Nihari

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Nihari

Nihari with salad in a Pakistani cuisine
Origin
Place of origin	Pakistan, India
Region or state	Sindh, Punjab Pakistan
Dish details
Course served	Breakfast
Main ingredient(s)	Beef shank (or lamb)

Nihari (Urdu: نہاری) is an extremely popular national dish in Pakistan.^[1] The word Nihar (Urdu: نہار) means morning in Urdu and this dish was usually eaten in the early morning (puritans would indulge in this delicacy before sunrise, right after the Fajr prayers).

Nihari is a curry made from beef shank (rarely lamb) and spices. Originating from Delhi, in modern-day India, it is widely popular in Pakistan and (along with its cousin Siri paya) PunjabPakistan. The Muslims of Delhi brought it to Pakistan. The dish is known for its spiciness and taste. It is originally more of a delicacy with myriad variations on spiciness and texture.^[2]

Nihari originated as a dish of the Muslim upper class society in Delhi. It passed to other classes as Muslim ascendancy and power declined. This was after the waning of Mughal power in the mid to late 18th century when many Muslim families from the Mughal nobility became impoverished.^[3]

Preparation

Nihari is cooked overnight in various vessels, sometimes even buried underground while it cooked, as Shab Deg (cooked overnight) is, which results in extremely tender morsels of meat, including the flavourful bone marrow. It is served with a number of side dishes. The bhaghaar is lightly fried in ghee to reduce the heat of chilis and the tarka is an additional oily chilli to spice up the flavour. Cooked brains and bone marrow are served alongside the stew. The Nihari is garnished according to individual tastes with coriander leaves, fried onions, green chillies, strips of ginger, lemons and sliced white radishes. In addition, garam masala, a blend of powdered spices is sprinkled over the stew. Salt is added to taste. In restaurants many of the garnishings are already added to increase customer turnover.

Traditional Nihari recipes call for 6–8 hours of cooking time, in addition to the preparation of the ingredients. This is much less common today with the use of tenderer cuts of meat (i.e. sirloin) instead of the tougher shank. Traditionally the dish is eaten in the early hours of the morning. Because the stew is so rich, one is supposed to have an extended nap till the afternoon Muslim zohr prayers which occur after midday.

Here is a version of Nihari popular in Hyderabad (India): prepare the broth by boiling water along with goat or beef shanks (sometimes chicken) or vegetables (if you want to make a vegetarian version of it) along with some salt. If you are using mutton paya, then the process takes longer.

Grind onions, shahi zeera (black cumin), cloves and cardamom together. Once the broth is ready, heat oil in a large pan, add the spice paste and let it fry till the raw smell of onion disappears, then add ginger and garlic paste. Fry for a few more minutes, add salt, chili powder and the broth and let it cook over medium heat till all the spices have blended well into the soup. The Nihari is ready. Best enjoyed during winter or when down with a cold and best eaten with bread or Phulka.

Nihari Shops

Famous Nihari shops in Pakistan are located in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad and Multan. The most famous restaurant of Nihari is Muhammadi Nihari House of Lahore and Haji Nihari House Lahore, Muhammadi Nihari house have shops mostly located in Lahore, but now they are expanding it in all over Pakistan and have covered Rawalpindi and will soon cover Islamabad and Azad Kashmir as well. It is also sold on train and bus stops all over Pakistan. In Delhi, most nihari shops are modest affairs. Almost every neighbourhood within old Delhi has its own favorite nihari shop, which it considers far superior to the others. Noor Mohammadi at Muhammad Ali Road, Mumbai and Chinese n Grill at Minara Masjid Lane in Mumbai serve authentic Nihari and both places are quite famous for it.

The city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is home to Delhi Restaurant (Frijjumuraj Road) which is also famous for its Nihari, its branch in Sharjah - Delhi Nahari Restaurant is also known to have one of the best Niharis in the United Arab Emirates.

Bangladesh also has some good Nihari shop in parts of Old Dhaka. Hotel Royal in Old Dhaka (evening shift) is one example of Nihari fare from Dhaka.

Other kinds of the dish

The Hyderabadi version of the Nihari contains lamb bones and tongue. Another version of Nihari, popularised by the spread of quick-cooking spice recipes from brands like Shan and National Foods of Pakistan, uses chicken to make a sort of thick chicken broth.

Nihari with multilayered Kulcha is a famous cuisine of Old Lucknow. It is available at Gole Darwaza, Chowk Area, near the famous shop of Tunde Kababi.

See also

• Siri paya

References

External links

• Nihari Recipe
• Haji Noora ki Nihari
• Nihari Recipe video
• Paya Nihari Recipe - HyderabadPlanet.com
• Nihari Recipe at khanapakana.com

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