Posted on Apr 29, 2022
This goat and lentil stew is a beloved Ramadan tradition in Hyderabad, India
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https://www.npr.org/2022/04/29/ [login to see] /ramadan-haleem-hyderabad-india-food
It's the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Royal Hyatt convention center, which usually hosts wedding receptions, has been turned into a kitchen for Pista House, one of this southern Indian city's top restaurants. A huge hall is full of dozens of workers dressed in yellow shirts and hair nets, busy crushing cardamom pods, peeling onions and de-stalking little piles of fresh green chili peppers.
But there's only one dish on the menu.
It's haleem — a thick meat and lentil stew, cooked for hours, pounded into a paste and flavored with rose petals, cinnamon and cardamom, among other spices.
Around the world, the Ramadan dawn-to-dusk fast is usually followed by a feast. And in Hyderabad, that feast is dominated by haleem.
Pista House alone makes thousands of pounds of it each day during Ramadan, says Mohammed Mohddis Ali, whose family owns the chain of more than two dozen restaurants. With goat meat, coarsely ground wheat and lentils, haleem makes for the perfect meal between fasts, says Pista House's media coordinator, Fayaz Farooqui.
It's the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Royal Hyatt convention center, which usually hosts wedding receptions, has been turned into a kitchen for Pista House, one of this southern Indian city's top restaurants. A huge hall is full of dozens of workers dressed in yellow shirts and hair nets, busy crushing cardamom pods, peeling onions and de-stalking little piles of fresh green chili peppers.
But there's only one dish on the menu.
It's haleem — a thick meat and lentil stew, cooked for hours, pounded into a paste and flavored with rose petals, cinnamon and cardamom, among other spices.
Around the world, the Ramadan dawn-to-dusk fast is usually followed by a feast. And in Hyderabad, that feast is dominated by haleem.
Pista House alone makes thousands of pounds of it each day during Ramadan, says Mohammed Mohddis Ali, whose family owns the chain of more than two dozen restaurants. With goat meat, coarsely ground wheat and lentils, haleem makes for the perfect meal between fasts, says Pista House's media coordinator, Fayaz Farooqui.
This goat and lentil stew is a beloved Ramadan tradition in Hyderabad, India
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Religion
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India
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Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Around the world, the Ramadan dawn-to-dusk fast is usually followed by a feast. And in Hyderabad, that feast is dominated by haleem.
Pista House alone makes thousands of pounds of it each day during Ramadan, says Mohammed Mohddis Ali, whose family owns the chain of more than two dozen restaurants. With goat meat, coarsely ground wheat and lentils, haleem makes for the perfect meal between fasts, says Pista House’s media coordinator, Fayaz Farooqui.
“It is like an energy food. I bet I could fast for two days straight if I eat one bowl of haleem,” he says with a laugh.
With its mushy, cardboard-colored appearance, haleem may not look as tempting as biryani, Hyderabad’s other famous delicacy. But what it lacks in looks, it more than makes up for in taste — as evidenced by the crowds that throng haleem stalls every Ramadan.
“It is tasty, yummy. You can’t compare this dish to anything else,” says Sai Mudhiraj, who has stopped on his way home from work to savor haleem at a Pista House outlet.
“It hits your palate,” says historian Sajjad Shahid, a native of Hyderabad. “It is quite a satisfying meal.”
The dish is popular among non-Muslim Indians too, even as Hindu nationalists who consider meat impure continue to politicize it and try to dictate the foods Indians consume."...
..."Around the world, the Ramadan dawn-to-dusk fast is usually followed by a feast. And in Hyderabad, that feast is dominated by haleem.
Pista House alone makes thousands of pounds of it each day during Ramadan, says Mohammed Mohddis Ali, whose family owns the chain of more than two dozen restaurants. With goat meat, coarsely ground wheat and lentils, haleem makes for the perfect meal between fasts, says Pista House’s media coordinator, Fayaz Farooqui.
“It is like an energy food. I bet I could fast for two days straight if I eat one bowl of haleem,” he says with a laugh.
With its mushy, cardboard-colored appearance, haleem may not look as tempting as biryani, Hyderabad’s other famous delicacy. But what it lacks in looks, it more than makes up for in taste — as evidenced by the crowds that throng haleem stalls every Ramadan.
“It is tasty, yummy. You can’t compare this dish to anything else,” says Sai Mudhiraj, who has stopped on his way home from work to savor haleem at a Pista House outlet.
“It hits your palate,” says historian Sajjad Shahid, a native of Hyderabad. “It is quite a satisfying meal.”
The dish is popular among non-Muslim Indians too, even as Hindu nationalists who consider meat impure continue to politicize it and try to dictate the foods Indians consume."...
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