Travel in time with Haleem

The story of the making of brand ‘Haleem’ in the words of a Hyderabadi who has seen it all

When we came to Hyderabad in the 60s Haleem was a secret recipe that only some Muslim households were privy to. And only a few of us who had good friends of that specific religion got to taste this rare delicacy.

It was in the seventies or perhaps in the early eighties that Haleem became a street side festival. And in the early days Haleem meant Haleem, a simple meat and wheat dish that was prepared only during Ramadan and sold at a few places in Hyderabad.

Even then only the connoisseurs knew where to go for Haleem. And we would hear about Haleem and the various garnishes that were in vogue.

And yes, even then the accent was on the pure ghee and the pure meat. The kajoos, the fried onion and the mint leaves were later day additions. More I think as part of a one upmanship drive rather than on the basis of any designed flavour.

The recipe was spicy enough and hovered near the doors of subtlety in terms of flavour. By the 80s I had become quite a fan of the stuff and I was snooty enough to frown with distaste when I saw banners announcing ‘Chicken’ Haleem.

So when I had to be in Bangalore during one Ramadan I assumed that the Muslim areas of that city would have a local version of Haleem available.

Encounter over Haleem
Now imagine my surprise when I was told that not only was Haleem not available, none of the guys around even knew about it. They were five time namazees and understood Roza and Iftar, etc, but Haleem in specific had not yet made inroads into Bangalore.

The same was the story in Chennai. And while I have no idea about when Haleem discovered Lucknow, if it did at all, I did hear that Mohammed Ali Road in Bombay had some Haleem Counters. And they also had some Harees ones.

And that was the first time I realised that people have a whacky sense of humour. When I asked someone what the difference was, between Haleem and Harees… he told me glibly that Haleem was for Muslims and Harees was for the Hindus. I now realise that it was an obvious pun on the Hindus who believed in Hari.

The other encounters with Haleem led to utter confusion in my life. Was it compulsory to squeeze some lime onto the Haleem before consuming it? Was it eaten like a porridge or was it to be treated like a soup, which meant eating Haleem with some bread, a Sheermal perhaps.

A good friend once explained to me that the Haleem recipe was essentially built around Mutton, Wheat Flour and Pure Ghee. So bread was redundant.

Now I hear about an outlet in Hyderabad serving 11 types of Haleem. The Gyaarah Handi Haleem when revealed, was a platter of Haleems: Vegetable Haleem, Roasted Corn Haleem, Chicken Haleem, Mutton Haleem, Fish Haleem, Prawn Haleem, Duck Haleem, Turkey Haleem, Special Chicken Haleem, Special Mutton Haleem and even an oddly named Anaida’s Original Persian Haleem.

I personally think it is sacrilege. But hey, to each his own. In fact someone actually posted on a social media platform that the Duck Haleem was particularly nice.

At this stage I must talk about the brands that have used Haleem to become famous, especially during the festival.

The first mover edge
The first movers were, to my memory, Shadaab, Shehraan, Nayaab, maybe Niagra (I’m not sure), Pista House and so on.

The lesser known Haleem Counters were at Punjagutta around Banjara Darbar, Rainbow in Gunfoundry. I can’t for the life of me remember any other unit that sold memorable Haleem.

The Nizam Club I heard was quite the haunt but that is only hearsay as far as Haleem is concerned. I can only vouch for their kebabs and biryani. The Exhibition also was someplace I was told you could get some Haleem. But let me be honest, I never dared, I never tried.

I don’t know how many of you know about a restaurant called Y2K.com in Punjagutta. I was for a long time convinced that the IT Czar of them days who benefitted most from the Y2K bug actually owned the restaurant. Ok, just kidding. But you must admit that the name is quite aptly creative.

Haleem by post
For those of us who look forward to marketing innovations and path breaking advertising, Pista House was a big shocker. Who could have thought that the Post Offices in Hyderabad…yes the very same sleepy lazy outlets that barely managed to deliver letters in time, would transform into extra active and innovative parts of a food chain that was invented by Pista House.

When Pista House started delivering Haleem through the city wide network of Post Offices I was amused. When Haleem outlets multiplied exponentially I was amazed. When brands like Coca-Cola tied up with Haleem Outlets I was astounded.

From an esoteric dish Haleem had managed to become something that was on every one’s lips. And the city became a community of Haleem Experts. And new names began to emerge.

Hotel Iqbal, Alhamdulillah, Hotel Rumaan, Hyline, Nayaab, Grand Hotel, Madina and Shah Ghouse were joined by Niagra, Bawarchi, Sohail and Mandar not to forget Café Bahaar, Sarvi, 555, Paradise and what have you. And each brand had its die hard supporters. Then the five star hotels jumped into the fray.

Green Park became famous. As did Golconda. Kakatiya who had pioneered the Midnight Biryani also threw their lot into the ring. Taj Banjara opened a Chai Shop that served Hyderabadi style chai and snacks, and yes Haleem was there on the menu.

And before you could say “Allah O Akbar”, Haleem graduated from a Festive Dish to a daily celebration.
I pampered myself and my family for a long time by hiring a traditional Muslim cook.

The children loved the on demand biryani and on request Haleem, not to forget the delicious shaami kababs that the lady used to churn out before she became too old to work daily (she still comes every Ramadan and cooks up an Idee meal including the irresistible Sheer Korma).

It was from her that we learnt about the process involved in the making of Haleem. The kneeding of the meat, the beating of the wheat, the subtle but timely addition of Ghee and the spices.

The long cooking hours till the paste is soft enough for a baby to chew on. The importance of garnishing and even the way we ate Haleem…all this we learnt from a lady with a heart.

We were then introduced to ladies who started home cooked outlets and everyone from Mrs. Khan to Aziza aapa, from Khajamani who came to fame with her quite surprisingly awesome Veg Haleem to Khaja Begum, one of Hyderabad’s more famous caterers. And it was like Fan Clubs started off in every alternate corner of Hyderabad.

Writing about Haleem I cannot but mention a young man who I met recently. His name is Haleem, and in all fairness I found it difficult to address him as such for a long while.

He is a dancer of repute and an actor too but the world seems to have accepted his name. I guess a world that accepts Laddu as a name should be excused for naming a man after a dish.

I cannot for example expect an Englishman to be christened Croissant or a French Lady to be called Crème Brûlée. But it takes all kinds to make the world including this fellow who lectured me a few years back on the importance of Haleem in life, especially in Hyderabad.

The Hyderabadi wisdom
“Dekhiye Bhai Sahab”, he told me in a manner that’s typical and unique, what is Haleem made of? Mainly Meat and Wheat na? When I nodded in agreement he continued, Think of Meat as the Musalman and Wheat as the Hindu and the Garnishing as members of all the other religions.

My nodding took on the flavour of puzzlement and slowed down as I digested the fact that I may be in conversation with a certified nutcase.

He obviously saw the dilemma I was in and said, “Just imagine; only when you beat the wheat and the meat together into submission and cook it over about eight long hours do you get the most delicious Haleem. And the garnishing are what give the Haleem the finishing touch of deliciousness.”

We should approach life also in the same way. Unless Hindus and Muslims are thrown together, beaten together and cooked together we cannot become a harmonious mix. And unless the other religions don’t realise that they are but minorities who can be the toppings but never the substance, life like a half cooked Haleem will remain tasteless.

I went home that evening thinking that Hyerabadi Wisdom has to be understood only in spiritually aided circumstances. In normal circumstances it either sounds trite or beyond comprehension.

I obviously chose to try the spiritual route to understand what the gentleman had said. Maybe you should too.

By: Vijay Marur
The writer is a filmmaker and a food critic