Haleem — one of the most nutritious, filling, and versatile dishes you can serve on any day, no matter the time or occasion. It’s great at a get-together with friends and family, during Eid festivities, or to serve at a wedding reception. Whatever the occasion, haleem will not let you down. Inspired by the Arabic dish, hareesa, haleem was adapted and evolved in the kitchens of Hyderabad and Lucknow. And you can bet a lot of spices were added to the original to make the version we all know and love.

Haleem is especially popular during the month of Muharram, where this slowly-cooked dish made with wheat, barley, lentils and meat is cooked in many parts of the country.

The preparation of haleem does not require any special ingredients or spices. It relies completely on the aromatic garam masalas blended with the earthy flavor of the seven grains and meat. Haleem is slow-cooked; the finely cracked wheat, meat and pulses are simmered on a low flame for 4 to 5 hours at least before being pounded to get the right texture. The key element is the slow cooking and the extensive use of garnish.

Being away from Pakistan, one craves the delicacies and traditional customs observed back home. My craving and nostalgia led me to make haleem for the first time. So here is my step by step guide for making some great haleem at home. Enjoy :)

Ingredients:

Preparing the grains
  • Cracked Wheat Oats (Daliya) – ¾ to 1 cup
  • Rice – 1 tablespoon
  • Chana Daal – 1 tablespoon
  • Moong Daal – 1 tablespoon
  • Masoor Daal – 1 tablespoon
  • Maash or Urad Daal – 1 tablespoon
  • Toor Daal – 1 tablespoon
Preparing the meat curry
  • Meat (I used Beef, but you can use chicken as well) – 500 gram (good quality boneless beef, cleaned and cut into small pieces. DO NOT remove the excess fat)
  • Onions – 3 (cut into medium sized slices)
  • Ginger Garlic Paste – 2 tablespoons
  • Yogurt – 1 cup
  • Oil – 3 tablespoons
  • Salt – 1 teaspoon
  • Red Chili Powder – 2 teaspoons
  • Cumin – 1 teaspoon
  • All Spice/ Kabab Chini – 1 teaspoon
  • Cinnamon Stick – 1
  • Cloves – 2-3
  • Cardamom – 2-3
  • Green Chilies – 3-4
Tarka and garnish
  • Oil/ Ghee – 4-5 tablespoons
  • Onions – 3 large (fried to a crisp)
  • Mint and Coriander Leaves – as required
  • Lemon Wedges – as required
  • Ginger Julienne – as required
  • Preparation time : 1-2 hours
  • Cooking time : 2-3 hours
  • Number of servings (yield) : 6 individuals

Instructions:

Step 1: Preparing the grains
  1. Soak the oats and all the lentils for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight 34a
  2. In a pan, add the soaked lentils and wheat oats and sauté for a couple of minutes (dry saute or bhoonna, as we'd say back home) 5
  3. Now add 5 to 6 glasses of water in the pan and let it cook until completely tender and mashy 7
  4. Allow it to cool, then grind the mixture and set it aside8
Step 2: Preparing the meat curry
  1. In a pan, heat the oil and add onions. When the onions start changing color, add ginger garlic paste and sauté till golden brown 910
  2. Add the meat and fry it well until it is completely seared. Add all the spices, then saute and let the meat cook. Now add the yogurt and let it simmer on a medium flame until the oil rises to the top 11 11a11b12
  3. Once the curry separates from the oil, add 2 to 3 cups of water and cook on a slow medium flame until the meat is tender and soft, or simply till the pressure cooker whistles 12b13
  4. Sauté the curry until any leftover water dries up and the oil separates
  5. 14Allow the curry to cool, then grind the mutton into beautiful shreds 15
 Step 3: Assembling the haleem
  1. Add ground mutton and gravy to the wheat and lentil mixture. At this point, adjust the spices (salt and black pepper) if required 1617
  2. Mix and blend thoroughly and cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour on a low flame. Stir in between to prevent the mixture from getting stuck to the container
  3. The haleem will start getting a lacy texture as it simmers. Add some simple oil or ghee tarka to the haleem and let it simmer for a few more minutes before serving 18
Step 4: Tarka and garnish
  1. Pour the haleem in a serving dish and garnish with ghee/ oil, fried onions, chopped coriander, mint leaves, lemon, ginger and green chilies. And voila! 20

Fatima Ali

I am trained to be an IT professional. I served National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) for six years after graduating from the same university. As long as I can remember, cooking good food has been my passion and it makes me happy. My cooking lessons were a bit unusual though. Back in the day when digital did not mean much, my father would record cooking shows (knorr ka kitchen, kaukab khuwaja and Zee Khana Khazana – Chef Sanjeev Kapoor) for me to watch endless times later on, before trying the recipes out. I would make brownies and cold cake almost every day while my mother was asleep. This was my way of surprising her every evening. My mother cooks amazing food too and I have tried many of the recipes written in her recipe book. I draw inspiration from a number of chefs from televised cooking shows such as Late Chef Farah, Chef Rahat, Chef Mehboob, BBC Food, Masala TV, Chef Shai, Chef Sharmeen, Master Chef Australia and my ultimate favorite Chef Shireen Anwer. I would not be as good a cook I am now without passive guidance from each one of these.