Hyderabadi Haleem
Ramzan's most famous dish: mutton, broken wheat and lentils slow-cooked and beaten into a silky, spiced porridge, topped with birista and ghee.
Prep 30 min · Cook 150 min · Total 180 min + overnight soak · Serves 6
Ingredients
Grains
- 1 cup Broken wheat (dalia)
- 2 tbsp Chana dal
- 1 tbsp Toor dal
- 1 tbsp Masoor dal
- 1 tbsp Urad dal
- 1 tbsp Moong dal
Mutton
- 750 g Boneless mutton
- ½ cup Yogurt
- 2 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp Red chilli powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- 2 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Shahi jeera
- 1 tsp Black pepper, ground
- 4 Green chillies
- ½ cup Mint leaves
- 2 tsp Salt
To finish
- 6 tbsp Ghee
- 2 Onions, sliced and fried crisp (birista)
- 2 tbsp Cashews, fried
- 1 Lemon, in wedges
- ¼ cup Coriander leaves
Method
- Cook the grains. Pressure-cook the broken wheat and dals with 4 cups water and a pinch of salt for 6 whistles, or simmer until completely soft. Mash smooth.
- Cook the mutton. Pressure-cook the mutton with the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, spices, chillies, mint, salt and 2 cups water for 8 whistles, until it falls apart. Shred.
- Combine. Tip the mutton and its stock into the wheat in a heavy pot.
- Beat. Cook on the lowest heat, stirring and beating hard with a wooden masher, adding hot water as needed, until the meat and grain become one stretchy, glossy mass.
- Serve. Pour hot ghee over each bowl and top with birista, cashews, coriander and a squeeze of lemon.
Tips
The beating is what makes it haleem. A hand blender in short pulses gets close, but stop before it becomes a purée.