Haleem
Hyderabad's Ramzan iftar dish: mutton and broken wheat with a handful of dals, slow-cooked with ginger-garlic, mint and garam masala and beaten until thick and stringy, then topped with ghee, fried onions, mint and lemon. In Hyderabad most people buy it during Ramzan; elsewhere it is made at home, with mutton or chicken. The wheat and dals are soaked overnight.
- 2 hTime
- 1 hHands-on
- 4Portions
- 42 gprotein per portion
- 900kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 180 gDalia (cracked wheat), soaked overnight
- 30 gChana dal, soaked overnight
- 20 gMoong dal, soaked overnight
- 15 gUrad dal, soaked overnight
- 15 gMasoor dal, soaked overnight
- ≈ 1 lWater, for the wheat and dals
- 1 tspTurmeric
- 750 gMutton (curry cut), washed
- 150 gCurd, whisked
- 2 tbspGinger-garlic paste
- 1 tspRed chilli powder
- 2 tspGaram masala
- to tasteSalt
- 3Onions, thinly sliced
- 6 tbspRefined oil, for frying the onions
- 4 tbspGhee
- 3 gCinnamon, a 4 cm piece of stick
- 4Cloves
- 2 gCardamom, 4 pods
- 4Green chillies, slit
- 20 gMint, leaves
- 15 gCoriander leaves, chopped
- ≈ 500 mlWater, hot, for the mutton
- 2 tbspCashew nuts (optional)
- 2Lemons (nimbu), in wedges
Method
- Mix the mutton with the curd, ginger-garlic paste, half the turmeric, the red chilli powder, half the garam masala and salt.
- Cover and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Drain the wheat and dals and put them in a pressure cooker with the water and the rest of the turmeric.
- Pressure-cook on medium for 6 whistles, about 25 minutes, until completely soft, and let the pressure drop by itself.
- Slice the onions thinly. Heat the oil in a kadai and fry them on a medium flame, stirring, until deep golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Lift them out onto kitchen paper. Fry the cashews golden in the same oil and lift them out.
- Heat half the ghee in a second pressure cooker and add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Add the mutton with its marinade, the green chillies, half the fried onions, crushed, and half the mint and coriander. Bhuno on a high flame, stirring, for 10 minutes, until the curd has dried up.
- Pour in the hot water, close the cooker and pressure-cook on medium for 7 whistles, about 30 minutes, until the meat falls off the bone. Let the pressure drop by itself.
- Lift out the mutton, pick out the bones and whole spices and shred the meat.
- Blend the wheat and dals to a coarse paste with a hand blender.
- Put the wheat, the shredded meat and its gravy in a heavy-bottomed pot. Beat with a wooden ghotni, or blend in short bursts, until the meat and wheat turn into a thick, sticky, stringy paste, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the rest of the garam masala and cook the haleem on a low flame for 20 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom every few minutes and adding a little hot water if it gets too thick.
- Heat the rest of the ghee. Ladle the haleem into bowls and top with the hot ghee, the rest of the fried onions, the cashews, mint and coriander leaves. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over.
