Haleem , Bangladeshi style

Haleem , Bangladeshi style

Iftar in Ramadan is never so exciting and complete without a bowl of Haleem !! Truly a very special dish , enjoyed not only in Ramadan but also through out the year in any occasion !! Haleem made with mutton is the most popular one no doubt , but now a days beef haleem and chicken haleem also getting their popularity. I always loved my Mom’s haleem . It’s always been a great hit at any iftar party at our home !! Some friends and relatives, prior to the party used to call Mom to make sure it’s being prepared in good quantity so that they can take some left overs to home too !!! 😀
My today’s post is dedicated to my Mom !!! No matter how sick she was she always tried to please each and everyone of the family during the iftar time with their favorite food !! She is suffering from so many diseases now a days. Please everyone keep her in your prayers !!! May this Ramadan bring lots of blessings to everyone !!!

The recipe has two parts . First part involves cooking of meat and grains separately and the last part is mixing of these two .

Ingredients :

1 kg meat ( Beef/ mutton)
1/2 cup whole wheat ( 1/4 th cup is whole and 1/4 th cup is broken)
1/4 th cup urad/ mashkolai daal ( without skin)
1/4 th cup moog daal / yellow lentil
1/4 th cup moosur daal/ red lentil
1/4 th cup split Bengal gram/ yellow split pea/ chola/ chana daal

For the meat :

3/4 th cup onion paste
1 and half tbl spoon ginger paste
2 tea spoon garlic paste
1 tea spoon turmeric
2 tea spoon red chili powder
1/2 tea spoon coriander powder
1 cinnamon stick ( 2″ long)
4/5 green cardamom
2 Bay leaves
9/10 cloves
2 tea spoon garam masala powder
Oil
Salt to taste

Ingredients for daal :

2 tea spoon ginger paste
2 tea spoon garlic paste
1 level tea spoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Other ingredients :

1 cup of thinly sliced onion to make bereshta
2 tbl spoon ghee
oil
Julian cut ginger , mint for garnishing
1-2 tbl spoon Haleem masala ( I gave almost 2 tbl spoon of masala since I love bit spicy)

Haleem Masala:

4/5 dried red chili
1 tbl spoon cumin ( jeera)
1 tbl spoon whole coriander ( dhonia)
4/5 Black cardamom
2/3 green cardamom
1 tea spoon black pepper
10/12 cloves
1 tea spoon fennel ( sauf)
1/2 tea spoon nigella/ black cumin/ kalo jeera
1/2 tea spoon fenugreek or methi
1/2 tea spoon nutmeg/ mace ( jaifol -javetri)

Dry roast all the ingredients and then grind into a fine powder . Try to dry roast chili and cumin separately . The chilies should not be dark and the cumin should be dry roasted longer than other ingredients so that the full flavor can be achieved . Try not to dry roast black pepper .

Procedure:

1. Soak all the daals and 1/4 th cup whole wheat in water for at least 5/6 hours . Save the remaining 1/4 th of broken wheat to use later on .

2. Cook the meat with all the ingredients for meat regular way . Take out all the whole spices .

3. Drain out the water from the grains and boil with enough water . When the grains are almost boiled but there is enough water in the daal ,add the broken wheat , turmeric powder , salt green cardamom . Cook further stirring occasionally , until everything becomes mushy , sticky and blended . Add the Meat into the grain . Cook . Add the Haleem masala . Add 2 tbl spoon of ghee into it .

4. Heat enough oil and fry the sliced onion until golden brown( bereshta) . Add the onion and some oil into the haleem .

5. Garnish with sliced ginger , mint, slice of lemon and bereshta .

Serve hot !!

Notes:

1. Don’t use chopped cilantro while garnishing or in the haleem . It’s the mint , bereshta and sliced ginger that enhances the taste .

2. After adding the broken wheat , stir frequently otherwise they will form lump . 🙂