Haleem

 

If the origin of Haleem is traced, it is found to be an Arabian dish. Hyderabadis owe their love for this festive delicacy to the Arabians who introduced it when the Nizams were in power. Mehbub Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam of the then Hyderabad Princely State, added the Arabian dish to the royal menu. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam, made Haleem a part of the traditional Hyderabadi cuisine. Then, Saif Nawaz Jung Bahadur, an Arab chief from Yemen and a courtier in the regime of Mir Osman Ali Khan, popularized Haleem as an authentic flavor of the city. Then it evolved into a taste of Hyderabad with a blend of local spices and ingredients, which is different from the Arabian recipe.

Originally an Arabic dish, made with meat, ghee, wheat, rice and whole pulses, it is said to have come to Hyderabad during the Mughal period via Iran and Afghanistan. Then it evolved and became an inalienable part of Hyderabadi cuisine. An upgrade with a blend of local spices and ingredients it is different from the original Arabian dish and is called Hyderabadi Haleem.

 Hyderabadi Haleem is a great hit with the taste buds of not only the Muslim populace of the city but also the people of other communities. A high-calorific and nutritive dish, Haleem is the most common thread of harmony among several different communities in the social fabric of Hyderabad.

My husband had his first bowl of Haleem in his Pakistani friend's home and he loved it. Since then, whenever they cook Haleem, they send a bowl for him. But I wanted to try (cooking) this slow cooked iconic dish of Hyderabad and thus all this ado!

 

Ingredients: 

1. Broken wheat-1/ cup (I used cracked wheat Dalia)
2. Moong dal- 2 tbsp.
3.  Chana Dal-1 tbsp.
4. Lal Masoor Dal-1 tbsp.
5. Barley-4 tbsp. (You can use oats too)
6. Almond and cashew-8-8 (Optional)
7. Dhuli udad Dal-2 tbsp.
8. Mutton or chicken-1kg. Big piecewith bones
9.  Curd-200 gm.
10.  Salt - 2 teaspoon  
    
11.  Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
12.  Red chili powder - 2  teaspoon
13.   Black pepper powder - 1 teaspoon
14.  Ginger garlic paste - 4 tablespoon
15.   Garam masala (cloves, cardamom.cinnamon and black cumin only hyderabadi garam masala) - 1 teaspoon
16.   Lemon - 1/2 (Point 8-16 Marination stuff)
17. Clarified butter or ghee - 200 ml     
    
18.  Caraway seeds - 1 teaspoon
19.  Cardamom - 6
20. Kabobchini or all spice - 1/2 teaspoon
21.   Black peppercorn - 1/2 teaspoon
22.  Cloves - 6
23.   Cinnamon stick - 2
24.  Onion - 2 big 
25.  Coriander and mint leaves
26.  Green chilies - 5
27.  Salt as required....... AT LAST
28.   Fried onions - 2 to 3
29.   Clarified butter or ghee - 2 tablespoon 
30.  Spice powder - 1/2 teaspoon
31.   Black pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon 
32.  Mint and coriander leaves
33. Ginger julienne
    

 

 Method:

• Wash and soak all the grains, chopped almond-cashew for 8 hours.
• Marinate mutton for at least one hour with all the ingredients mentioned from point 8-16.
• In a wide mouth pateela, put 1-1 1/2 liter of water and add soaked dals grains and cook on high heat till boiling, then lower the flame and cook till water is absorbed and mixture gets dry, keep stirring . 
• While grains are cooking, heat a pressure cooker and add 200 gm ghee and then add black cumin, kabobchini, cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom, 1/2 tsp. whole black pepper.
• Saute for 15 sec and then add 2 thinly sliced onion and fry till slightly light brown.
• Add marinated mutton and on high flame fry for 5-8 minutes.
• Now add dhaniya-pudina patta 1 cup and slit green chili 6.
• Now add 2-3 glass water.
• On high flame, cook till one whistle and after that on low flame cook for 1-1 & 1/2 hour so that bone leaves the flesh.
• Now make a coarse paste of cooked dal-daliya in a mixer jar or you can do this by hand blender.
• When meat is overcooked, transfer into a large pot and take out meat pieces in a plate.
• The ghee in mutton should be taken out approx. 5-6 tbsp. in a separate bowl to use later.
• Remove bones and put back mutton pieces in the large pot and use hand blender or a mathani to mash this thoroughly .
•  After mashing it , add dal daliya, half tsp. black pepper powder, half tsp. garam masala powder, coriander-mint leaves, 1-2 tsp. ghee, a little fried onion, and mix and mash again on low flame for 20 minutes.
• Garnish with fried onion, lime wedge, ginger julienne, Serano slices, mint cilantro and fried cashew(Optional).
  

This haleem I made with chicken and it turned out fantastic.

My recipe link----

Haleem