Chicken Haleem is a traditional hyderabadi recipe made with chicken cooked along with wheat and dals along with spices and herbs. The dish you can find in the streets of Hyderabad during the holy month of Ramadan. Haleem or also known as harees, is made in many Islamic countries as well. But the haleem made in Hyderabad is spicier and is dripping with ghee. Haleem is served along with barista (fried onions), chopped mint and coriander leaves and a dash of lemon juice. Check out the step by step instructions recipe below and do try it out. Let me know in the comments section how it turned out.
INGREDIENTS:
For the Chicken:
Oil- 1/2 cup
Chicken- 500 gms (preferably with bone, as bone adds flavour)
Onion- 2 (large, thinly sliced)
Mint leaves- 1 cup
Coriander leaves- 1 cup
Green Chillies- 3-4 nos
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tbsp
Green cardamom- 3-4 nos
Cloves- 3-4 nos
Dalchini- 2 1" sticks
Kabab Chini- 2 nos;
Black cardamom- 3-4 nos
Ripe tomatoes - 2 nos (large, chopped)
Salt- to taste
Thick Curd- 200 gms
For the Dals:
Wheat- 50 gms
Rice of your choice- 50 gms
Chana dal- 25 gms
Urad dal- 25 gms
Masoor dal- 25 gms
Toor dal- 25 gms
Salt to taste
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
Red chilli powder- 2 tsp
Lemon- 2 nos
Onion- 2 nos (sliced, for barista)
Chopped mint- 2 tbsp (for garnishing)
Chopped coriander leaves- 2 tbsp (for garnishing)
Ghee- 1 cup
PROCEDURE:
Heat oil in a cooker, add whole spices and allow to splutter.
Now add sliced onion and some salt and let it cook till translucent.
Now add ginger garlic paste and red chilli powder and saute well.
Now add washed and drained chicken to it. Mostly people use boneless chicken as it is convenient, but I prefer using chicken with bones as bones add a lot of flavour to the haleem. Though it is a time-consuming task to separate the meat and the bones, but it is definitely worth it. It elevates the flavour really well.
Now add chopped tomatoes, mint and coriander leaves to it.
Add curd and a cup of water to it and mix well.
Cook it for 2-3 whistles, allow the pressure to release naturally.
Once cooked, remove the chicken pieces and keep the broth separately, we'll use it later.
Once the chicken cools down, separate the meat from the bones, This is the most time-consuming part in this recipe.
Set the chicken aside, we'll use it later.
Take water in a pressure cooker, add salt to it and add the washed dals and wheat.
Cook it for 4-5 whistles or until the dals and wheat break apart.
Take it in a bowl and let it cool down.
At this stage, mash the dals well using a blender.
Traditionally, the dals are cooked in a deep pot till it breaks and mashes, but this step is elaborate. So, my version of haleem is homely, which can be made at home by using easily available kitchen ingredients.
Take the mashed dals in a thick-bottomed vessel.
Now add the chicken we de-boned earlier, Add some of the chicken broth to it too.
Mix well and cook it using a wooden ladle, Make sure to mash the chicken while stirring it. So, basically you are mashing the chicken while stirring it continuously. This is sure a tiresome task, but this step will ensure you the "reshedar haleem" like you get in the streets of Hyderabad.
Keep stirring while keeping the flame on medium heat. Add the ghee and the broth in which we cooked the chicken. Mix well and cook till it thickens. This mashing process may take 15-20 mins.
Now the haleem is ready when it reaches a texture similar to this. Now, switch off the flame and let's prepare the barista.
There you go, Hyderabadi Chicken Haleem or Chicken Daleem is ready.
Now remove it in a bowl, drizzle some ghee over it, squeeze half a lemon and sprinkle some barista and herbs over it. And your delicious haleem is ready to be devoured.
