Haleem
Haleem is a classic Pakistani meat and grain stew, made with wheat, barley, lentils mixed into a spicy beef mixture, for the ultimate comfort food.
Ingredients
Grains
- 1 cup Wheat, peeled
- ½ cup Barley
- ½ cup Chana daal split chickpeas
- ⅓ cup Masoor daal red lentils
- ⅓ cup Urad daal black gram, split and skinned
- ⅓ cup Towar, Toor, Arhar pigeon Peas
- ⅓ cup Moong Daal mung bean
- ⅓ cup Basmati Rice
Meat Stew
- 500 grams Beef, large chunks plus bones (see notes).
- 4 tablespoon Ginger and garlic paste
- 2 tablespoon Coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon Cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon Turmeric powder Haldi
- 1 tablespoon Garam masala powder
- 1 tablespoon red chili powder
- Salt as per taste
- 2 Onions, large, sliced
- 1 ½ cup Oil, vegetable or canola
Garnish:
- 1 Fried onions see note 2
- ½ cup Cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup Ginger, julienne
- 3-4 Green chilli, sliced
- 1 Lemon, large, cut into wedges
Instructions
Prepare Grains
- Soak the wheat and barley overnight.
- Soak all the daal (lentils) and rice in a bowl for 2-3 hours, before cooking.
- In a large pot, add the soaked wheat and daal. Add enough water to cover the grains, and cook for 5-7 minutes on medium-high heat. Then cook on low heat till all the wheat, barley, and daal (lentils) are tender. Depending on wheat, and how long it was soaked, it can take 2-3 hours. Mix occasionally, so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom. If it starts to stick, add a little hot water.
- Once tender, remove from heat.
- Transfer the mixture to a large blender, or use an immersion blender until the lentils and grains are completely blended, and no longer whole.
Meat
- In a separate large pot, add the oil, along with sliced onions. Cook on medium heat until lightly golden in color.
- Add in the meat, along with ginger garlic paste and mix well.
- When the meat is no longer red/pink on the outside, add the dry spices and mix well. Add ¼ cup water if the mixture starts to stick to the bottom.
- Add 2-3 cups of water and cook on medium heat. Note: You can do this step in a pressure cooker to help the meat cook faster.
- Once meat is tender, shred the meat, using a wooden spoon / ghutni (wooden masher) or even two forks. The meat should fall apart easily at this stage.
Mix the Meat and Grains
- Mix the meat with the grain mixture, and use a wooden spoon or masher to blend it completely.
Garnish and Serve
- Serve in a large bowl garnished with cilantro, ginger, green chilli and fried onion on top, and extra on the side.
Notes
- If you have beef bones available, cook them with the beef for extra flavor.
- Fried Onions - You could make this on your own, but most Indian / Pakistani stores have packaged fried onions. Try to find a brand that doesn't use flour to coat the fried onions for best results, like the Nawabi brand we found on Amazon.