Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Nihari
A dawn stew of beef shank and marrow slow-cooked in a dozen spices until the gravy turns silky, brightened with ginger, chilli and lemon.
Pakistani · advanced · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 240 min
~712 cal · 51g protein · 17g carbs · 47g fat · 2g fiber · 4g sugars · 23g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Nihari is the great slow stew of Pakistan, bone-in beef shank and marrow bones simmered for hours in a dark, spice-heavy gravy thickened with wheat flour until it turns glossy and silky. Its name comes from the Arabic for morning, because it was cooked overnight and eaten at dawn, and in Lahore and Karachi it is still a breakfast dish, ladled out at first light and mopped up with naan.
The flavour rests on two things: onions fried to a deep mahogany brown, and a nihari masala built on fennel, black , long pepper, mace and dried ginger, bloomed in until the oil runs red-gold. The meat cooks on the lowest possible flame until it slides off the bone, and a slurry of toasted atta is stirred in at the end to give the gravy its body.
Carried down from Mughal Delhi and reshaped by the muhajir families who settled in Karachi after Partition, nihari is finished at the table with raw ginger, slit green chillies, chopped coriander and a hard squeeze of lemon, the sharp garnishes cutting cleanly through all that richness.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2.5 lb bone-in beef shank with marrow bones (nalli)
1/2 cup
3 large onions, thinly sliced
3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
3 tbsp nihari masala (fennel, black , long pepper, mace, dried ginger, cloves, cinnamon)
1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
4 tbsp whole wheat flour (atta), for thickening
to taste salt
3 inch piece fresh ginger, cut into fine julienne
4 green chillies, slit
1 handful fresh coriander, chopped
2 lemon, cut into wedges
Instructions
1
Fry the sliced onions in the ghee over medium heat, stirring often, until they turn a deep mahogany brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Deep-browned onions are the backbone of nihari. Stop at pale golden and the gravy tastes flat; a splash of water rescues any edges that catch before the middle browns.
2
Lower the heat, stir in the ginger-garlic paste for a minute, then add the nihari masala, chilli and turmeric with a splash of water and fry until the oil separates.
3
Add the beef shank and marrow bones and turn them in the masala over high heat until sealed and coated on all sides, then season with salt.
4
Pour in about 10 cups of hot water, bring to a boil and skim off the grey foam, then cover tightly and cook on the lowest possible flame for 3 to 4 hours, until the meat slides off the bone.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the heat as low as it will go. Nihari is built on a bare simmer over hours, not a hard boil, which is what turns the collagen to gelatin and gives the gravy its silk.
5
Whisk the atta into a cup of cold water until completely smooth, then pour it into the pot in a thin stream, stirring constantly, and simmer uncovered 20 to 25 minutes until the gravy coats a spoon.
✎ Chef’s note
Cold water and constant stirring keep the flour from seizing into lumps. Push the softened marrow out of the bones and stir it into the gravy for extra richness.
6
Serve hot with naan, each bowl finished at the table with julienned ginger, green chilli, coriander and a squeeze of lemon.
Lahori and Karachi breakfast tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Lahore (Punjab). Lahore is Pakistan's food capital, famous for rich nihari, charcoal-grilled karahi, and buttery breakfast halwa puri. Punjabi generosity and Mughal heritage make it a city that lives to eat.
🗺️
Pakistan. Pakistani cuisine is rich, meat-forward, and boldly spiced, from slow-cooked nihari and karahi to fragrant biryanis and tandoor breads. Punjabi, Sindhi, and Mughal traditions meet over ghee, yogurt, and generous garam masala.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Pakistan
Lahori Chicken KarahiChicken flash-cooked in a wok-like karahi with tomatoes, ginger, and black pepper, no onions, no shortcuts.
Halwa PuriA festive Lahori breakfast of puffed fried puri, sweet semolina halwa, and spiced chickpeas.
Chapli KababFlat, spiced minced-beef patties studded with tomato and pomegranate, shallow-fried crisp, a Khyber specialty.
Browse all Pakistan recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Whisk.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Pakistan meal
Lahori Sweet LassiDrink
KheerDessert
Similar dishes from around the world
LocroArgentina
Milanesa NapolitanaArgentina
Jarret de Boeuf au Gombo (Beef and Okra Stew)Chad
ZigniEritrea
Karjalanpaisti (Karelian Hot Pot)Finland
Irish StewIreland
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Nihari?
A dawn stew of beef shank and marrow slow-cooked in a dozen spices until the gravy turns silky, brightened with ginger, chilli and lemon.
Where does Nihari come from?
Nihari is a Pakistani dish from Lahore (Punjab), Pakistan.
Can Nihari be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Nihari recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Nihari safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Nihari take to make?
About 270 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 240 minutes cooking), serving 6.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.