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 Mutton Nihari | |
| Course | Breakfast, lunch, dinner |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Indian subcontinent |
| Region or state | Lucknow,Awadh,Mughal Empire |
| Associatedcuisine | Indian,Pakistani,Bangladeshi[1] |
| Created by | Mughals |
| Invented | 18th century |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Shank cut ofbeef,lamb and mutton,goat meat, orcamel meat, as well aschicken andbone marrow |
| Other information | Served withnaan orrice orRoti |
Nihari (Hindi:निहारी;Bengali:নিহারী;Urdu:نہاری) is astew originating inLucknow, the capital of 18th-centuryAwadh under theMughal Empire in theIndian subcontinent. It consists of slow-cooked meat, mainly ashank cut oflamb and mutton, orgoat meat, as well aschicken andbone marrow. It is flavoured withlong pepper (pippali), a relative ofblack pepper. InPakistan andBangladesh, nihari is often served and consumed withnaan.
The namenihari originates fromArabicnahâr (نهار), meaning "morning";[2][3][4] it was originally eaten bynawabs in theMughal Empire as a breakfast course followingFajr prayer.[2][4]
According to many sources, nihari originated in the royal kitchens ofLucknow,Awadh (modern-dayUttar Pradesh,India), in the late 18th century, during the last throes of theMughal Empire.[3] It was originally meant to be consumed as a heavy, high-energy breakfast dish on an empty stomach by working-class citizens, particularly in colder climates and seasons. However, the dish later gained widespread popularity and eventually became a staple of the royal cuisine of Mughal-eranawabs.[5][6]
Nihari is a traditional dish among theIndian Muslim communities ofLucknow,Delhi, andBhopal. Following thepartition of India in 1947, manyUrdu-speaking Muslims fromnorthern India migrated toKarachi inWest Pakistan andDhaka inEast Pakistan, and established a number of restaurants serving the dish. In Karachi, nihari became a large-scale success[7] and soon spread in prominence and availability acrossPakistan.
In some restaurants, a few kilograms from each day's leftover nihari is added to the next day's pot; this reused portion of the dish is known astaar and is believed to provide a unique flavour. Some nihari outlets inOld Delhi claim to have kept an unbroken cycle oftaar going for more than a century.[8]
Nihari is also used as ahome remedy forfever,rhinorrhea, and thecommon cold.[9]
