Comments on: Haji Noora ki Nihari

By: Silky

Silky — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 21:38:23 +0000

This blog and Glassbead’s comments have stirred an emotion in me that I haven’t felt since my college days. Good job my man!! Now, how the **** am I going to get to Delhi, how will I ever make it to whatever location this place is in, how will find this place…lots of quetions. Maybe I will settle for Sabri in Chicago for now. Surely it isn’t worth flying there from Chicago only for this, is it? NO!!! What am I thinking.

By: Ajeet

Ajeet — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 17:09:46 +0000

Beef is always a matter of speculation across delhi.I was wondering why everyone is so intrigued with cow meat when buffalo is being served over here and that is it…We cant expect more than that

By: vivek_gourmet

vivek_gourmet — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:53:23 +0000

After reading about Haji Noora ki Nihari I couldn’t wait to go there.
So, I called 3 of my college friends (jiit college,noida) and we went till tis hazari metro station by car and took a metro to pul bangash metro. From there we took a rickshaw ride to bada hindu rao police station and then walked about half a km to reach a hidden shop which i guess had no name on it but people said it’s the famous Haji noorah ki nihari.

The SHOP: well guys, honestly speaking this was the most downmarket shop I have ever been to. We had to sit on floor and the other customers were drivers or labourers (no offence intended). They were shocked to know that we came from Noida to visit this shop.

The FOOD: anyways, the 4 of us ordered 4 niharis and 2 nalis. The moment I had that nihari, I forgot how the shop looked or how much I had to travel for this, all I remembered at that point of time was the khameeri roti with a spicy nihari melting in my mouth with a taste that was PERFECT .

The COST: Rs 208 only for 4 persons

VERDICT:

Against : Ambience, it’s buffalo meat(i have confirmed it from the sellers),may be too oily for some people (like one of my friends who hated it).

For: Taste and a real nihari experience, Price(does it matter!!!)

By: javed

javed — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:40:31 +0000

best in delhi Haji Noora ki Nihari when you try with nalli it gives u different taste
i hope u guys like it. so wake up early mrng.go and try .

By: Hemanshu Kumar

Hemanshu Kumar — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:25:53 +0000

Muneeb, unfortunately good niharis are very much a rare treat in Delhi as well. It’s only available at Muslim places, and that too just a few of them. On top of that, buff nihari, which I consider superior to mutton nihari, is only available at downmarket places. Haji Noora’s, Kallu and others mentioned on this site are not places where people take their families. It would be safe to say that most of the customers are labourers and some locals who pack it for home.

By: Muneeb

Muneeb — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:03:21 +0000

n here i was thinking that the culture of nihari was dying it is indeed in pakistan because the food prices are reaching new hights people have lost the sense of taste either they want bland or too spicey
belonging to an orignal nihari family even my mother cant cook it that well nowdays a good nihari is rare treat in karachi because the shops have highly fluctuating standards

By: April

April — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:32:57 +0000

Hi Hemanshu, I’m a writer from Malaysia & have written an article on Haji Noora for MSN Malaysia’s soon-to-be-launched travel section. I was inspired by your article & hence, my decision to include it as one of the restaurants to visit when in Delhi. Because photoseof this eatery is hard to come by on the internet (& I presume even harder to request from the owners), I would like to request to use your photos here with your permission. I will be sure to credit you/EOiD accordingly. Would appreciate if you could respond to me via email me. I would be more than happy to explain further & answer any of your queries. Thank you & I look forward to hearing from you very soon!

By: Glassbead

Glassbead — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 22:19:02 +0000

Pamela – Would be a pleasure to join you all. Am on the blog’s mailing list and will keep a watch for next outing.

By: pamela

pamela — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 07:45:34 +0000

Glassbead – that is a fantastic contribution to the nihari cause – hope you’ll join us when we go and check them out!

