Nihari Masala

Name: Nihari Masala (Spice mix)
Yield: Makes 1 cup (160 grams)
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ¼ cup (35 grams) cumin seeds; ¼ cup (35 grams) fennel seeds; 12 to 15 dried red chiles, stemmed; 20 whole cloves; 3 black cardamom pods; 5 green cardamom pods; ¼ cup (50 grams) white poppy seeds; 25 to 30 whole black peppercorns; 1 blade mace; 2 bay leaves; ½ tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg; 2 tablespoons ground ginger; 5 tablespoons ground dalia (roasted chana dal); 4 or 5 (1-inch/2½-cm) cinnamon sticks

Spice mix

Preparation info

Makes
1 cup

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

How to Cook Indian

By Sanjeev Kapoor

Published 2011

About

This mix is used specifically to make a dish called nalli nihari.

Ingredients

¼ cup (35 grams) cumin seeds
¼ cup (35

Asia
India
Spice Mix
Spicy
Vegan
Gluten-free

Method

Place a nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Add the cumin, fennel, chiles, cloves, green and black cardamom, peppercorns, poppy seeds, bay leaves, mace, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and dry-roast for 5 minutes or until fragrant.
Add the dalia and dry-roast for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Transfer to a spice grinder and grind