Crave Bits

Tag: Haleem

  • Savoury indulgence on Eid

    Savoury indulgence on Eid

    Celebration of Id, without haleem on the menu is preposterous! And, this realization dawned upon me, after my acquaintance with a Muslim friend led to the arrival of an invitation for ‘Id ki daawat’ at their place. With no prior information or preparation I felt elated and made my way to their set destination. Having been alien to Islamic customs, however, did not dwindle my enthusiasm rather infuriated it, and after my arrival, when it was time to eat, I was shocked at the array of delicacies laid down on the huge wooden table. All, I had known to expect was many types of kebabs, shorbas, biryani, kormas and basbousas. The table, had taken a plethoric dimension.

    best-ramadan-buffets-2014-part-2_pullman-putrajaya_1malaysia-bazaar-by-the-lake

    My friend however, well aware of my palate-fantasies and curiosities, volunteered to introduce me with all of the savoury dishes, laid down there. What intrigued me the most, was their holy dish, Haleem, which was particularly consumed on this day. After further enquiry, with periodical interventions by the elders of the family to add minute details to the conversation, I comprehended that Haleem is a popular stew made out of wheat, barley, meat( which is usually beef, mutton, but also sometimes chicken) lentils and spices. It is slow cooked for almost seven to eight hours in order to unleash its divine taste and qualities, till, it reaches a paste-like thick aromatic consistency.

    Preparation-Of-Haleem1

    Its origin, however, is said to be lying in an Arabian dish called Harisah, which is an ancient delicacy, dating back to some 10th century or so, interwoven around an interesting history that I seemed to enjoy listening to, while gulping an extra helping of haleem and kebabs.

    So, according to the oldest member of the family, Dada-jaan, the recipe for Harisah was first put down in a book called Kitab Al-Tabikh (Book of recipes) by Abu Muhammad al-Muzaffar ibn Sayyar which is said to be one of world’s oldest surviving Arabic cookbooks, and that this recipe has many similarities with what, in these contemporary times, Middle East boasts as Haleem. It was said that Harisah, the ancestor of haleem was actually invented by the soldiers of the Hyderabad Nizam’s army, to cater to their gastronomic needs. Something similar to the traditional Harisah is said to be still available in a place called Barkas, Hyderabad, however under the name of Haris.Had never anticipated that a food item, would ever have such an illustrious past. The acquired knowledge aggravated my curiosity, and I vouched to myself, that given the opportunity, I would surely venture to try out the ancient dish Harisah. However, that was still just too distant for me then, and so I chose to retort back to unearthing the secret recipe that Dadee-jaan would mostly boast of. Was it my charm, or vexing curiosity that hung around me, I luckily managed to string it out .But after learning its elaborate preparation, I became sceptical of my capabilities and courage to endanger the cooking gas to prepare this dish, which involved seven to eight hours on the flame. Nevertheless, if you are beyond such scepticism and are willing to dedicate your time, energy and resources for this divine delicacy, here’s a little help I could manage.

     

    Haleem Recipe

    haleem

    INGREDIENTS

    • Mutton or Beef- 1 ½ kilograms
    • Wheat grains (crushed and soaked for 1 ½ hour) – ½ kilograms
    • Onions (thinly sliced) – 4 large
    • Gram Lentils (soaked and boiled)- 1 cup
    • Garam masala powder- 1 tsp.
    • Turmeric powder- 1 tsp.
    • Coriander powder – 1 ½ tbsp.
    • Red Chilli powder – 2 tbsp.
    • Garlic paste – 1 tbsp.
    • Ginger paste – 1tbsp.
    • Dalda Banaspati or any clarified butter (ghee) – 1 ½ cup
    • A pinch of soda
    • Salt to taste

    For Seasoning

    • Fresh Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – 1 bunch
    • Fresh Mint leaves (finely chopped) – 1 bunch
    • Sliced Onion (large)- 1
    • Ginger root (medium) – 2 pieces
    • Lemons (cut in quarters) – 4
    • Dalda Banaspati or clarified butter (ghee) – 2 cups
    • Green chillies (seeded and finely chopped) – to taste
    • Garam masala powder – 1 tsp.
    • Cumin seeds (roasted and ground) – 1 tsp.

    METHOD

    • In a pan, heat Banaspati or the clarified butter, and add the meat, garlic, garam masala powder, turmeric ,red chilli powder, , coriander powder and salt. Carefully, smear the meat in these spices and let it cook for some time on medium flame.
    • Take another separate pan, and fill it up with water. Boil the wheat grains in it with a pinch of salt. Keep a check over it, and once the water starts to bubble and the grains become tender and squashy, add a pinch of soda in it and cook for some 15-12 minutes more.
    • As the water gets soaked, drain the excess and, mix the grains with the mead. Keep stirring till all of it is mixed properly.
    • In a food processor, grind the lentils, and by adding a few cups of water, bring it to paste-like consistency.
    • Pour in the lentil paste into the meat and wheat grain mixture, and stir continuously. Position the pan, on a griddle or heavy tava, on low flame and cook some 30 to 40 minutes.
    • Sauté the sliced onions in ghee or clarified butter, and drain the excess oil, with the help of a tissue paper. Once the haleem is cooked, spread the fried onions over it, and sprinkle the garam masala powder, fresh mint and coriander leaves. Garnish it with cumin and ginger. While serving it, sprinkle some more seasoning!

    haleem-competition

    Though I haven’t yet tried making it properly due to certain limitations, I have still been engaged with the consumption of Haleem from time to time, and also had the opportunity to witness an actual haleem competition. On the day of Id, this week, I’m planning to once again indulge in its rich and luscious taste, expecting some more company this time!

