Baba Ki Haleem 3.93

Haleem

Haleem is not an ordinary dish; there is a certain royalty to it. But is this because of the history behind Haleem or does its majesty lie in its perfected blend of meat, grains and spices?
Haleem is the wonderful concoction that brings together meat, wheat, barley, lentils and spices. Using fresh and pure ingredients may be the key to its taste but where does the magic comes from? Is it the soaking of the grains overnight, slow cooking over several hours, hand blending for hours with the wooden spatula (doi) or because its origin is regal?


The History of Haleem

It is said that the origin of Haleem comes from an Arab dish called “Harisa”. Food historian Annia Ciezadlo writes in Times magazine that in the late 7th century Caliph Mu’awiya received an Arab delegation from Yemen. Among the other important discussions the Caliph asked them about the exquisite dish of porridge, meat and wheat, he had eaten on a journey to Arabia.

The first written recipe of Harisa dates from the 10th century. Ibn Sayyar Al Warraq compiled the dishes favored by Caliphs in a cookbook called “Kitab Ul Tabikh”. Harisa is found in this early Arabic cookbook.

Shoaib Daniyal writes in the Sunday Guardian India that according to his research Harisa recipe was brought to Hyderabad India by the Arab soldiers in the Nizam’s army. These soldiers mostly came from Yemen. Sultan Saif Nawaz Jung a Chaush (from Yemen) noble from Nizam’s court popularized Harisa by serving it in his feasts in 1930’s.

According to Jill Tilsley-Benham, Haleem is actually the Persian name of Harisa. Harisa was eventually modified by addition of spices and lentils to entertain the desi taste and served in the restaurants of Hyderabad in 1950’s.

Baba believes that a bowl of Haleem can only be excellent if it has:

1) The perfect taste
Which only comes from the pure and fresh ingredients. Therefore the cows/chicken are slaughtered in front of him and he handpicks and select the perfect pieces of meat. Our vegetables are bought fresh every day and the spices are the best quality.

2)The right consistency
Which comes from the correct proportion of meat to the grains. He knows that a slight disproportion of one ingredient can overwhelm the taste. So it has to be just exact.

3) The power of blending
The smoothness created by the mixing of the meat and the grains where you cannot tell where the meat fibers end and the lentils begin. The texture has to be smooth but not to the extent that you cannot feel the succulent wheat popping in your mouth. The lacy or stretchable texture only comes when the Haleem is blended or mixed several hours by hand not a blender.

4) The sprinkle of garnishing
The tantalizing effect cannot be completed without a few fresh Coriander leaves, crispy browned onion shreds, couple of drops of sour lemons and a tinge of freshly made chaat masala.

Baba also believes that the wonderful aroma and magical taste of one bowl of “Baba ki Haleem” will make your taste buds dance!