nihari

N1I1H4A1R1I1

noun

A South Asian stew of slow-cooked beef or lamb with bone marrow.

Scrabble 9

Meanings

nounnihari (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA South Asian stew of slow-cooked beef or lamb with bone marrow.

    Today we’re having slow-cooked lamb nihari, sag aloo, lentil dal, pilau rice, green salad and seekh kebab.

    2015 July 6, Helen Pidd, “Working lunches around the world: what's in your lunchbox?”, in The Guardian

Origin

  1. Arabicنهار“daytime, day”
  2. Classical Persianنهاری“breakfast”
  3. Urduنَہَارِی
  4. Hindiनिहारी
  5. Hindustani
  6. Englishnihari

Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi निहारी (nihārī), नहारी (nahārī) / Urdu نَہَارِی (nahārī)), from Classical Persian نهاری (nahārī, “breakfast”), from Arabic نهار (nahār, “daytime, day”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nihari. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nihari

MLA

“nihari.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nihari. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nihari,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nihari.

Source: nihari on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.