Recipe from Anita Jaisinghani
Adapted by Julia Moskin
- Total Time
- About 6 hours, plus cooling and chilling
- Rating
- 4(49)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Nihari, a deeply spiced beef stew from the Indian Muslim tradition, is traditionally simmered overnight, enriched with bones, and served with marrow to make it an extra-filling breakfast. In her book, “Masala: Recipes From India, the Land of Spices” (Ten Speed Press, 2022), the chef Anita Jaisinghani, who grew up in Gujarat and opened Pondicheri in Houston in 2011, adapted the recipe for oxtail. She roasts it until caramelized, then braises it until tender in a mixture thickened by chickpea flour toasted in ghee. Tradition holds that the rich flavors of nihari come from saving a bit of each day’s stew and adding it to the next, like sourdough starter, in “an unbroken string of flavor over decades.” —Julia Moskin
Featured in: How to Make Great Beef Stew? Here’s a World of Wisdom.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 4pounds oxtail
- 3tablespoons plus ¼ cup ghee
- 1tablespoon finely grated garlic
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1medium white onion, halved and sliced
- 3ounces fresh ginger, plus julienned ginger for garnish
- 8 to 10whole cloves, lightly crushed
- 1teaspoon green cardamom seeds, lightly crushed
- ½cup chickpea flour
- 1tablespoon red chile powder, such as deggi mirch or cayenne
- 1tablespoon toasted ground cumin
- 1teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1teaspoon garam masala
- Torn or chopped fresh cilantro and/or mint, for garnish
- Naan plus yogurt seasoned with toasted cumin and salt, for serving (all optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
936 calories; 71 grams fat; 32 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 28 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 59 grams protein; 870 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Step
2
In a large, deep roasting pan, drizzle the oxtail with 1 tablespoon ghee, then sprinkle with the garlic, plus 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon black pepper. Massage the meat until evenly coated and then spread it out in an even layer. Roast for 45 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees.
Step
3
While the oxtail roasts, prepare the onion purée: In a small Dutch oven or pot, heat 2 tablespoons ghee over medium-high. Add the onion slices and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to show a light brown color, about 8 minutes. Lower the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until dark golden brown, soft and considerably reduced in volume, about 30 minutes. (If they appear to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a few tablespoons of water as needed to deglaze the pan.) Set the onion aside to cool for a few minutes, then pulse in a blender until smooth, stirring as needed. Set purée aside. (You should have about ½ cup.)
Step
4
Prepare the ginger purée: Coarsely chop the 3 ounces ginger into ½-inch pieces. (If any of the skin appears tough, slice it off and discard it, but otherwise leave the peel on.) Pour 3 tablespoons water into the blender, then add the chopped ginger. Blend in short intervals, turning the mixture around with a spatula to get all of it, until puréed. (You should have about ⅓ cup.)
Step
5
Wipe out the Dutch oven, then heat the remaining ¼ cup ghee over high heat. Add the cloves, cardamom seeds and chickpea flour and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture darkens and bubbles and a fragrant, nutty aroma emits. Quickly stir in the onion purée, ginger purée, red chile powder, cumin, turmeric and 1 teaspoon salt, then gradually stir in 5 cups water and bring to a boil.
Step
6
After the oxtail has been roasted, pour the mixture over it, seal it tightly with foil and place it back in the oven for 4 to 6 hours. The meat should be falling off the bone.
Step
7
Once the meat is cooked, stir in the garam masala, then let the stew rest on the counter until cooled to the touch. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or overnight before serving. Reheat gently to serve. Garnish with julienned ginger and fresh herbs; serve with naan and seasoned yogurt, if desired.
Ratings
4
out of 5
49
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Cooking Notes
Bill
If you’re supposed to have a half a cup of onions after reducing and cooking them for that long, you definitely need to start with more.
Omaha Cook
no, roast for 45 minutes while doing the other steps, take out and lower temp to 250, add the combined spices/purees/water to the roaster, cover tightly and put back in cooler oven for 4-6 hours
Marcos Morales
Loved this recipe! Mine came out super greasy (maybe the oxtail I had), but I ended up with a jar full of yummy beef fat for cooking other dishes. Definitely worth refrigerating overnight.
sheeba
This is a traditional Pakistani dish but it’s usually made with beef shank instead of oxtail, wheat flour instead of chickpea so it’s perfectly acceptable to substitute those. There are variations in spices as well, try adding a teaspoon of powdered fennel with the other spices, it’s heavenly.
sheeba
This is a traditional Pakistani dish but it’s usually made with beef shank instead of oxtail, wheat flour instead of chickpea so it’s perfectly acceptable to substitute those. There are variations in spices as well, try adding a teaspoon of powdered fennel with the other spices, it’s heavenly.
Jamie
This is a family favorite. We make this overnight. Oven temp at 225, all ingredients in a large lidded Dutch oven. Typical cook is around 12 hours. Absolutely heaven. If you are using the right cuts it will render a lot of fat which can be lifted off after refrigeration. Oxtail is great, so are short ribs, as well as beef shanks which release a ton of marrow during cooking.
Naafeh
Any advice for making this with lamb shanks instead?
Adriana
One of the most satisfying recipes. !Accolades from the whole itslian family. Tasted just like India!
Adriana
Just made this and it was an adventure. Many steps and prep but ultimately the 4plus hours, allows for clean up and the aroma wafting thru the house. Absolutely gorgeous!
Marcos Morales
Loved this recipe! Mine came out super greasy (maybe the oxtail I had), but I ended up with a jar full of yummy beef fat for cooking other dishes. Definitely worth refrigerating overnight.
Margaret
Like Robert, I am confused by temperature and roasting instructions in Steps 2. Do you roast the ox tails at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, then reduce heat to 245 degrees and remove the oxtails to add to sauce you have been preparing, then place the entire dish back in the oven to bake at 245 degrees for 5-6 hours? It makes sense to roast ox tails initially at high temperature and use a low temperature for the 5-6 hours stewing. But 45 minutes to complete steps 3, 4 & 5 is optimistic!
Omaha Cook
Just did it, cut the onions, started them sautéing, cut the garlic, actually pureed the ginger and onions together since ginger wasn't blending well, and when this was ready actually had 2 minutes left on the roasting
Robert
Step 2 is a bit confusing:Do you mean preheat oven to 400°, then lower oven temperature to 250° when you put in the meat, and roast for a total time of 45 minutes?
Audrey
Roast at 400 for 45 minutes, then turn the oven down to 250 and take out the oxtails. Pour the onion mixture over and return to the oven.
Judy Karasik
I roasted the oxtails at 400 for 45 minutes, then lowered the temperature to 250, keeping the oxtails in the oven. After I completed Steps 3, 4, and 5 in a LARGE Dutch Oven, I put the oxtails into the Dutch oven, surrounded them with sauce, and put everything together into the oven at that 250 temperature for 4 - 6 hours.
Omaha Cook
no, roast for 45 minutes while doing the other steps, take out and lower temp to 250, add the combined spices/purees/water to the roaster, cover tightly and put back in cooler oven for 4-6 hours
Chris C
Oxtails yield a lot of fat. Since there's also a half cup of ghee, should the large majority of the solidified fat be removed after refrigeration or it traditionally mixed in after heating?
Judy Karasik
I skimmed off some fat the next morning after refrigerating the pot overnight (I did Steps 3,4,&5 in a large Dutch oven and then transferred the roasted oxtails into that and put everything back into the oven at 250 for 4 - 6 hours) but the oxtails give off a lot of fat while roasting.
Bill
If you’re supposed to have a half a cup of onions after reducing and cooking them for that long, you definitely need to start with more.
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