     

  • Hyderabadi Haleem recipe

    Hyderabadi Haleem recipe

    Haleem is a dish that is made out of wheat, barley, meat ( Generally made up of mutton ) but sometimes it is made out of chicken along with the lentils and spices.Generally this dish takes too much time for preparation around seven to eight hours, so that it leads to the formation of a very soft paste like substance by blending the flavors of spices, meat, barley and wheat.This dish is very famous around south east and central Asia.The preparation of it varies from region to region and is mostly prepared during the Ramadan season.

    Hyderabadi Haleem
    Hyderabadi Haleem

    History:

                      This delicious South Asian dish is originated from the Arabs during the rule of the Nizams.This is a Arabic dish which is consisting of meat and it is containing pounded wheat as the chief ingredients.From the original dish slight variations are introduced in taking flavors that resulted in the distinct taste from other types of haleem.

    Hyderabad special haleem history
    Hyderabad special haleem history

    Ingredients:

    1) Take one kg of boneless mutton or with bone

    2) Take 200 grams of broken wheat

    3) Take four teaspoons of ginger garlic paste

    4) Take one cup of urad daal

    5) Take one cup of chana daal

    6) Take one teaspoon of red chilli powder

    7) Take half tea spoon of turmeric powder

    8) Take one to half cup of curd

    9) Take two cups of onions that are length wise sliced and make a deep fry so that they change their color to deep brown.

    10) Take two to three cardamom pieces

    11) Take two small cinnamon sticks

    12) Take four cloves

    13) Take one tea spoon of coriander powder

    14) Take one fourth the teaspoon of Garam masala powder

    15) Take one fourth the teaspoon of jeera powder

    16) Take half teaspoon of black pepper corns

    17) Take one teaspoon of ghee

    18) Take half the cup of fresh coriander leaves

    19) Take half the cup of fresh mint leaves

    20) Take four green chillies

    21) Take one finely chopped tomato

    22) Take half the cup of  cashew nuts

    23) Take salt that is sufficient for taste

    24) Take oil that is required

    Ingredients and preparation of Haleem
    Ingredients and preparation of Haleem

    Preparation:

                            This is a dish that looks as if it is a signature of the festive month of Ramadan.This is a very long process of preparation and it takes about seven to eight hours for preparing it.This is a dish mostly available during the month of Ramadan where most of the Muslims do fasting.It is very popular dish especially Hyderabadi Haleem is very famous around the world and it has international demand for this product.This is a dish that is the best for those Muslims to break their fast with absolute delicious taste.Apart from Hyderabad dum biryani this is the most taken food item.There is a lot of hard work involved in the making of this dish.

    Step 1:

    Take a bowl and mix the broken wheat along with urad and chana daal and let this mixture soak in water for at least 4 hours.The water that is taken for soaking this mixture must be double the quantity of dal and wheat mixture.

    Step 2:

    Take a cup of long and thin sliced onions pieces in a cooker and make a deep fry in fortune rice bran oil.Fry them until their color changes to dark brown.While making a fry of onions along with it put cardamom cinnamon and clove pieces also and fry for about two minutes.

    Step 3:

    Now take the mutton pieces and wash them thoroughly.Put them in a cooker and add one fourth tea spoon of turmeric powder, one  tea spoon of red chilli powder and add one cup of water.All of them are stirred continuously until they mix well and close the lid of the cooker.Let the flame be continued until five whistles.

    Step 4:

    After taking it from cooker separate the bones and meat.Now meat separated from bones is placed in a cooker and add one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon coriander powder, one fourth teaspoon of Garam masala and jeera powder.Also add four green chillies, half cup coriander  leaves, mint leaves and the fine chopped tomato pieces.To this add curd and a cup of water and mix all the contents well.The cooker is allowed to cook for 20 minutes on a high flame.

    Step 5:

    While the meat is being cooked take a pan on other side and put the well soaked broken wheat, urad and chana dal mixture in it.To this mixture add two glasses of water and mix well.

    Step 6:

    The bones that are separated at step 4 are taken in a container along with dal, wheat mixture and one fourth teaspoon of turmeric powder.Add salt to it and allow it to cook for about 20 minutes and stir it continuously.

    Step 7:

    After the bones are cooked for twenty minutes it is taken out and the bones are mashed using a wooden churner for at least five minutes.

    Step 8:

    In a container take the meat that is cooked and is added to the dal mixture and turn on the flame and let it be cooked for one hour on a low flame.Continuous stirring should be done for every three minutes for the complete one hour.

    Ste 9:

    After the completion of one hour check whether it is like a thick paste or not.Don’t overcook as the taste and feel will be spoiled and the color becomes brown.So we must turn off the flame when it is golden yellow in color.That’s it tasty spicy Ramadan season special Haleem is ready it can be garnished with fried onions, cashew nuts, coriander and can be served in a serving bowl. 

    Hyderabadi Haleem is ready
    Hyderabadi Haleem is ready