Haleem - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Haleem is a thick Arabic

Arab cuisine

Arab cuisine is defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab World, from Morocco and Tunisia to Saudi Arabia, and incorporating Levantine, Egyptian .-History:...

, Persian

Iranian cuisine

Iranian cuisine is diverse, with each province featuring dishes, culinary traditions and styles distinct to its region.It includes a wide variety of foods ranging from chelo kabab , khoresht Iranian cuisine is diverse, with each province featuring dishes, culinary traditions and styles distinct to...

, Turkish

Turkish cuisine

Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including that of western Europe...

, and South Asian

South Asian cuisine

South Asian cuisine, also known as Desi cuisine, includes the cuisines from the Indian subcontinent. It has roots in South Asia, including practices taken from the Hindu beliefs practiced by the large population found in the region, alongside influences from neighbouring regions and cultures,...

dish. In Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, the Caucasus

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

region and northern Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, types of haleem are Keşkek and Harisa

Harees

Harees or harissa is a Middle Eastern dish of boiled, cracked, or coarsely-ground wheat and meat or chicken. Its consistency varies between a porridge and a dumpling.-Preparation:...

. Harisa is also a popular version in Pakistan. Although the dish varies from region to region, it always includes wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

, lentils and meat

Meat

Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

. Haleem a variation called Khichra

Khichra

Khichra is a variation of the Pakistani/Indian dish Haleem, popular with Muslims, particularly during Ramadaan. It is made up of meat, lentils and spices, slowly cooked to a thick paste.- Haleem and Khichra :...

and Hyderabadi Haleem

Hyderabadi haleem

Hyderabadi haleem is a type of meat stew of Hyderabad, India. The high-calorie haleem is a popular dish prepared during the Muslim month of Ramadan, since it is regarded as an ideal food to break the Ramadan fast...

is very popular in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

Composition

Haleem is made of wheat, meat (usually beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

or mutton, but sometimes chicken

Chicken

The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

or minced meat

Ground meat

Ground meat is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. It is called minced meat or more usually mince outside North America....

), lentils and spice

Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...

s. This dish is slow cooked for seven to eight hours, which results in a paste-like consistency, blending the flavors of spices, meat and wheat.

History

Haleem is sold as a snack food in bazaar

Bazaar

A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...

s throughout the year. It is also a special dish prepared throughout the world during Ramzaan and Moharram months of Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

Hijri calendar

Islamic calendar

The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...

, particularly amongst Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

i and Indian Muslims. In India, Haleem prepared in Hyderabad, India during the Ramzaan month, is transported all over the World through a special courier service.

In Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, Haleem is very popular, especially in the holy month of Ramzaan, when it is a staple dish.

Hyderabadi Haleem

The city of Hyderabad, India is also known for its delectable haleem, which is available specially during Ramadan. It is originally an Arabic dish

Arab cuisine

Arab cuisine is defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab World, from Morocco and Tunisia to Saudi Arabia, and incorporating Levantine, Egyptian .-History:...

, brought to Hyderabad during the Mughal

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

period by the immigrants of Iran

Iran

and Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

.

Mitthi (sweet) and khari (salted) haleem variants are served for breakfast in the homes of people living in the Barkas

Barkas, Hyderabad

Barkas is a neighbourhood in Hyderabad, India that used to serve as the Military Barracks of the Nizam of Hyderabad. It is known as being inhabited mainly by the Chaush community who are direct descendants of the Hadhrami Arab military men and bodyguards hailing from the Hadhramaut region of the...

area of Hyderabad.
Haleem has also earned great appreciation from other communities in India for its delicous taste and mouth-watering aroma.
The salted variety is popular during the month of Moharram and Ramadan. The high-calorie haleem is the perfect way to break the Ramadan fast (iftar

Iftar

Iftar , refers to the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Iftar is done right after Maghrib time...

). The ingredients are Beef

Beef

, wheat, lentils, lamb, spices and ghee

Ghee

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian cuisine....

and sprinkled with lemon juice and/or spicy masala to adjust flavor to the taste of the eater. Legend has it that it took nearly a week to make a perfect dish of haleem.

A derivative of haleem, dried fruit

Dried fruit

Dried fruit is fruit where the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized...

s and vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

s are used, is also prepared during Ramadan.

Haleem is also a traditional starter

Entrée

An entrée is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.The disappearance in the early 20th century of a large communal main course such as a roast as a standard part of the meal in the English-speaking world has led to the term being used to describe the main...

at Muslim weddings and other celebrations in Hyderabad.
In September 2010, Hyderabadi haleem was given GI status.

Haleem and Khichra

In South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

, both Haleem and Khichra

Khichra

are made with same ingredients. In Khichra, the chunks of meat remains as cubes. While Haleem the meat cubes are taken out of the pot, bones are removed, meat is grinded to paste and put back in the pot. It is furthur cooked until the meat completely blends with lentils.

Preparation

A traditional haleem made in pakistan is made by firstly soaking wheat , barley and chickpeas lentil overnight . and at the other side prepare a type of meat in gravy ( made of some spices / also known as korma )until the meat becomes tender , now , boil the lentils on the other side until they also become tender , now mix it in gravy and blend it with hand mixer , the cooking procedure will take about 6 hours to be complete .

Nutrition facts

The given recipe is full of nutrition as the whole wheat and barley are a good source of fiber and protein.

Serving

It is served with some chopped mint leaves, few drops of lemon juice, coriander, fried onions and green chilli as the given recipe. In Pakistan, Haleem is usually eaten with naans (baked bread/like thick pita bread) as well as eaten without any type of bread or rice .

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.