Haleem Origins

0:00We're moving forward. It's the perfect weather for a really nice bowl of halim and joining me in conversation about all things halim is Nassreen Charmda, Nassreen Aslamu alaikum. Welcome to the program this afternoon. It's lovely to have you back on air with us. Salam Safiya, how are you doing today? I'm doing well, Alhamdulillah, 52,000 people. So I will relay on devaras and 100 people made devaras last week. So I don't know if it's going to translate into this week as well with the halim Alhamdulillah for everybody that tried out the recipe and it was very successful. We made it twice so far. Yeah, no, it was quite a phenomenal response and it was actually so nice to hear the different feedback that people sent in in terms of what recipes they use at home and whether they can adapt it for puri. So it was actually a really nice engagement. I quite enjoyed the segment last week. Lovely. So we are talking about halim for our international listeners. Halim is a very popular soup, sort of like a soup or broth that's always on the iftar

1:00table. It's also used. A lot of people would make big pots of halim and do distribution to poor communities and there's just something so satisfying and comforting about a bowl of halim, especially during the month of Ramadan. So what's the history behind halim Nassreen? So I mean, if anyone does a little bit of research outside of their family history, right? Because each family has some version or variation of a halim recipe that they like to pass down. Be chicken base, be it beef base or even mutton, you know? So essentially it's like a Middle East and dish that started off a really long time ago and eventually it moved from Iraq, it moved towards India and that's where the flavours became very, very interesting because that's when you started finding depths of spiciness that translated through this very wholesome soup. There is essentially a combination of lentils. Now people add oats as well, you've barley, some versions have rice in it and then again,

2:01it's just about layering that flavour in between through a very slow cooked process. It feeds a lot of people. So I believe whenever anybody makes halim, there's a lot of burger in it. So I believe it's one of those very special dishes that were meant to feed people and like you see it, it's just something magical about it with them and then you have it, you feel or you overcome with this instant feeling of comfort and it's actually so wonderful because it's where they are at the moment is ideal for it. And also it's a very nutritionally dense, there's a lot of the fibles, the protein is the, it's got almost a little bit of everything which makes it extra satisfying in something that one of the ideal foods to break your fast worth. Correct, absolutely. So what are the tips that you can share with our listeners this afternoon on how to make the perfect halim? So you know, if you ask most people, they'll say you need to make it in this big pot and allow it to cook for hours, you want the meat to fall off the boat and ideally that's

3:02what you want but I honestly don't have a lot of time to do that so I hacked it and I made my halim in an instant pot and honestly speaking it does the same job and I know people have been doing that for a really long time as well. So for me, I think the biggest thing would be to always check your consistency. If it's too thick, add enough hot water and also what you can do is add stock. So that's what I've now done in my recipe where I've taken my flavour from adding your whole spices, then your ground spice and I've just taken it one step further by adding a rich broth because I just feel like adding another stock layer just to add another depth of flavour. And I would say that so when looking at the consistency, always add more water if you need to be. In my real, I made mine quite thick. I wanted to show the different textures in the halim. I didn't want to blend it too finely because then you just have a basic soup and I didn't want that. Also, choice of dolls. This is where the interesting point comes in because a lot of people use a variety of dolls. You know, you can use your oil doll, you can use your pink doll, you can use urad dal.

4:05So many different elements to add into it. Some people add barley, some people add rice like I mentioned earlier. So again, it's just all about what you want to add into it, treated by the process of love. A lot of patients go into the dish again if you're adding different proteins, adjust your cooking time based on the protein you're adding and voila, an absolutely wholesome, delicious dish. So what's your recipe like? Okay, so my husband will tell you that he actually refers to me as throw and glow. Very different, very different idea because usually when I bake, it's like very precise and concise. But when I cook, I don't usually follow a set recipe. I like to just add as I go on the same. So this is kind of like a little concoction as you I would like to think. I added urad dal, I added pink dal, I added some pearl barley. I added a whole lot of different flavors. But what I made different with this version is that I use the shans nihari spice. Now, I know you get the shans halim mix.

5:06So there comes with the spice, but I hate with the nihari and I mean mine's with chicken because the many in my life don't like to eat a lot of lamb. So I had to use chicken today, but lamb ideally would be so well with that nihari spice and you just add like two tablespoons and I promise you elevates that dish. It becomes so absolutely mouthwatering, perfect addition for it. So there was something new that I tried as well. Just to add a variety and then yeah, a bit of oats at the end. And also what I did was like I said, you know, I take my steak blender and I like to blend everything together. But I like to reserve just a little bit of the mixture before blending it. Just so you have the little textural elements on top. And then you garnish it with julienne ginger. We made a chilli oiled tadka, we threw it on top, some mint, coriander, lemon juice, amazing. The ideal dish. So the recipe is up on Instagram. If you guys want to have a look at it, the industry has posted up a reel.

