The Delectable Haleem

The Holy month of Ramzan brings to fore the ultimate delicacies of Hyderabad. For 30 days, the fast is broken with some mouth watering delicacies, mostly made with mutton. The Hyderabadi Biryani has spread its wings wide and is probably the most revered global delicacy along with the pasta and the dosa ! But mostly unseen during the normal days is one dish that will leave you begging for more... The Haleem.

No Ramzan is complete without the Haleem. It can be a snack, a side-dish, an accompliment or a full meal in itself. And all in just one avatar, unlike the 101 varieties of pasta or dosas or pizzas.

It might be a cumbersome to make, but then once you have made it, every drop of sweat spent will seem worthwhile. So lets get cooking for the Iftar party :)

Ingredients:

1kg Boneless diced mutton

400gms Whole wheat

200gms Gram Lentils (Chana dal)

2 Cups Thick Curd

3 Large Onions

2 Cups Ghee / Vanaspati

2 Tsp Chilli powder

2 Tsp Turmeric powder

2 Tsp Coriander powder

1 Tsp Cardomom powder

2 Tbsp Ginger garlic paste

50gms crushed Cashews

50gms crushed Almonds

4 Green Chillis

4 Lemons

2 bunches Fresh Coriander

2 bunches Fresh Mint

2 Eggs

Salt to Taste

Lets get cooking:

Soak the wheat and gram lentils in water for 3-4 hours or overnight. To the curds, add the Chilli powder, Turmeric powder, Cardomom powder, coriander powder, Ginger-garlic paste, green chillis and salt to taste. Mix these into a paste and marinate the mutton in this and leave for 3-4 hours.

Drain the water from the wheat, dry the wheat in a cloth and pound it. Add the marinated meat mixture to this along with the cashews and almonds. Add a cup or so of water and cook the meat and wheat mixture till the meat becomes very tender. Use an old fashioned lentil masher to literally grind this into a uniform thick paste. You can use a blender too, but that will make the mix a very fine paste which is not ideal.

Take about a cup of Ghee/Vanaspati in a pan and heat it. Finely chop 2 onions and add to the ghee and fry till golden. Do not let them go brown. Add a pinch of salt to this too. Add the blended paste of meat and wheat to the pan and mix well. Add finely chopped coriander and squeeze a couple of lemons into this. Add some water and cook till the entire mix becomes very tender and pasty.

While the above gets done, make thin slices of a large onion and fry in heated oil/ghee till golden brown. Hard boil two eggs and slice them into thin slices. Also heat one cup of Ghee/Vanaspati.

When the meat/wheat paste is completely cooked, take it into a serving dish and marinate it with hot ghee, mint leaves, fried onions and slices of boiled eggs. Squeeze lemons to taste.

Dig in and Enjoy !!!