Oxtail Nihari (Braised Oxtail Stew)

Recipe Created by Omar Mamoon

Feeds 3-4

Total Time: 2.5-3 hours

One of my favorite dishes in the world is nihari—it’s a spicy, rich, rib-sticking stew from Pakistan. The dish is traditionally made with beef shank slowly braised until tender and eaten with naan. I grew up devouring the stuff—my older sister married a Pakistani guy when I was maybe six and has been making it for him (and the family) for as long as I can remember.

She gave me her recipe, which to my surprise uses the popular Shan boxed spice mix. When I found out she wasn’t toasting and grinding cumin and coriander herself, the food snob in me was going to give her a hard time and claim using a packaged product is cheating. But when you’re taking care of and feeding two kids (my nephews), one hungry husband (my aforementioned brother-in-law), and two rapidly aging, constantly bickering senior citizens (my parents), you get a pass.

Here’s my riff on her recipe below, which substitutes oxtail instead of beef shank (a nice change up), and incorporates a few other fun cheff-y techniques I’ve picked up over the years like dry-brining aka salting the meat in advance as well as finishing the stew with a tadka (aka tempering). Eat with warm fluffy naan, preferably sourced from your favorite local Pakistani restaurant.

Ingredients

For the braise:

• 3 lbs Flannery Beef Oxtail
• 1 Packet Shan Nihari Mix, separated (reserve 1 tsp for slurry, and 1 tsp for optional tadka below)
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely sliced
• 1/2 cup neutral oil (e.g., canola, grapeseed)
• 1 Tbsp ginger, pureed
• 1 Tbsp garlic, pureed
• 5 cups or more hot water

For the slurry:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon Shan Nihari Mix  

For the tadka (optional):

• 1/2 cup ghee or oil
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced
• 1 tsp Shan Nihari mix

For the garnish:

• Julienned ginger
• Sliced serranos or jalapeños
• Chopped cilantro
• Fresh lime or lemon juice

Instructions

Pre-Season (Optional):

The day before you plan to eat, pat oxtails dry with a paper towel, then liberally season with kosher salt on all sides (about 3T). Place on a wire rack over set over a plate and let sit in the fridge uncovered overnight. This step is optional but highly recommended, as it helps aid in browning, which develops and deepens flavor.

Braise:

1. Brown the oxtails in a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot with heated oil. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your pot, but the goal is to achieve a nice golden-brown sear on all sides.
2. Remove and reserve the seared oxtails and set aside. In the same pot, add the sliced yellow onion and cook until translucent and soft, but not fried and brown. You’ll have to regulate the heat and stir often; this should take about ten minutes.
3. Once onions surrender themselves, stir in the garlic and ginger paste on low heat. Stir to incorporate and cook with the onions—about 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn and brown—low and slow is the way. Exercise some patience here lest you want a bitter braise.
4. Add reserved oxtails and thoroughly mix with the sweated onions.
5. In a separate small bowl, add the packet of Nihari Mix (be sure to save 1 tsp if you’re making the optional tadka below), along with ½ cup of water and 2 Tbsp of yogurt (optional). Mix thoroughly then add to the oxtails and mix.
6. Add enough HOT water to cover (in my Le Creuset, it took 5 C),  bring to a boil, cover, then simmer on low. Cook until tender but not quite fall off the bone (about 2.5-3 hours), stirring often. If water gets too low, add more hot water, a few cups at a time.

Slurry:

Mix together flour + 1 tsp reserved spice mix and slowly add to 1/2 c of water, while being careful of clumping. Then drizzle into the braise while mixing to incorporate. Let simmer for 15 minutes then turn off the heat.

Tadka (optional):

Heat up ghee (preferably homemade) or oil, add 1 tsp of Nihari spice mix, let bloom, then add red onion and fry until golden brown and crispy being careful not to burn. This takes a watchful eye and a decently long time (at least 15 minutes), but the results are well worth it. You’ll have more than you’ll need for the recipe—drizzle 2 Tbsp into the nihari after the slurry step above and let sit covered off heat for 10 minutes then go to town.

To Serve:

Equally divide oxtails into four bowls and cover with the gravy. Top with the garnishes—chopped cilantro, julienned ginger, sliced serranos, and a squeeze of lime to taste. Eat with naan, preferably purchased from your favorite local Indian-Pakistani spot—mine is Pakwan Restaurant on 16th Street in San Francisco.