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Nihari, haleem & slow-cooked

Chicken Nihari Recipe

چکن نہاری بنانے کا طریقہ

Chicken nihari in under two hours: bone-in chicken in a fennel-and-cardamom nihari masala, with a thick, glossy shorba and a fried-onion tarka.
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Illustration of Chicken Nihari

Prep

15 min

Cook

1 hr 20 min

Total

1 hr 35 min

Serves

5

Difficulty

Easy

Spice

Medium hot

Chicken nihari is the weekday answer to the all-night beef version. It uses the same freshly ground masala and the same flour-thickened shorba, but bone-in chicken is tender in about 40 minutes. Use leg and thigh pieces with bone; they give the shorba body and stay juicy through the simmer.

Ingredients

5 servings

For 5 servings

Measures

Nihari masala (grind together)

To thicken

Tarka

To serve

Method

  1. Dry-roast the nihari masala spices on low heat until fragrant, cool and grind to a fine powder.

    ⏱ 4 min

  2. Heat the oil in a heavy pot on medium heat and fry the ginger-garlic paste for a minute. Add the chicken and fry until it turns white all over.

    ⏱ 6 min

  3. Add the salt, red chilli, Kashmiri chilli, turmeric and two-thirds of the ground masala with a splash of water. Bhuno until the oil starts to show at the edges.

    ⏱ 5 min

  4. Add the 5 cups of water, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat until the chicken is very tender.

    ⏱ 40 min

  5. Whisk the atta into 1 cup of water until smooth and strain it. Pour it into the pot in a thin stream while stirring, add the rest of the masala, and simmer uncovered on low heat, stirring often, until thick and glossy.

    ⏱ 20 min

  6. For the tarka, fry the sliced onion in the oil until deep golden and pour it over the nihari.

    ⏱ 7 min

  7. Serve in bowls topped with ginger, green chillies, coriander and a squeeze of lemon.

Tips for the best result

  • Avoid breast meat on the bone; it dries out before the shorba is ready. If you only have breast, add it 15 minutes later.
  • Toasting the atta in a dry pan until it smells nutty before mixing it with water gives a deeper colour and flavour.

Common mistakes

  • Adding all the masala at the start. Holding a third back for the end keeps the aroma fresh.
  • Leaving it to sit without stirring once the flour goes in. It catches on the bottom quickly.

How to serve

Serve hot with naan or khameeri roti, and the garnishes on the side.

Storing and reheating

Keeps 2 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer. Loosen with hot water when reheating.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories
670kcal
Protein
39g
Fat
51g
Carbs
15g
Fibre
3.4g
Sodium
840mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 145

Whole dish ≈ Rs 720 · 88% of ingredients by weight priced

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Chicken Nihari: questions people ask

Can I use boneless chicken for nihari?

You can, but simmer it only 20 minutes before thickening, and the shorba will be thinner in flavour. Bone-in pieces are much better.

Can I use packet nihari masala?

Yes, use about 2 tbsp in place of the home-ground masala and cut the salt and chilli, since packet mixes already contain both.

Serve it with, and similar recipes

All slow-cooked recipes

Read this recipe in Urdu: چکن نہاری بنانے کا طریقہ

https://handi.danixsoft.com/recipes/chicken-nihari · Handi, DanixSoft