Hyderabadi Haleem

After the mouth-watering Hyderabadi Biryani, haleem, a meat stew laced with best quality herbs, is poised to become popular with the dish gaining acceptance among different sections of the society.

Haleem is cooked and served during the holy month of Ramzan.  Haleem is made from pounded whole wheat (Rava) and  meat such as Mutton or Chicken Dry Fruits, Pure Ghee. The thick paste is served fresh and hot with crispy fried onions and a sprinkle of lemon juice. It is the mainstay for the fasting (Roza) Muslims during the Holy month. A couple of restaurants serve it through out the year.

Generally the preparations begin during the day and end in evening to coincide with the evening prayers. An expert keeps a close watch on the preparation as the dish needs continuous stirring. Haleem is cooked on a low flame of firewood for 12 hours in a brick and mud klin. One or two men mix it thoroughly with large wooden sticks throughout its preparation, until it gets to a sticky-smooth consistency.Ingredients include mutton, whole wheat (Rava), Ghee, Milk, lentils, ginger, garlic, turmeric, racked cumin seeds, shazeera, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, saffron, kebab cheeni and dry fruits (pistachio, cashew and almond). The paste like final product is generally topped with a  ghee-based gravy, pieces of lime, chopped coriander, sliced boiled egg and fried onions for garnish.
Variants

But the chicken variant of Haleem also known as Irani Harees is less popular, but is cheaper than the Haleem

A lot of experiments are now on to get the untapped market. Now, a vegetarian version of  Haleem, in which dry fruits and vegetables are used to substitute meat, is available at some selected eateries in Hyderabad. The famous Haleem maker of Hyderabad, the “Pista House’, announced a low calorie diet Haleem from this year. Meethi (sweet) and khari (salted) Haleem variants are served for breakfast at Arab homes in the Barkas area of the walled city of Hyderabad.

In September last, Hyderabadi Haleem was awarded the Geographical Indication status by the GI registry office in Chennai. The GI (Geographical Indicator ) tag means that no other city can make or market the dish as Hyderabadi Haleem. Originally an Arabic dish, Haleem arrived in Hyderabad during the Mughal Emperor  period via Iran and Afghanistan. It remained an integral part of Hyderabad during the rule of Nizams. Over a period of time local influence brought in modifications and changes in the original recipe to suit the taste of the Deccan. This made Hyderabadi  Haleem distinct from other types  available today.

The famous and nutritious dish available during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan will soon get the Hyderabadi tag akin to Darjeeling Tea, Banarasi Silk and Tirupati Laddu.