6:09So it will be shared obviously for the benefit of all of our listeners. And that's how you how to make the perfect halim. Any final words before we end up? So I would love to know if any of our listeners have any different variations, any different types of ingredients they like to add. I mean, I'd love to know someone I did hear once, it's a brand new, a brand new and I think so that also is a different element to it. But I'd love to know what are the different other ways of making halim. I'm going to ask the question and I'll share the responses with you. But thank you so much for joining us on the show. It was lovely chatting this afternoon. We'll chat again soon. Until then, you take in a salamu alaikum. So how do you prepare your halim? Share your tips and tricks with us and your hacks with us on the show this afternoon. Halim is the perfect dish. I've got a quick recipe for you and another tip is also you can make halim in the Instant Pot or in your electric pressure cooker that eliminates a lot of the time.

7:10So I've got a quick recipe. No, well, it's not that quick, you know, if you guys know halim goes. But here's a quick recipe for you. It's about three quarter cup of barley. You're going to need a quarter cup of crème d'ol, a half a cup of crushed wheat and a tablespoon of rice. You mix this together. You're going to boil and liquidize it and sift it through a colander. Alternatively, you can use the lentil soup mix. That was the hack I got from Fisana Sibdashi said. The lentil soup mix actually works really well. Then you need a half a kilogram of either chicken or mutton. The next one would be two and a half tape teaspoons of ginger garlic, not the red one, six illachi points, three cinnamon sticks, a quarter cup of pepper, a quarter teaspoon or a quarter cup lime agent putting a quarter cup of, a quarter cup of pepper in your halim, a quarter teaspoon of pepper, three cloves, two to three fresh green chilies, two

8:14teaspoons of chilli powder, two teaspoons of dana jiru, a quarter teaspoon of turmeric and four teaspoons of salt. You're going to make a vagaar with the onions and the jira seeds and then you're going to add your meat and you're going to cook it until it's done and obviously you're going to season and spice it really well. Then you add in your barley mixture that has been liquidized and then you simmer everything on low heat for three quarter to one hour. Before serving you're going to make a vagaar with onions and garlic, throw it over the halim and close the lid and finally you're going to garnish it with chopped danya, mint and shallots. Now, I'm not a biggest fan of halim. I do like it occasionally but I sometimes find it to be too rich, too many steps to make and asnesians you've got to make a really, really, really big pot so you can share it with everyone around you. If you want that creaminess, the lentils of the halim but you want something a little less spicy and a little easier to have, there's this version of halim in the middle east, it's

9:17cool short but a dust, also known as lentil soup. It's the quickest soup that you can ever make and it is so satisfying and it's almost like having halim without all the added steps. So to make this one is quite easy, two teaspoons of olive oil, a half onion, then you can also add to the some carrots, you can add celery and you can add potato. Turkish version gets potato so you can add those three extra vegetables to the soup. You need red lentils also known as your pink dal, about two cups that is rinsed, some cumin which is your jira seeds, cinnamon, turmeric, salt, water and I put a little bit of chilies because I need a bit of spice. So in a big pot you're going to heat up your olive oil, you're going to add your onions, your cumin and add your other veggies so you can add your carrots, your celery. I even put in some leaks the other day in one small potato, this gives it a very creamy texture.

10:18Then you add in your pink dal, your water and you're going to season it obviously with your chili, your turmeric and your salt and you simmer for only 20 minutes. When the lentils are soft and tender, you're going to then liquidize this or you're going to put your stick blender in your pot and the best, the two important parts is to actually put lots of chopped parsley for freshness, freshly crack your black pepper into the soup and serve it with lots and lots of lemon. If you really want to take it one step further, you can make a chili oil. So you're going to heat up some, you're going to heat up some oil, put it onto your chili flakes out where your chili powder and you're going to garnish it with this chili oil. The turkey's version actually takes some, a little bit of butter, they add some chili peppers and chili, chili powder to the butter and when it sizzles, they pour out over the soup. And this can also be made in a big batch, you can freeze it, excellent to have during the last 10 nights of Ramadan and if you really want to have halim but you don't want

11:19the extra steps, then try making this really lovely lentil soup.