Hyderabadi haleem - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Hyderabadi haleem is a type of meat stew

Stew

A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...

of Hyderabad, India. The high-calorie

Calorie

The calorie is a pre-SI metric unit of energy. It was first defined by Nicolas Clément in 1824 as a unit of heat, entering French and English dictionaries between 1841 and 1867. In most fields its use is archaic, having been replaced by the SI unit of energy, the joule...

haleem

Haleem

Haleem is a thick Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and South Asian dish. In Anatolia, Iran, the Caucasus region and northern Iraq, types of haleem are Keşkek and Harisa. Harisa is also a popular version in Pakistan. Although the dish varies from region to region, it always includes wheat, lentils and meat...

is a popular dish prepared during the Muslim month of Ramadan

Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...

, since it is regarded as an ideal food to break the Ramadan fast. The preparation of haleem in Hyderabad is mastered to an art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

form, like the popular Hyderabadi biryani.

Hyderabadi haleem is a type of stew made from pounded 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...

and mutton made into a thick paste and served fresh and hot, sprinkled over with crispy fried onion and lemon juice. In Hyderabad, it is the mainstay during Ramadan

Ramadan

and it became a tradition to break the daily fast

Fasting

Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...

(roza

Sawm

Sawm is an Arabic word for fasting regulated by Islamic jurisprudence. In the terminology of Islamic law, Sawm means to abstain from eating, drinking , having sex and anything against Islamic law...

) at 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...

with a plateful of haleem. It is the 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 Hyderabadi Muslim weddings, celebrations and other special occasions. It is estimated that during Ramadan, Hyderabad eateries sell 1 billion worth of haleem.

History

Originally an Arabic dish, made of meat, pounded wheat, spices and ghee, it was introduced by the Arab diaspora

Chaush

The Chaush are a Sunni Muslim community of Hadhrami Arab descent found in the Deccan region of India. An extension of these Arab descendants are also found in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro. It is a Turkish word used particularly during the Ottoman era of the Balkans, 'Chaush' or Čauši were...

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 and it became an integral part of Hyderabad's cuisine

Hyderabadi cuisine

Hyderabadi cuisine is a princely legacy of the Nizams of Hyderabad, India. The city was founded by the Sultan's of Golconda, who has developed its own cuisine over the centuries...

. Haleem was popularized in Hyderabad by Saif Nawaz Jung Bahadur, an Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

chief from the Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

who was among the Nizam of Hyderabad's court nobility. Over a period of time, local influence brought in modifications and changes in the original recipe and taste, to make Hyderabadi haleem distinct from other types of haleem.

Ingredients

The ingredients include mutton, pounded wheat

Wheat

, ghee

Ghee

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

, milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

, lentils, ginger

Ginger

Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....

& garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

paste, turmeric

Turmeric

Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...

, spices (cumin seeds, caraway seeds (shah zeera), cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...

, cardamom

Cardamom

Cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...

, cloves, black pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

, saffron

Saffron

Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...

, jaggery

Jaggery

Jaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...

, natural gum

Natural gum

Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifying agents, and stabilizers...

, allspice

Allspice

Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...

(kabab cheeni)) and dry fruits (pistachio

Pistachio

The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...

, cashew

Cashew

The cashew is a tree in the family Anacardiaceae. Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi name, acajú. It is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew nuts and cashew apples.-Etymology:The...

, fig

Common fig

The Common fig is a deciduous tree growing to heights of up to 6 m in the genus Ficus from the family Moraceae known as Common fig tree. It is a temperate species native to the Middle East.-Description:...

and almond

Almond

The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...

). It is served hot topped with a ghee

Ghee

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

based gravy

Gravy

Gravy is a sauce made often from the juices that run naturally from meat or vegetables during cooking. In North America the term can refer to a wider variety of sauces and gravy is often thicker than in Britain...

, pieces of lime

Lime (fruit)

Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...

, chopped coriander

Coriander

Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...

, sliced boiled egg and fried onion

Fried onion

Fried onions or French fried onions are a popular snack food or garnish accompaniment to various recipes, made from pan frying or deep frying onions thus preparing them in a manner similar to that of French fried potatoes....

s as garnish.

Preparation

Hyderabadi haleem chefs are paid high salaries, up to 100,000 plus benefits.

Traditionally, haleem is cooked on a low flame of firewood

Firewood

Firewood is any wood-like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....

for up to 12 hours in a bhatti (a cauldron

Cauldron

A cauldron or caldron is a large metal pot for cooking and/or boiling over an open fire, with a large mouth and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger.- Etymology :...

covered with brick & mud kiln

Kiln

A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...

). One or two men mix it thoroughly with wooden paddles throughout its preparation, until it reaches a sticky-smooth consistency, similar to mashed mince

Ground beef

Beef mince, ground beef, hamburger meat , hamburg or minced meat is a minced meat food, made of beef finely chopped by a mincer. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers and cottage pie...

.

Before eating, it is usually seasoned with deep fried onions, cashew nuts and a slice of lemon.

Variants of Hyderabadi haleem

A meethi (sweet) variant of haleem is served for breakfast at Arab

Chaush

homes 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.

A 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...

variant of haleem is less popular, even though it is lower priced than the mutton version. A vegetarian derivative of haleem, in which dry fruits and vegetables are substituted for mutton, is available at some eateries in Hyderabad.

Geographical Indication status

In September, 2010, Hyderabadi haleem was awarded the Geographical Indication status by the 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...

n GI registry office at Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, India.
Hyderabadi haleem's, GI tag means that no other city can make or market the dish, unless meet with the standards of Hyderabadi haleem.

Health factor

Hyderabadi haleem is a nutritious, healthy dish which gives instant energy, containing abundant proteins as well as carbohydrates, fiber

Fiber

Fiber is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread.They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together....

, potassium

Potassium

Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...

and magnesium

Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...

Books

External links

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