Haleem

My grandma makes better comfort food than your grandma. Haleem is pretty much the most delicious food you could make.

Nothing is better than making your way to Jama Majid on a chilly wintery day for a fresh naan and a piping hot bowl of haleem. People all milling about, stores in Chandni Chowk bustling during wedding season, and the perfect view of the Red Fort. It’s absolute heaven.

Haleem is stewed lentils, wheat, beef, and a lot of herbs, spices, and a couple choice veggies. It is savory, hearty, and soooo damn delicious! Perfect for any time of day or weather, it’s one of those dishes that you can never get enough of. It’s creamy, meaty, and just amazing. It’s hard to categorize it in terms of American food, because it’s not really a soup or a stew. It has more of a bisque-like texture, if anything. But you know the best part about foreign cuisine is that you don’t have to categorize it or make it fit into a mold…unless of course you’re using gelatin, then a mold would be good.

Haleem isn’t hard to make, it’s just time consuming. I suggest either using your instant pot or slow cooker, so that you can just set it and forget it. It really is the perfect meal. Whether you’re sick, tired, or just want something hearty. It’s great to pick up a couple fresh naans to go with it, or even to whip up a few plain paranthas. Given that it’s a meal in and of itself you really don’t need to make any sides or other dishes. The only thing I really suggest is putting fresh ginger and green chilies on top. It really does add a fresh bite to it.

Love bruch? Try these:

Haleem

Course: Breakfast, Main CoursesCuisine: PunjabiDifficulty: Easy

Servings

15

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

Cooking time

6

hours 

Total time

7

hours 

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 5 tbsp urad daal

• 5 tbsp chana daal

• 2 cups daliya

• 3 tbsp ghee or canola oil

• 1 onion, sliced

• 2 lbs beef, stew meat

• 5 tbsp ginger, minced

• 15 cloves garlic, minced

• 4 green chili peppers, minced

• 1/2 tsp turmeric

• 2 tsp coriander seeds, ground

• 2 tbsp crushed red pepper

• 4 tbsp Punjabi garam masala

• 2 whole, dried red chili peppers

• 4 whole cloves

• 2 whole cardamom pods

• 16 cups beef stock

• Salt, to taste

Equipment/Specialty Items

• Urad DaalWhole Black Urad Daal
• Chana DaalChana Daal
• DaliyaCracked Wheat
• Coriander SeedsCoriander Seeds
• ClovesCloves
• Green CardamomGreen Cardamom

Directions

• Wash and soak lentils and cracked wheat for 1 hour.
• In a large pot, melt ghee and fry onions till they’re a deep brown. Remove and set aside.
• Add meat into the pot that you fried the onions in, saute for 5 minutes.
• Add in ginger, garlic, and green chilies, saute for 3 minutes.
• Add in turmeric, coriander seeds, crushed red pepper, garam masala, dried chili peppers, cloves, and cardamom pods, saute for 2 minutes.
• Drain the water out of the lentil/wheat mixture.
• Add lentil/wheat mixture to the meat and spices. Mix thoroughly and saute for 2 minutes.
• Add in stock and salt.
• Cook covered on low heat for 3 hours.
• Remove the haleem from the stove and coarsely pulse. The texture shouldn’t be smooth.
• Return the haleem to the stove and cook till it’s thick and creamy. Approximately 2-3 hours. It should have the consistency of a really thick bisque.

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