Thursday, August 18, 2011

Haleem

A bit relaxation for a few days. And again, the stressful times are back. The project schedules keep me busy with office works. Sometimes, at home too. :( Nevertheless, I do not want to miss my first opportunity to participate in the Blog Hop Wednesday, an exciting event started by Radhika of Tickling Palates. A big thanks to her!! This is a great idea and she is doing a great job organizing things for this. Hats off to Radhika!!


Anxiously, I looked up the chart to find whose blog I should be visiting this week. A sweet surprise!! It was none other than Umm Mymoonah's Taste of Pearl City. Oh, what do I say!! She was one of the two inspirations for me to start a blog in the first place. I fondly call her "my Blog Guru". Whatever doubts I have with blogging, I always look up to her and she patiently explains things to me. With two naughty little kids at home, what she has accomplished in a short time is just admirable!

Well, her blog is the one that I most often visit. I have already tried numerous things out of her treasure box. To name a few, Garlic Rolls (read my post here), Kalakand, Polenta Idli, Prawn Gravy, Ataif bil Ashta and many many more. Besides, I have a few bookmarked pages too. So, for this event, I gladly picked one out of the list which I had been eyeing for quite some time now - Haleem.

I came to know about this Hyderabadi speciality only through her blog for the first time. Before trying, I was not sure if it was a gravy or a soup. I think, it is both. Meat, usually lamb is cooked very slowly for a long time, along with wheat and lentils flavoured by Indian spices. This way, the meat becomes soft and shredded, combined with the spices to give a thick soup like consistency.

I cooked Haleem during the weekend itself, as I knew I wouldn't be able to manage it during the weekdays. See, now it is 11pm and I'm still writing the post with half closed eyes.

The original recipe can be found here. I almost followed the same except for a few changes. We absolutely loved the Haleem. We had it for Iftar along with Turkish bread. And later for Sahr too as a soup. It was very filling and tasty.

My Notes:
  • I used about 750g meat. So, I doubled the quantity of ingredients.
  • Like Umm Mymoonah, I cooked Haleem in pressure cooker only. Seven whistles were enough for the meat to be finely cooked.
  • With time, the Haleem thickened. So, I thinned it a little bit for our second serving.
  • It is best served warm.
On the whole, we loved it so much. It was a welcome change to the normal curry that we usually prepare. I would be definitely making it again. :)

As an ending note, for those who are curious about what my other inspiration for blogging is - it is none other than my husband - the backbone of this blog. :)

I'm sending this entry to Blog Hop Wednesdays, Lubna's Joy from Fasting to Feasting IV Jabeen Corner's Iftar Nights. Signing off now guys. See you next time soon :)

23 comments :

  1. I too love her blog. I am not a meat eater, so cannot comment on haleem, but the presentation looks great.

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  2. I was eagerly waiting what you are going to try, so finally it's Haleem, I'm glad that you liked it and thank you so much for all the sweet words you have mentioned about me :)
    BTW, is that Baklava sitting at the back, did you made that one too..

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  3. I love haleem.........love your presentation too.

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  4. Looks delicious and just right for this time of year! I am also distracted by what looks like some baklava on the back plate for dessert? Yum!

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  5. You are right A. she has a great blog which also happens to be picturesque. Presentation is good.


    Event: Let's Cook – Scrumptious Breakfasts

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  6. I have tasted haleem recently in HYD, looks simply irresistible and excellent..

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  7. Heard so much of this hyderabadi specialty..Not tasted of course as im a veggie :) Awesome presentation dear..And nice of u to participate in blog hop inspite of ur tough schedule..Its fun right!!
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

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  8. This is one of my favourite recipe...i make it very often....will hop to umm's place to check her recipe....thank u for sending down to my event.....i must admit love the way u pictured it.....

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  9. i think she deserved that bec her blog has beautifully managed
    dish is super
    1st time here happy to follow u .do visit my blog

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  10. I am probably not the best person to comment on this as I don’t eat meat..but it looks like a classic very nicely done n beautifully presented.
    USMasala

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  11. have heard so much about this but never tasted it...shud do it next time im in india

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  12. nice presentation - I have heard about vegetaran version of haleem- wanna try that

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  13. This looks so delicious,perfect click

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  14. It looks so delicious and yummy....

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  15. This sounds so delicious! Great post to the blog hop =)

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  16. Oh Man.. Love the presentation.. beautiful pictures.. Haleem is our favorite too.. looks so inviting..

    Thanks For Linking it with Iftar Nights..
    Jabeen's Corner

    Ongoing Event-Iftar nights

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  17. Looks Very delicious and healthy And the bread looks SUPER yum - I love Ayeesha's blog too :) Lovely pics!

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  18. So true. Ayeesha's is a treasure trove of yummy recipes. Hmm, you got the same first names huh?! I've had plenty of haleem since my childhood days in Abu-Dhabi. I especially love the Hyderabadi and Pakistani preparations. You know, my Pakistani neighbor shared this with me on the very first day of Ramadan. Love your clicks and styling--very impressive!

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  19. hi !! thank u for the sweet words and regarding ur query - the cheedais actually burst if there is any coarse particle in flour/ urad dal powder !

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  20. I have missed quite a few of your posts, was just going through them, aber diese Blog Hop Wednesday is etwas Interesantes. Ich habe ueber Haleem viel mal gelesen und auch gesehen eigentlich ferngesehen but habe nie gegessen. Ich habe ein Wuensch einmal es zu essen.

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  21. Like your space. I like haleem a lot and yours is quite tempting.
    Do visit my blog..http://mixcalculations.blogspot.com/

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  22. looks delicious and tempting clicks .........

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  23. ive never tried this before....sounds interesting..nice presentation

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