Red Chilli Paste

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There are so many staples in Indian home cooking and a nice red chilli paste is one of them. I have several recipes on my site including a red masala paste and a vindaloo paste, but this is really the most basic of all. All you need are red Kashmiri chillies and boiling hot water. Red Kashmiri chillies are used in many Indian recipes mainly because of it's amazing bright red colour. When these dried chillies are boiled the colour only intensifies. You should be able to find this chilli at Indian grocery stores or speciality stores. If not, substitute any red chilli. The proportions below do not matter as you can boil as many as you need. Kashmiri chillies tend to be quite large and the quantity below yields at least 9 tsps of this lovely bright red delight. Remember to wear gloves and do not run your eyes!

Ingredients
15 dried red Kashmiri chillies
2 cups boiling water

Process
Boil the chillies till the water is reduced by half for about 10 – 15 mins.
Grind the chillies with about 1 –2  tsps of the water
Store in a glass container in the fridge.

Tip: Save the water to use in any other curry

Nihari Beef and Barley Soup

Following close on the heels if the new Nihari recipe, is a quick, delicious and hearty soup. This is made by borrowing some of the ingredients of the Nihari leftovers.

Left over Nihari ingredients.
1/2 cup prepared Nihari(more beef than gravy)
Some of the Nihari bones(optional)
2 tbsps fried onions chopped fine
1/2 tsp sliced chillies chopped fine
2 tsp ginger and garlic julienne chopped fine.

Additional ingredients
2 Beef stock cubes
3 cups of water
1 cup pot Barley soaked overnight and half cooked (I usually half cook and freeze in ziploc bags for quick soups)
1 tsp Dark soya
Salt
Pepper
1 potato cut in small cubes.

Boil the water and dissolve the stock. Add the Barley and let cook for a few mins. Add the Nihari meat and bones if using. Add the chopped fried onions, the chillies and the ginger and garlic. Add the soya, salt and pepper and the potato. Add more water if required and cook for another 5 mins.

Easy to prepare traditional Nihari - Meat shank slow cooked in a spicy gravy

I get bored of the same recipes and since I volunteered to bring Nihari to a pot luck I wanted to try making the Nihari a bit differently. The ingredients are the same but the process using a slow cooker makes this recipe very easy to prepare. Traditionally this would be cooked overnight over a low flame and the women in the households would take turns to watch the pot. In my version using a slow cooker you can achieve the same results and get your beauty sleep too!

5 - 6 pounds Nihari meat( Nihari meat is specially cut Beef shank, large pieces with bone)
2 medium red onions chopped
2 tbsps ghee
3 black cardamoms ( if you can't find this double the star anise)
3 star anise
5 cloves
2 tsps chilly powder
2 tsps turmeric
2 tsps fennel powder
2 tsps garam masala
2 tsps cumin powder
2 tbsps ginger and garlic paste
1/2 cup tomato purée
1 cup water
Juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Oil

Garnishes - as required

Process



Wash the meat and marinate it with the juice of a lemon and ginger and garlic paste.

In a large saute pan heat the 2 tbsps of ghee and saute the whole spices - cardamons, star anise and the cloves

Fry the onions till golden brown

Remove the onions and whole spices and keep aside

Add the Nihari meat and sear till golden brown on both sides. Please note, don't overcrowd your pan, sear the Nihari in batches

Once all the Nihari is seared, add all the powdered spices, the tomato paste and the water

 Add the onions and mix, cover and cook for an hour

Either continue to cook on a slow flame for 6 - 8 hrs adding water as required or add to a slow cooker and cook on low, overnight

When ready to serve add a few tbsps of yogurt and mix

Nihari is typically served with garnishes julienne of garlic and ginger, green chillies, friend onions, lemon &/or lime wedges and coriander.



Note: I tried making my own fried onions - they were really quite fun and way more attractive than the packaged stuff. I sliced 1 large onions, sprinkled it with salt, pepper , chill powder and cornstarch and fried till dark brown in very hot oil. I added more coarse salt at the end of the cooking time.

And don't worry about leftovers .... this goes fast ... but save some for a spin off on a Nihari Beef and Barley soup!