Haleem

A nutritious mixture of lentils and lamb meat,
A delicious texture of thick soup,
A marvelous gesture as a host,
Nothing would fulfill these deals, but a Haleem!!

Does that rhymes? Oh Gosh, I am so terrible at it. I guess playing with numbers is my only survivor and I better not try to challenge those creative poets out there :)

Haleem is a great dish to serve at large gatherings. This dish is a must in Ramadan, which I am sure, is very common at other Indian Muslims and Pakistani households. Every year in Ramadan we call in friends and family for an iftar party (when you break a fast). This is one of the dishes that my mom makes every year. A lot of our family-friends love this dish made by Mom and would give up anything to get this in return. These are the words coming directly from them. And I don’t blame them, Mom is a great cook and if I can be at least 50% of what she is, I will be very lucky and grateful!!

I tried this wonderful dis recently and wanted to share it with you all. It is nutritious packed dish with all the lentils involved. If you want to make it a vegetarian dish, just don’t include meat and it should do it. To make a Haleem is a long process but the end result is delightful and a MUST try!

Ingredients:

1. Half cup barley – soaked overnight
2. Half cup urad dal – soaked overnight
3. Half cup chana dal – soaked overnight
4. Half cup rice – soaked for 4-5 hours
5. ¼ cup toor dal – soaked for 4-5 hours
6. ¼ cup masoor – soaked for 4-5 hours
7. ¼ cup moong dal – soaked for 4-5 hours
8. Red masala – 2 tblsp red chili powder, 1 ½ tblsp dhaniya powder, and, ½ tblsp turmeric powder
9. 2 tblsp ginger-garlic paste
10. 6 green chilies – split in half
11. ½ pound lamb meat – washed and cleaned
12. Oil – 5 tblsp
13. 3 onions – thinly sliced
14. A mixture of garam masala – whole black peppers, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin seeds – 1 tblsp
15. Lime juice – 3 tblsp
16. Fresh coriander – a bunch – finely chopped
17. Fresh mint – a bunch – finely chopped
18. Fresh ginger – thinly sliced (optional, but highly recommended)
19. Fried onions – for garnishing
20. Lime or lemon wedges - for serving (optional, but highly recommended)

 Process:

1. Boil barley, urad dal, and chana dal together – I pressure-cooked it.
2. Boil all other dals together – I pressure cooked it.
3. Boil lamb meat – in a pressure cooker, pour some oil, a handful of chopped onions, a tblsp ginger garlic paste, and a little bit salt. Pressure cook it for about 10-15 minutes and the meat should be 75% cooked. NOTE: this may differ based on which pressure cooker you use.
4. Once boiled, keep all dals and meat in separate containers.
5. In a big wok (a really big one), heat oil and add onions and garam masala.
6. When the onion turns light brown – add red masala, ginger-garlic paste, lime juice, salt, and green chilies.
7. Fry red masala till the oil separates out.
8. Add boiled meat and mix well.
9. Add all dals one by one and mix well.
10. Let it cook for about 10-15 minutes.
11. Add half of coriander leaves and half of mint leaves and some fried onions – this is optional but if you do this, it will taste much better.
12. Let it cook on low heat for about half an hour – stirring every once in a while and making sure that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the wok.
13. Serve hot, garnish it with coriander and mint leaves, sliced ginger, fried onions and serve it with lemon wedges.

  

ENJOY!!!

Reposted this recipe at http://desizayeka.blogspot.com/2012/07/ramadan-collections.html

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