By: Glassbead

Glassbead — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 00:09:27 +0000

For years, having felt like an ‘odd man out’ (if not a straight criminal or an alien) among my circle of family, friends and acquaintances, for having a strong liking for Nahri, it’s a pleasure to have stumbled upon this blog. Heartening to see so many people here, appreciating and actively talking of nahri. As a token of my gratitude, am sharing a list (with some comments) of famous nahri places in Delhi that I and friends have discovered over years.
My sense of gratitude to you all comes from the fact that I have had to listen to lot of criticism for this love of mine. To begin with, being from a conservative, middle class, Hindu traders’ family background, eating beef itself has been a source of dislike and silent social disdain. While no one actively engaged in debate with me for expressing my favor for Nahri, am sure internally, they would tick me off as “not of sound character/values.” And mostly the ground for their dislike is not purely religious. It is also the @/:x&^* dilli wannabe nouveau Punjabi mindset that automatically classifies anything economical as lowbrow…not quality stuff, not healthy etc etc. I don’t get same reactions if I talk of eating tenderloin with black pepper sauce at some 5 star.
Sorry for digressing, here’s coming back to Nahri in Delhi. At the risk of raking a controversy and appearing judgmental, I must say that Haji Noora’s Nahri is by far without comparison in Delhi. In my personal opinion he takes the entire set of honors; first, second and third ranks. All others are way way behind. Thank god that am saying this on Net. At a safe distance from other nahri lovers and loyalists. I couldn’t have made such categorical and emphatic statement standing in say, Matial Mahal or Ballimaran. The risk of getting physically assaulted would have been too high. Nahri and physical threat??!! Whats the fricking connection!!! You would know what am saying, if you speak to some old Delhi food lovers and try to probe their opinion on best Nahri maker in Delhi. Strangely, there is very little consensus on the best Nahri maker in Delhi. And for food enthusiasts of old Delhi, it is a matter of great debate. A hot topic giving rise to lot of zeal, fiery tempers, loyalty and emotional fervor. A loyalty and sense of strong opinions comparable to fan clubs of English Premier League teams like ManU and Chelsea!
Apart from the fan club behind each of the Individual nahri brands like Noore, Shabberati, Zafar etc., there is strong sense of rivalry depending on the area from which the nahari is. The broad areas are Baade ki nahri, Matial Mahal ki Nahri, Nizamuddin ki Nahri and Seelampur ki Nahri. Each of the area residents extol their own version of Nahri and consider others as vastly inferior on the taste and quality scale. So move over the debate whether better Chinese comes from Schezuan, Manchuria or Canton regions. We have our own matters to settle. A sample debate among nahri enthusiasts would go somewhat like this :-
“Aman, ab rehne do. Matia mahal ya bade ki nahri bhi koi nahri hai…shabberati bhi koi nahri banata hai! Ek bar kha lo to pet char din kharab rehta hai. Hamare Nizamuddin ki nahri khao to pata lage ke asli maal kya hota hai”.
“Kya sahab, aap bhi…asli hakimi nuskhe ki nahri ab sirf bade mein hi banti hai. Baki sab bakwas hai. Aapke Nizamuddin ki Nahri to aisa lagta hai ki jaise aate se bhari ho. Huh…char masale daal ke meat ubaal dene se nahri koi banti hai. Janab, Arab ke shekh log Noore se nahri mangwa ke kahte hain. Hawai Jahaz se parcel jata hai! Jab bhi unke yahan palty hoti hai to direc phoon aata hai Jeddah se…haan!”
And this can go on, with arguments from history, logic, culinary art, customer base, lineage of the nahri maker etc. thrown in the debate. None of the arguments would ever reach consensus and progressively the debate would become more and more bitter and emotional. End would be parting of ways without any agreement on the topic.
Another point of difference among Nahri lovers is whether nahri should be had in the beginning of the serving cycle, middle or the end. As Nahri is cooked once only in bulk for one complete serving cycle serving a few hundred portions, there is difference in what you get depending on whether you take it immediately on opening of the cauldron or from the later servings. As you approach the end through middle, the dish keeps getting thicker and spicier by degrees thus causing variation in taste and texture. And there is equal number of loyalists for all stages; some for the beginning, some middle and some preferring the bottom of the cauldron. So we have the complete Left Wing, Right Wing and the Moderates. And then you also have splinter groups with opinions on with/without Ghee, with/without Curd or butter etc etc…Dear Gawd! are we talking of humble Nahri or the Middle East conflict…lolz.
So here is the original promise of the piece, the Hall of Fame for Delhi nahri. And thanks for your patience. If you have managed to read the entire rant and reached up to this point you are a more patient soul than I am 
• Haji Noora ki Nahri – talked of extensively on this site.
• Shabberati Ki Nahri – In Chitli Kabar, going from matia Mahal. Its a little ahead of the first intersection. Ask anyone, they all know.
• Kallu Ki Nahri – Article already on this site.
• Hussaini ki Nahri – end of Chitli kabar, Matia Mahal
• Al Madina Nahri – Gali Kasim Jaan (Do visit Ghalib’s Haveli on the way), Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk.
• Al Makka Nahri – A newbie, but quite decent. Much better than the Madina guy who is older and more famous. Gali Kasim Jaan, Ballimaran
• Chashma Building Nahri – Chashma Building, Ballimaran
• Zafar ki Nahri – Zafrabad main road, Seelampur (trans-Yamuna) not worth making a special effort, but do visit if you happen to pass by.
• Hussain ki Nahri – Zafrabad Bazar, Seelampur. Quite nice in my opinion.
• Mounis Kada – Basti Nizamuddin.

Do try as many as possible. There is no one nahri that can be said as best of the lot for everyone. As a Zen master would say, work to find your own god, all other are borrowed gods! You have to work to find your own personal Nahri. You never know which one of them takes you to that ultimate taste that you crave for!!!