Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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Nihari-Birria Tacos

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When I first made these for TikTok, I basically used my nihari recipe. But I realized that while delicious, it’s just nihari tacos not nihari-birria. So this time around, I tried to combine elements of both which resulted in this amazing hybrid of a taco.

This recipe is a bit involved and so I’ll divide it into five components.

  1. Pressure-cooking the meat: The first part of this recipe is like nihari – I pressure cook the meat in spices and ginger-garlic paste. You can use an instant pot or a traditional pressure cooker.

2. Shredding the meat: After the lamb is cooked down and tender, I separate it from the broth and gently shred it with a fork.  

3. Searing the shredded meat: Since I didn’t sear the meat at the beginning, I actually add it to some sauteed onions and allow it to get slightly crispy and charred with some added nihari masala. This step is important to add extra flavor to these tacos!

4. Consome: I add blended up dried chilies and tomatoes (soaked in hot water) to the left-over broth from earlier.

5. Taco assembly: This is straight-forward; I dip my tortillas in that lovely broth and add the meat and lots of cheese and onion. I cook it the tacos in a cast-iron skillet.

You’ve got the spices of nihari but the dried chilies and taco-component of birria making these truly a fusion taco!

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Nihari Birria Tacos

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs boneless lamb chunks (may also use beef)
  • 1.5 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1.5 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 Tbsp whole spices** (cloves, peppercorns, cardamom, bay leaf, mace, cinnamon etc)
  • 2 cups water
  • 3-4 Tbsp butter/oil
  • 1 large onion (diced)
  • 2 tsp nihari masala (store-bought or homemade)
  • 2 tsp fennel powder

Consome

  • 3 tomatoes
  • 5-6 dried chilies (remove seeds; I used chile de arbol)
  • 1 tsp nihari masala
  • 2 cups remaining birria broth/water

Taco Assembly

  • 20 tortillas
  • 8 oz cheese of your choice
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • cilantro
  • lime wedges

Instructions

Pressure-Cooking the Meat

  1. Combine the salt, turmeric, chili powder, and ginger-garlic paste with the lamb chunks.

  2. Take your whole spices (feel free to use whatever you have on hand. I used 1 cinnamon stick, 1 mace, 3 cardamoms, a couple of black peppercorns and cumin seeds) and tie it in some cheesecloth in the form of a little pouch. If you don't have cheese cloth, then make sure to strain everything at a later step. I'm sure no one wants to bite into an elaichi while eating a taco!

  3. Add the lamb and the pouch of whole spices along with the water in a pressure cooker or the instant pot. (You may also slow cook this in a pot over several hours).

  4. Put the lid on the pressure cooker and cook for about 6-10 whistles. In the insant pot it might take about 40-60 minutes depending on the cut of your meat and how big your chunks are. The meat should be tender and juicy once done. (Note – always wait for the pressure cooker to cool before opening it. I learned this the hard way a long time ago. Just look at my burned hand.)

  5. Once the meat is cooked, remove the meat from the broth. If you didn't use a cheese cloth for the whole spices, make sure to strain the broth.

Broth (Consome)

  1. Take the tomatoes and dried chilies and soak them in some hot water for about 10 minutes or until the chilies have softened. Make sure to de-seed the dried chilies before adding them!

  2. In a blender, blend together the tomatoes and dried chilies until smooth.

  3. Add the tomatoes and chilies mix to the broth we pressure-cooked the meat in. Add some water if needed.

  4. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Feel free to add some lime juice and nihari masala.

Searing the Meat

  1. In a pan, add your butter and sautee your diced onion.

  2. Once the onions begin to brown, add in the shredded nihari-birria meat. Allow the meat to develop some color and get slightly crispy.

  3. Add in your nihari masala, fennel powder, and taste and adjust for seasonings.

Taco Assembly

  1. Dip the tortillas in the consome broth. Cook it in a hot pan.

  2. Add your birria-nihari meat, cheese, onions, cilantro. Fold over on its side.

Instant Pot Veggie Pulao

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I always get people in my comments section on Tik Tok asking for instant pot recipes, so here is one that is simple and great for the weeknight.

For this veggie pulao I use a 1 ½ cups of water for 1 ¼ cups of rice. I know that if you do a quick google search you’ll find that different blogs claim different water: rice ratios, but this is what worked for me for this particular recipe. Keep in mind I also added two tablespoons of water to de-glaze the pot (as listed below!).

