haleem

                                                                  Haleem

A man sitting on a square like mud enclave with a big wooden spoon constantly smashing something inside, a medium sized whole in between that enclave to put coal and heat it, another man cutting big stashes of garnishing’s, waves of smoke and fumes filling the air with spicy and tasty smell.  The people walking by , turning to see, and anticipating when it will be ready.

haleem being served  from the pot 

Yeah you have guessed it right, I am talking about the staple dish of hyderabadis, the haleem , most frequently cooked in The Month of Ramzan . The preparation of this dish starts from 12 noon and ends around 5 pm. Requires a lot of ingredients, cooking, heating and mixing. The main ingredients are mutton, chicken or beef heated and grinded in a concentrated form, oil and other spices added, and after through mixing, grinding, heating and cooking it left to cool down, after an hour, fresh haleem ready to serve. It is simple and very nutritious, adds a lot of proteins to your body and also an act of our prophet (PBUH).  As we know haleem is served in almost every big hotel in Hyderabad at different prices, and different tastes, I have made a list of hotels were I liked the dish, so that you can choose from a variety of restaurants and hope you will like them as well.

Shadab :  this hotel situated at medina makes some of most smooth haleems , as you eat it remains in your mouth for a few seconds and disappears immediately , and comes up only in the next take , its touchy and concentrated . And fine balanced of meat and spice.

Bawarchi :  this restaurant is just a few blocks  from my home , it’s been there for years , but I never took notice of its haleem . one day  I had to give a sudden treat to my friends , and bawarchi was their choice , realizing that I never really tried my neighborhood hotel I agreed and was shocked that its haleem was one of a kind , a real class . We all binged on it like crazy. 

Sohail:  it’s located near bb cancer hospital, opposite to  the fly over, though its haleem tastes good and soft, it’s quite expensive and the quantity you get is very little, and for getting the haleem you have to wait for a long time.

Bahar :  this was a  new discovery I made , Bahar is very old restaurant but I never happened to have its haleem anytime , so this time as I was passing through it , I  and my friend decided to try , and I must tell you it was worth it . Good taste, good flavor and not so costly. NO wonder why people flock there .

cafe bahar at Basheer bagh

                                    

SHAAM :  it’s another restaurant located near my house , very veteran in all dishes and one of the oldest , I have been having cuisines  from this hotel since the time  immemorial  ,  and from then till now the standard and quality has never derailed , I can trust this restaurant for its service and food , nothing has changed from it , except for the price , which increases from time to time .

These were the outlets  I found  to be most  exotic and tasty  ,  like all ramzans this ramzan  also left its mark , I believe every ramzan we get makes us realize that how lucky we are , that once again we got this sacred month and once again we get a chance to  forgive and forget our hardness and become friends  , sharing , forgiveness , loving and helping is the crux of this month , I hope that people will carry  this spirit after ramzan as well .

On a parting note I would like to tell you that once I asked my father , weather haleem was so common in his early years as it is now , he replied that haleem was not at all common , only a few restaurants could afford haleem as haleem rawa was  not accessible to everyone ,    he said  in those days haleem would come in RS 5 or 7 a plate , “ quite affordable “ .