Hyderabadi haleem
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Broken wheat, lentils and meat cooked for hours and pounded to a smooth, rich porridge; GI-tagged and eaten across Hyderabad in Ramzan.
Region: Hyderabad, TelanganaOccasion: Ramzan, especially for iftarTime: 4 hours + overnight soakingServes: 6Non-vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 cup broken wheat, soaked overnight
- ¼ cup mixed lentils (chana, masoor, moong and urad), soaked 2 hours
- 750 g boneless mutton
- 1 cup curd
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp turmeric, 2 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tsp garam masala
- 3 onions, sliced and fried golden
- ½ cup ghee
- Mint, coriander, lemon wedges and fried cashews to serve
- Salt to taste
Method
- Cook the mutton with curd, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, chilli, salt and 3 cups water until very tender.
- Separately cook the wheat and lentils in plenty of water until completely soft.
- Shred the meat and add it with its stock to the wheat. Add garam masala and half the fried onions.
- Cook on low heat, beating and mashing with a heavy wooden masher (ghotni) for 45 minutes to an hour, until the mixture becomes smooth and stretchy.
- Stir in the ghee and adjust the salt.
- Serve hot, topped with ghee, fried onions, mint, coriander, cashews and a squeeze of lemon.
History
Haleem is traditionally linked to the Arab dish harees, said to have been brought to Hyderabad by Arab settlers. Hyderabadi haleem received a Geographical Indication tag in 2010.
Significance
During Ramzan, special haleem bhattis (wood-fired cauldrons) are set up across Hyderabad. It is filling and nourishing for breaking the day's fast.