Beef nihari

Before you start

• four hours on the hob, nearly all of it unattended
• a heavy pot with a tight lid

Ingredients

Serves 2 · dimmer marks are storecupboard

• 500gbeef shin — shank on the bone — the marrow is half of what makes it silky
• 120gwholemeal atta — for the naan, which is not optional here
• 35gplain flour — the slurry that thickens the gravy at the end
• 3 tbspghee
• 2onions
• 1 thumbginger
• 2 tbspfennel, coriander and ground ginger — the nihari masala; a shop-bought packet is what most kitchens use
• 1 tbspcinnamon, cloves and black cardamom
• 3green chillies
• 1lemon

Method

7 steps

1. chop · 8m

   Onions sliced thin, ginger into fine matchsticks and dropped into cold water so they stay stiff for the top.

2. fry · 15m

   Half the ghee, onions browned deep, then the beef turned in the same fat until every face has colour on it.

3. simmer · 4 hours walk away

   Masala, whole spices, salt and water to cover by two fingers. Lid on, the lowest heat the hob will hold, and left. Four hours is the recipe; three will do and it will taste like three.

4. fold · 8m

   Plain flour whisked smooth into a cup of COLD water — cold, and whisked, or it goes in as lumps and stays as lumps — then poured into the simmering pot and stirred until the gravy thickens and turns glossy.

5. grill · 15m

   Naan from the atta while that settles: rolled thicker than a roti, cooked on a dry hot pan, then held a moment over the flame.

6. fry · 4m

   The rest of the ghee heated hard with a spoon of the masala and poured over the pot, where it should sit in an orange pool rather than be stirred in.

7. finish · 3m

   Ginger slivers, green chilli and lemon added at the table, bowl by bowl. The lemon is what stops four hours of fat from flattening the whole thing.