Quick and Easy Pressure Cooker Nihari (One Pot Beef Stew)

This Eid ul Fitr, make a hearty and easy one pot beef (or mutton) stew to wow your Eid guests! Nihari usually takes half a day to make but with my quick and easy pressure cooker Nihari recipe, you will have it ready in less than TWO hours! My nihari masala is versatile and a keeper. A sublime mix of spices with fall off the bone meat pieces in a flavourful broth, you will get rave reviews and will likely get requests to make this EVERY eid! Eid Mubarak! 

Watch how to make my quick and easy pressure cooker nihari video at the end of post for all recipe steps! 

Winter is coming. Down under in sunny Sydney, Australia, winter is fast approaching. You Europeans and North Americans may scoff at us (and rightly so) for our paltry winter, but hey 2-3 degrees Celsius (35-40 Fahrenheit) early morning IS chilly! We may not have snow (unless you’re at Snowy Mountains), but we do often have gale winds that chill you to the bone.

I love Sydney winters! I like it chilly and sunny at the same time. The rainy days aren’t so fun, but the sky clears up within a few days and all is hunky dory again. People are adorned in cosy winter wear and the sophistication of Sydney is amped up (if you’ve ever been to Sydney, thongs [slippers] and singlets are the norm). Outdoor dining is cosier, less people on the streets at night and most importantly, MORE soups for the soul!

I love a hearty, soul-warming soup that makes your toes tingle and your eyes twinkle. Does that happen to anybody else or do I just watch a lot of Disney? Pumpkin and sweet potato soup is one of my favourites. There’s a Moroccan version that I love, and promise to share the recipe one of the upcoming weeks. I also love chicken corn soups you get a little Chinese restaurants – I don’t care if there’s MSG in it or not, my heart says yes please, thank you!

The Indian sub-continent doesn’t really have soups (unless you go to an Asian restaurant), but there are some popular meat broth/stew dishes  that people go crazy over. Nihari is one of them. Nihari stews beef or mutton meat and bones with a spice blend for hours to give you a rich, comforting, spicy, broth-y stew that is best enjoyed with bread like naan. It is delicious any time of the year, more so during winter. This is also a great one pot beef (or mutton) stew to make for guests during Eid!

Like any good stew, Nihari is cooked for hours for flavours to really enhance. I didn’t want to wait that long to dive into my nihari. So I used a pressure cooker. Blend the spices, add meat, spices and water and you have your nihari steaming ready in less than TWO hours! And if you think there is a compromise in taste, I’m happy to inform you that I’ve had RAVE reviews from my friends who tried the Nihari. I made a large batch and had friends over, and they loved it! No one could tell that I spent less than two hours cooking it. So from now on, if you ever crave Nihari, you can have it in no time, as long as you’ve got meat and spices!

                                                                                                                  Serve Nihari with bread and pickles

A few years ago, I watched a Pakistani Nihari recipe video by the Youtube Channel – Delhi-UP-Karachi-Khaane. I don’t know the man’s name but he has some AMAZING and authentic Pakistani recipes. On his video, he used a spice called ‘Long Pepper’ (Peepli in Urdu). I had to go hunt this spice down at the Indian store and was in luck! What a difference this pepper made! This is the secret to a great tasting Nihari! But if you can’t find it, no stress – the Nihari will taste amazing if you use a majority of the spices. This is my adaptation of his recipe. The nihari masala I show you is absolutely flavourful and can be made in a large quantity to store and use whenever you want to make Nihari, or even sprinkled into meat curries.

Also, feel free to halve the ingredients – I was making this for a dinner at my place, so I made a large batch. I got about 10 servings. Without further ado, let’s get into this quick and easy pressure cooker Nihari that you can wow your guests with this Eid ul Fitr! Eid Mubarak!

Do you have a great Nihari version that you love? I’d love to hear about it! And if you try and like this recipe, please leave a comment below to let me know!

5 from 2 votes

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Quick and Easy Pressure Cooker Nihari (Beef or Mutton Stew)

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 20 mins

Total Time

1 hr 35 mins

 

Nihari is a one pot meat stew cooked with a multitude of spices. This version is quick and so flavourful, you'll have rave reviews whenever you make it! 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 206 kcal

Author: Tamara at Foodieverse

Ingredients

• 1 kg (2.2 lbs) beef or mutton pieces with bones
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 1/2 - 3 tbsp nihari masala (recipe below)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
• 6-7 cups water
• 1 black cardamom (optional)
• 2 chillies
• 1/4 cup fried onions
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp flour (dissolved in 1/4 cup water)

Nihari Masala (Nihari Spice Blend)

• 2 whole star anise
• 2 whole long peppers [peepli] (optional if you can't find it)
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 5 whole black peppers
• 5 whole cloves
• 1/2 tbsp cardamom seeds (break open cardamom to extract seeds)
• 1 tsp nigella seeds (kalijeera)
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon sticks (broken)
• 2 strands mace
• coriander for garnish
• ginger julienne for garnish

Instructions

Nihari Masala (Spice Blend)

1. Blend all spices together. If yield is more than 3 tbsp, store remaining in airtight container to add into meat curries or your next batch of nihari.

Nihari

1. Heat pressure cooker and add meat with bone pieces.

2. Add oil, ginger paste, garlic paste and salt.

3. Add all the ground spices and Nihari Masala.

4. Stir to coat meat with all the spices.

5. Add bay leaves, grated nutmeg and black cardamom (if using). Stir.

6. Add water. Use 6 cups if you want your nihari to be thicker, and 7 cups if thinner.

7. Secure pressure cooker lid and cook for one (1) hour on medium heat.

8. Carefully let out air and remove lid. ALWAYS be careful when opening pressure cooker lid, make sure all the air is out! 

9. Add chillies, fried onions, lemon juice and flour dissolved in water.

10. Cook uncovered for another 15 minutes.

11. Serve and garnish with coriander and ginger julienne. 

Nutrition Facts

Quick and Easy Pressure Cooker Nihari (Beef or Mutton Stew)

Amount Per Serving (250 g)

Calories 206 Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 14g 22%

Saturated Fat 1g 5%

Cholesterol 23mg 8%

Sodium 323mg 13%

Potassium 292mg 8%

Total Carbohydrates 4g 1%

Protein 13g 26%

Vitamin A 1.9%

Vitamin C 18%

Calcium 3.8%

Iron 13.5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Watch How to make Quick and Easy Pressure Cooker Nihari video 

You may also like my Moroccan Harira Soup!