Pakistan

Menu: Karachi beef nihari and garlic naan | Recipe Source: flavorbyfatima.com, teaforturmeric.com, and recipetineats.com | Note: Biggest thank you to Katelyn Hammarlund, naan-kneader extraordinaire.

Thoughts: The homemade naan was the best bread I’ve made so far during this experiment (thank you, Katelyn, for your rolling prowess!) and while the stew took 8 hours to cook, it was worth the long haul. I would absolutely make this one again and am happy to announce that it’s the newest member of the Top 10 Countries club for Cooking Around the World.

Ready to cook?

Beef Nihari: (link and link): I ended up using an amalgam of these two recipes, as well as the recipe on the back of the nihari masala packet. I used the slow cooker cooking steps in the first link but made several changes. First, I used 4 bone-in beef shanks (instead of boneless) and after cutting the meat off the shanks for browning, I reserved the shank bones and boiled them along with 3 pounds of frozen beef knuckle. I boiled, skimmed off the scum, and strained the bones twice before removing about 75% of the marrow and adding them to the crockpot. I also did 8 cups of water and subbed cornstarch for flour during the thickening step, and instead of making the nihari masala mix myself, I ordered a readymade packet and saved some money. I thickened in the final 2 hours of cooking and also added cilantro stems at that point too!

Naan (link): I followed this recipe exactly! The accompanying YouTube video that showed how to fold the naan balls was super helpful.