Mutton Nalli Nihari
Slow-cooked overnight obsession
Get directions ↗ · 2 min walk from Grand Mercure
Last orders 30 minutes before closing
Dine-in · takeaway · delivery via GrabFood and LINE MAN
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main cut of meat used in this dish?
Lamb shanks with marrow bones, giving the stew its rich texture.
Is this curry highly spicy?
It has a moderate warmth from ground spices rather than fiery chili heat.
What is the best bread to pair with Nihari?
It is most traditionally enjoyed with khameeri roti or soft tandoori naan to soak up the gravy.
Does this contain dairy or nuts?
The base usually relies on slow-cooked onions and spices, but clarified butter(ghee) is used, so it contains dairy.
How long is the meat cooked?
The mutton is slow-cooked for several hours until it falls off the bone effortlessly.
About Mutton Nalli Nihari
Nihari is a slow-cooked stew from the Mughal kitchens of old Delhi, where it was eaten at dawn as a breakfast before the day's heat set in; the name itself derives from the Arabic for morning. Carried through Awadhi and later Mughal-era kitchens, it became known for marrow bones and an extremely long, low simmer rather than for chilli heat. The nalli prefix points to the shank and the marrow at its centre, which is much of the dish's appeal.
At BHARAT it is treated as the patience dish it has always been. Bone-in lamb shanks and marrow-rich bones are simmered on a low flame for several hours, in the region of eight, with whole roasted coriander alongside nutmeg, mace, and cardamom. The whole spices are roasted and ground fresh in-house each day rather than drawn from a packaged mix, and clarified butter (ghee) is used in the base, so the dish does contain dairy. The kitchen keeps it halal-handled with no pork and no alcohol, and the Uttarakhand chef holds the warmth at a moderate, spice-led level rather than a fiery one.
What distinguishes it from the restaurant's quicker mutton gravies is texture and time: six to eight hours of cooking gives a thick, almost silky stew, with shank meat that slips from the bone and marrow soft enough to be eaten directly from the bone or stirred into the gravy. The flavour is deep and aromatic from the whole spices rather than sharp.
It is most traditionally taken with khameeri or soft tandoori naan to soak up the rich gravy, often with a scatter of ginger, green chilli, and lemon on top. Eating it slowly, marrow and all, is part of the dish.
Best ordered fresh — call ahead if you are coming straight after work. Visit BHARAT →
See also: the Main Course - Non Veg menu · best Indian food in Bangkok · halal Indian food in Bangkok · order for delivery.