ニハリ

ニハリ

マトン・ニハリ
Course	朝食、昼食、夕食
Place of origin	インド亜大陸
Region or state	ラクナウ、アワド、ムガル帝国
Associated cuisine	インド料理、パキスタン料理、バングラデシュ料理
Created by	ムガル帝国
Invented	18世紀
Serving temperature	温かく
Main ingredients	すね肉（牛肉、羊肉、ヤギ肉、ラクダ肉）、鶏肉、骨髄
Other information	ナン、米、またはロティと共に供される

Nihari (Hindi: निहारी; Bengali: নিহারী; Urdu: نہاری) is a stew originating in Lucknow, the capital of 18th-century Awadh under the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of slow-cooked meat, mainly a shank cut of beef, lamb and mutton, or goat meat, as well as chicken and bone marrow. It is flavoured with long pepper (pippali), a relative of black pepper. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, nihari is often served and consumed with naan.

Etymology

The name nihari originates from Arabic nahâr (نهار), meaning "morning"; it was originally eaten by nawabs in the Mughal Empire as a breakfast course following Fajr prayer.

History

According to many sources, nihari originated in the royal kitchens of Lucknow, Awadh (modern-day Uttar Pradesh, India), in the late 18th century, during the last throes of the Mughal Empire. 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 a significant amount of popularity and eventually became a staple of the royal cuisine of Mughal-era nawabs.

Popularity

Nihari is a traditional dish among the Indian Muslim communities of Lucknow, Delhi, and Bhopal. Following the partition of India in 1947, many Urdu-speaking Muslims from northern India migrated to Karachi in West Pakistan and Dhaka in East Pakistan, and established a number of restaurants serving the dish. In Karachi, nihari became a large-scale success and soon spread in prominence and availability across Pakistan.

Karachi-style beef nihari in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia – garnished with ginger, coriander leaves, and green chillies

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 as taar and is believed to provide a unique flavour. Some nihari outlets in Old Delhi claim to have kept an unbroken cycle of taar going for more than a century.

Medicinal remedies

Nihari is also used as a home remedy for fever, rhinorrhea, and the common cold.

See also

• Cuisine of the Indian subcontinent
• List of stews