KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — During Ramadan (or Ramzan, as it’s known in India) in Hyderabad, the most sought-after dish is haleem. The thick spicy paste is made from wheat, meat and lentils. Its high protein content makes the easy-to-digest haleem the favourite choice for breaking fast since it provides instant energy.
At Hyderabad Biryani House in Brickfields, you can savour the comforting dish this Ramadan. In 2013, owner Saira Banu introduced haleem at her Shah Alam outlet to great success. As a lot of people have been asking for haleem during Ramadan, she decided to reintroduce the dish this year in Brickfields.
Historically, the Hyderabadi haleem was an Arabic dish that was introduced to the city by the Nizams (former rulers of Hyderabad). Synonymous with Ramadan, haleem is prepared by continuously stirring and pounding it with wooden paddles to give it a sticky smooth consistency. Usually, it takes up to 12 hours to cook haleem.
The haleem at Hyderabad Biryani House is cooked by Hyderabad chef Syeikh Ahmed. The 30-year-old has been cooking from the tender age of eight, cutting his teeth at his family business. Prior to coming to Malaysia about two weeks ago, he worked in Dubai. Here, Syeikh prefers to employ a more modern style using appliances for his convenience.
Instead of slow cooking the meat with spices, he employs the use of a pressure cooker which cuts down the cooking time. The chicken pieces are cooked with spices like whole cloves, black pepper powder, cardamom powder, ginger garlic paste, black cumin (shah jeera), cinnamon, turmeric powder, chilli powder and green bird’s eye chillies.
Once the meat is tender, it’s deboned and blended into a paste. This will be mixed with the sambha wheat that is cooked with water, spices, dry ginger powder and oil. A little milk and ghee are also added to the mixture. A lot of elbow grease is also needed to whisk the mixture to give it a thicker consistency, similar to paste.
Best eaten hot, haleem is garnished with fried sliced onions, toasted cashew nuts, chopped fresh coriander and a squeeze of lime juice. The taste of the chicken haleem gets the thumbs up from Hyderabad expatriate Mohammed Shamsher Ali who has been in Malaysia for four years. The IT expert who can easily eat a bowl of haleem every day during Ramadan is looking forward to the mutton version, since he reckons it’ll be tastier.
One taste of haleem and we guarantee you that this wholesome spicy stew will be your favourite way to break fast, or just enjoy for a light dinner.
Hyderabad Biryani House, No. 46, Jalan Berhala, Brickfields, KL. Tel: 03-2260 7036.
Haleem is available from 6.30pm, June 13 (Monday) until the end of Ramadan. There will be chicken haleem (RM6 per portion) and mutton haleem (RM9 per portion).
