plan for your guests and no extra time to double or even triple this recipe.
• Delicious leftovers - Nihari freezes well and tastes better when reheated. Who doesn't like amazing leftovers?
• Authentic Street Food Taste - This recipe's homemade blend of spices delivers a Nihari just like the one you would enjoy on the streets of Karachi.
• No added preservatives - The Nihari will be completely organic since you'll be making your own spice blend from scratch.

The ingredients

The two things essential to an amazing pot of Nihari are the meat and the spice blend.

The meat

• The Meat - Bone in Shank Meat cut into big pieces is what is traditionally used in this recipe. The bones and marrow are essential to the stew.
• The Flour - A special wholemeal wheat flour known as Durum flour or Atta is used to thicken the Nihari. It is easily available on Amazon.
• The Onions - I always use yellow onions for their neutral taste. In this recipe, I fry them and add them to the Nihari as a tadka, or tempering, at the end.

The spice blend

• Long Pepper - Long pepper, also known as Piper Longum and Pippali is a relative of black pepper. It has a more complex taste and is almost like an entire spice blend in one tiny little capsule. Earthy, smoky, and floral, Pippali is an essential ingredient in the Nihari spice blend. It is available in all South Asian stores, on Amazon, and at specialty spice stores such as The Spice House or Curio Spice Co.
• Black Cumin - Black cumin seeds are thinner and smaller than traditional brown cumin seeds and taste like caraway seeds. They are used in many savory Pakistan and Indian recipes, adding a delicious aroma to recipes like Chicken Pulao.
• Black Cardamom - Black cardamom has a warm smoky taste and aroma, quite unlike the floral notes in green cardamom. Very strong on its own when used to make spice blends, such as Chicken Korma or Mutton Biryani the result is perfect.

Grinding your own spices in small batches to make your own Homemade Nihari Masala by far leads to a more flavorful dish. A bold homemade spice blend is what gives this Pakistani beef shank stew an authentic Old Delhi taste.

Any leftover spices can be reused to make spice blends for other recipes, such as Beef Pasanday and Pakistani Beef Haleem Recipe.

The garnishes

• Green Chilies - I use serrano peppers since I like things spicy! If you want to tame things down, deseed the peppers.
• Ginger - I usually julienne the ginger, but if I'm serving a large crowd, I simply peel it and run it through my food processor.

For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Substitutions & variations

• Try different meat - If you have trouble sourcing bone-in beef shank, just use tender boneless beef such as chuck(front shoulder) or round(rear muscle) and buy some marrow bones separately to add to the shank stew.
• Use a store-bought spice blend - If you want to save some time then I recommend using Nihari Masala by shanfoods.com or nfoodstore.com for your Nihari.
• Make the stew gluten-free - To make the Nihari gluten-free, use brown rice flour instead of Atta (Durum whole wheat flour).
• Pair the stew with crusty warm French bread - Switch things up and try some warm crusty French bread with your Pakistani beef shank stew instead of Naan.
• Make delicious sandwiches with leftover meat - The leftover melt-in-your-mouth Nihari meat tastes amazing in sandwiches.

Step-by-step instructions

Expert tips

• Remove the fat on the meat after it's cooked - I find that leaving the fat on the meat adds a lot of flavor to the shank stew. Plus, after 4 hours of cooking, it peels right off, making the whole process more efficient.
• Make sure to add the marrow - Remove the bones from the mixture and discard them, but do add the marrow back to the stew as it really adds loads of flavor.
• Always use hot water to make the slurry - This way there is no rapid change in temperature as you add the slurry, resulting in a smooth mixture without any clumps.
• Keep some hot boiled water on hand - If the Nihari seems to be getting too thick too fast, add a cup of hot water to help thin it out.
• Add some tempered Kashmiri chilies to your stew - As you fry the onions, add just 1 tablespoon of Kashmiri red chili powder to the oil at the end. This will give your Pakistani beef shank stew a restaurant finish.

Recipe FAQS

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