Relish the lip-smacking, authentic Hyderabadi Haleem this Ramadan

When it is Ramadan time, there’s no other food that can replace the rich, traditional Hyderabadi haleem during Iftar, to break the fast. Originally an Arabic dish, haleem was introduced by the former rulers of Hyderabad, Nizams.

Haleem is a kind of stew made of meat, lentils and pounded wheat made into a thick paste. In recognition of its cultural significance and popularity, Haleem was granted Geographical Indication status (GIS) by the Indian GIS registry office in 2010. Haleem is the first non-vegetarian dish in India to receive this status.

Ingredients

Part 1

Mutton (boneless) – 1 kg
Green chillies – 9
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon sticks – 4-5
Cloves – 5
Green Cardamom – 4
Caraway seeds – 1 tsp
Black pepper – 1.5 tbsp
Water – 1.5 cup
Salt – to taste

Part 2

Broken wheat – 1 cup
Black gram (urad dal) – 1 tsp
Toovar dal – 1 tsp
Bengal gram – 1 tsp
Yellow moong dal – 1 tsp
Rice – 1 tsp
Water – 3 glasses
Salt – to taste

Part 3

Oil – 4 tbsp
Onion (finely chopped) – 5 (medium sized)
Coriander leaves – to taste
Mint leaves – to taste
Green Chillies – 3
Black pepper powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Yogurt (beaten) – 2 cup
Ghee – 7 tbsp

Method of Preparation

Cooking dals

Clean and wash the dals and soak it for 3 hours. Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder into the dal and cook it in a pressure cooker on high flame till the dal is properly cooked.

Cooking mutton

Add mutton, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, cloves, cardamoms, cinnamons, caraway seeds, black pepper, salt, turmeric powder, water and mix it well. Cook until the mutton is tender.

Once it settles and cools, grind the mutton and dals separately in a blender and keep aside.

In a vessel, add oil, sliced onions and saute until golden brown. add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell fades. Then add corriander leaves, mint leaves, green chillies, black pepper powder, turmeric powder, beaten yogurt and mix well and cook it for 5 minutes on low flame. Add the mutton and dal paste into it and mix it well.

Now, you can add the mutton stock to the mixture and once it gets mixed well, add ghee to it. Close the lid and let it cook on low flame for 15-20 minutes.

Once it is done, mix it well and, the Haleem is ready to serve.

For garnishing, you can add deep fried onions, coriander leaves, mint leaves and lemon slices.