Haleem has originated or is inspired by an Arabic dish, “Harees” which is made with meat, ghee, wheat, rice and whole pulses. The Persian name for the meat – wheat dish is “Hareesah”, which unlike Haleem is bland and uses lesser amount of pulses as well. An author once also suggessted that the version of Haleem made in India should have its name revised as “Daleem” since it uses a variety of Daals / Pulses.
Like so many other dishes that proudly make a mark in Indian/Pakistani/ Bangladeshi cuisines, Haleem was also introduced to Hyderabad recipes during the Mughal Era. The research shows that it came to Hyderabad during the Mughal period via Iran and Afghanistan. Adding the local spices and ingredients to it was definitely an upgrade from the original Arabian dish.
It says that it was during the rule of the sixth Nizam, Mahbub Ali Khan when Haleem was being revised to suit the Indian taste buds. The addition of spices made a huge difference to the dish and it did take effort and time to make it what it is today. By the the time, the seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan made his way to the throne, Haleem had become an integral part of the Hyderabadi cuisine.
With time, it became popular amongst all Muslim rulers and royal chefs made few changes here and there to make it more appetizing. The basic Haleem recipe comprises of a variety of lentils, meat/ chicken , and spices which are pounded together and cooked on a low flame for about 12 hours, which in todays time and age sounds time consuming and insane. Even today, if you wish to taste autjentic Haleem, you will have to take a trip to the Muslim areas of popular cities and visit those restaurants that are popular for their food and do not care much about the ambience. Honestly, I call them food lovers Paradise. As soon as you are close to those places, you can follow the fragrance of delicious food with your eyes shut. If you are like me, and can ignore the tables put close together and with people staring at you while you eat, you should visit these places at least once when you are in these popular cities. Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Mumbai’s Mohammed Ali Road, Hyderabad’s Char Minar and Bangalore’s Frazer town is where you will always find authentic Muslim cuisines which are pocket friendly and wonderfully delicious. These days you will also find places where they offer great seating arrangements for families as well.
However, the local spices give the Hyderabadi version a peculiar taste and flavor. I once saw a TV show based on Hyderabadi cuisine and watching Haleem being cooked was a delight. Haleem is prepared using Daals, mutton/Chicken, Broken wheat, Rice and a blend of spices. Everything is cooked together and then mashed together to bring in the perfect taste. Haleem has to be prepared in Ghee. It definitely is high in calories but its nutritious as well, and that’s what makes it the perfect dish to open your fast with. Even today, traditional Haleem is prepared in Brick – mud ovens or Bhattis on firewood and takes anywhere between 8-12 hours to be prepared. Basic Haleem recipe only used Mutton, but with time, chefs added more variety and Chicken Haleem or Murgh haleem came out as a lighter version of the traditional Haleem. I love both, but Chicken Haleem seems to be liked more in my house and therefore is cooked more often. I am sure you will love the recipe as much as we do. Enjoy!!!
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
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- 1 lb Chicken [with bones]
- 8 No. Green chilies
- 1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 3 No. Cinnamon sticks small size
- 4 No. cloves
- 3 No. Green Cardamoms
- 1 tsp Caraway seeds Shahi zeera
- 1/2 tbsp Black pepper [whole]
- 1/2 tsp Salt More or less according to your taste
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 2 No. Macis
- 3 tbsp Dry red chili flakes
- 1 cup Broken Wheat Gehu ka Daliya
- 1 tsp Urad daal
- 1 tbsp Toovar daal
- 1 tbsp Chana daal
- 1 tbsp Moong daal
- 1 tbsp Rice
- 1/2 cup Ghee
- 7 cups Water
- 4 No. Onions finely sliced
- 2 cups Coriander leaves chopped
- 1 cup Mint leaves chopped
- 1.5 cups Yogurt
- 1/2 cup Mint leaves + Coriander leaves Chopped, For Garnishing
- 1/2 cup Fried Onions For Granishing
- 3 No. Green chilies Chopped, For Garnishing
- 1 tbsp Ginger juliennes, For Garnishing
- 1 No. Lemon cut to pieces, For Garnishing
- 1 No. Onion Round sliced, For Garnishing
Ingredients
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- Put together daals, broken wheat and Rice. Wash them thoroughly.
- Add water, little salt and Turmeric Powder. Pressure cook them till they are soft.
- Mash them all together.
- Roast spices ....cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon, caraway seeds, black pepper corns, red chili flakes, mace and cumin seeds.
- Grind the spices to a powder.
- In a cooking pot, add 1/4 cup Ghee, add sliced onions and fry until golden brown.
- Once the Onions turn brown, take half out to garnish later and add ginger garlic paste and saute well.
- Add the chicken to the the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add fresh coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chilies, mix well.
- Add the ground spice powder. Mix well. Add half a cup of water and let everything come to a boil. At this point you can take the chicken pieces out and take the meat off the bone. Shred the meat a little and add both shredded meat of chicken and the chicken bones back to the cooking pot.
- Add beaten yogurt, mix and cook for 5 minutes on low flame.
- Add the blended paste of daals and broken wheat and also the blended paste of mutton into it. Mix it well and keep stirring and mixing until the mutton and dals get mixed well evenly. Add the remaining 1/4 cup ghee all over and mix. Add little more salt if required. Cover the lid and cook it for about 20-30 minutes on low flame.
- Remove the lid and give a mix. Switch off the flame. Add the fried onions kept aside to the Haleem, Haleem is ready to serve.
- Serve haleem in bowls. Add deep fried onions, further garnish with coriander leaves, mint leaves, lemon slices, onion rings and serve hot.
