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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.