Haleem

Haleem is one of them most important dishes of Middle East, Pakistani and India. Also one of the must to prepared dish for Ramadhan, it also most sold over the streets around the month of Ramadhan.

Haleem is slow cooking dishes which takes almost 4 to 5 hrs to prepare. It is prepared with wheat, barley, meat (chicken, mutton/lamb or beef), lentils and few spices.

It’s been very easy and simple to cook but only the times consumption in cooking process in very large. But I took just 2 to 3 hrs in the preparation of this Haleem

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Soaking Time: 4 to 5 hrs

Cooking Time: 2 to 3 hrs

1 cup – 160 ml

Serves – 6 nos

Ingredients:

• Meat (mutton/lamb) – 1 kg
• Onions – 3 nos
• Channa Dal / Split Black gram – ½ cup
• Urad Dal (white) / White Lentil – ½ cup
• Moong Dal / Green Lentil – ½ cup
• Barley – ½ cup
• Wheat Berries / Wheat / Kothumai – ½ cup
• Garlic – 6 cloves
• Ginger – 2” inch piece
• Chilli powder – 1 ¼ tsp
• Coriander powder – 4 tsp
• Cumin powder – 3 tsp
• Methi / Fenugreek powder – ½ tsp
• Garam Masala – 4 tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Ghee/Clarified butter – 2 tbsp
• Oil – 1 cup
• Coriander leaves – 3 stalks
• Lemon – 1 no
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Soak all the lentils/dal and barley together for almost 4 hrs. Soak the wheat berries individually in a bowl for almost 4 hrs.
• Roughly chop the mutton into pieces, wash the mutton pieces, drain the water and keep it aside.
• Peel and thinly slice the onions, keep it aside. Peel and chop the garlic and ginger, crush them and keep it aside.
• Boil the wheat berries with large amount of water, it takes almost 1 hr for boiling. Stir once in a while when it starts comes to the mashing consistency.
• Meanwhile heat ghee/clarified butter in a pressure-cooker, add in the crushed ginger-garlic and saute them until the raw smell goes off.
• Add in the mutton/lamb pieces and cook both sides for almost 10 mins or until they turn white in color.
• Add in the soaked dal/lentils with 5 cups of water, bring it to boil and pressure-cook for 7 to 8 whistles.
• Heat oil in a kadai, add in the sliced onions little by little and fry them until they turn brown in color. Drain the oil and transfer the onions to a plate. Keep it aside.
• Remove the lid of the pressure-cooker, when the pressure subsides.
• Remove the bones from the mutton pieces (it should be pressure-cooked as the meat should fall from the bones, else pour in water little more water and pressure-cook again for 2 to 3 whistles).
• Pour in the boiled wheat berries (it should be mashed well), give a stir.
• Add in the spice powders (chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, fenugreek powder, garam masala), half the quantity of the browned onions and salt, pour in 2 cups of water and mix them well.
• Cook in low flame for 30 to 40mins.
• Mash the meat with a wooden spoon while stirring the gravy once in a while.
• Cook until the gravy thickens and the ghee/clarified butter starts floating on the top.

Garnish with the brown onions, finely chopped coriander leaves and sliced green chillies. Serve hot. Goes out well with any Indian Flat breads. I have served it with Naan and Ghee Rice.

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Author's original blog: www.madraasi.com and for step by step pictorial recipe click here.