One thing that almost turned me away from using the instant pot is the dreadful “burn-error”. I researched for some tips to avoid it and one thing that works is just really making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom and to remove the insert and allow it to cool for a few minutes.

This recipe is incredibly versatile. For the veggies I used onions, potatoes, carrots, serranos, green beans, and peas but feel free to use whatever you have on hand; you can certainly use a bag of mixed frozen vegetable if you are in a hurry.

This Veggie Pulao is not only a hearty and comfort-food dinner but also great to pack for lunch!

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Instant Pot Veggie Pulao

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 3 Tbsp yogurt
  • 2 tsp achaar (optional)
  • 1 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 1/4 cup rice
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 2 Tbsp water (for de-glazing pot)
  • 3-4 mint leaves (optional)
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt

Whole Spices

  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 clove

Powdered Spices

  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp fennel

Vegetables

  • 1 c onion (about 2 small onions)
  • 1 c potato (about 1 medium-sized potato)
  • 1 c carrot
  • 1/4 c peas
  • 1/2 c green beans

Instructions

  1. Slice your onions and dice the potatoes and carrots. Set aside.

  2. Press the sautee setting on the instant pot. Set it for about 10 minutes.

  3. Add in you butter and oil. Once the butter melts, add all your whole spices. Stir for a minute or two.

  4. Now sautee the onions. Once they begin to brown, add the ginger-garlic paste. Stir for a few minutes.

  5. Now add your yogurt. Stir.

  6. Add the remaining veggies and powdered spices. Cook for a minute or two or until fragrant. Feel free to add in a little bit of achaar if you like your pulao spicy.

  7. Now turn off the sautee setting. Add a tablespoon or two of water to de-glaze the pot. Make sure nothing sticks to the bottom or else you will get a burn error when you go cook your rice. I like to remove the insert from the instant pot and just let it cool for a few minutes.

  8. Wash your basmati rice really well. Drain any excess water and add it to your instant pot along with the water and salt.

  9. Pop the lid on and cook on high pressure for about 14 minutes. Once down. Release the pressure.

  10. Serve with raita.

Butter Shrimp Curry

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I know how much you all love Butter Chicken and Butter Paneer, so I’m sure you’ll also enjoy this Butter Shrimp recipe.

Butter Shrimp also known as Jinghe Makhani is a great weeknight shrimp curry (literally took me 30 minutes to make and that’s including washing the dishes) with a creamy and nutty gravy.

My version is pretty standard – for the gravy I sautee onions, ginger-garlic paste, spices, cashews, and tomatoes in butter which is all grinded into a fine consistency and turns creamy  and rich with the addition of heavy cream. Except instead of heavy cream I substitute half and half (it’s a little lighter on the calories) and add a good amount of crushed kasuri methi at the end.

Serve with some basmati rice or naan. Simple, straightforward, and delicious!

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Butter Shrimp Curry

Ingredients

  • 6 Tbsp butter (divided)
  • 1 lb shrimp (peeled and deveined)
  • 1 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste (divided)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cups sliced onion
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup cashews
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 3/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1.5 tsp cumin powder
  • 1.5 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp tandoori masala
  • 1/2 tsp fennel powder
  • 1 cup half and half or heavy cream
  • 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 2 tsp kasuri methi
  • lemon juice (to taste)

Instructions

  1. Begin by melting two tablespoons of butter in a pan. Add your shrimp (peeled and deveined) and 1/2 tsp of the ginger-garlic paste. Cook until the shrimp is pink. This should only take about a minute or so.

  2. Remove the shrimp from the pan and in the same pan add the remaining butter.

  3. Sautee your sliced onions. Once they start turning brown, add in the remaining ginger-garlic paste and the tomato paste. Cook for a few minutes. The tomato paste should begin to break down and caramelize.

  4. Now add in your salt and spices. Cook for a minute or so.

  5. Now add in your cashews and allow them to turn lightly brown (if they are not already roasted). Add in your roughly chopped tomatoes. Stir and set aside.

  6. Now we're going to take the gravy we just made and blend it into a smooth paste. Use either a blender or chopper and add it to your machine once it has cooled down.

  7. Now take your smooth gravy and pour it back into the pan on low heat. Stir in your half and half and then the shrimp we cooked earlier.

  8. Lastly, stir in some crushed kasuri methi and a few squeezes of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Taste and adjust for seasonings.

  9. Serve with basmati rice or naan.