HOW TO MAKE HALEEM

Haleem is a delicious meat based dish which is often served at iftars during Ramadan. It is high in calories and fibre and gives instant energy to the body. The preparation of haleem generally takes several hours together where meat is cooked along with rice, dal (lentils) and spices till all the ingredients combine well and have a thick consistency. There are several variations of Haleem with the Hyderabadi Haleem being the most popular one in India. 

I am sharing with you my mother's Haleem recipe which can be cooked in less time as it uses a pressure cooker and tastes delicious.

Ingredients

¼ kilo boneless mutton cut into pieces

¼ cup rice

¼ cup each of Toor dal, urad dal, Masoor dal, moong dal, chana dal

½ cup broken wheat

2 tbsp ghee

1 big onion thinly sliced

1 cup coriander leaves

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 tbsp ginger paste

2 tsp red chilli powder

1 ½ tsp garam masala powder

1 lemon

¼ tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Method

Wash and soak the rice, toor dal, chana dal, masoor dal, moong dal, urad dal and broken wheat, all separately in water for ½ an hour. Meanwhile wash and clean the mutton and cut into small pieces. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker, add half the onions and saute till the onions turn golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside. We will use this in the end for garnishing. Add the rest of the onions to the cooker and saute for a minute. Next add ginger & garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes. Now add red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt, turmeric powder and mutton and mix well. Add half the coriander leaves along with 2 cups of water and close the lid. Pressure cook for 10 minutes or 5 to 6 whistles. Khurma is now ready. When it cools down, take the mutton pieces from the gravy and mash using a masher or just grind coarsely in food processor.

Now drain the excess water from all the dals and transfer the dals to another cooker. Pressure cook the dals along with 1 ½ cups of water for 10 minutes. Allow it cool down and mash or grind to a fine paste in a mixer. Similarly drain the excess water from the rice and broken wheat and pressure cook along with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt for 10 minutes. Mash or grind this as well.

Finally transfer the coarsely ground mutton back to the khurma (gravy), add juice of 1 lemon and bring to a boil. Add the dal paste and rice- broken wheat paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes while stirring continuously. Check for taste, add salt, chilli powder or lemon juice if necessary and cook and stir for a few more minutes. Once done, switch off the gas, transfer the hot Haleem to serving bowls and garnish with sliced onions and coriander leaves. Delicious Haleem is ready to be served.

Notes: 

• We have used pressure cooker to speed up the process as open cooking will require several hours. 
• The turmeric powder has added this yellow colour to the Haleem. You can skip this if you do not want a yellow coloured Haleem. 
• You can also include chopped green chillies if you like.
• Adding nuts (cashews & almonds) adds a rich taste to the haleem. Grind the nuts to a fine paste or powder and add to the haleem at the end.