AL HAREES

By: Bahraini - Gateway Women

Recipes: AL HAREES (Beaten Pearled Wheat and Meat)

A favourite daily Ramadan dish common to the area. Served either topped with melted butter only, or sprinkled with cinnamon powder and sugar.

1 kg Harees (polished or pearled whole hard red wheat)

½ - ¾ kg lean beef or veal + ¼ kg bones or

¾ - 1kg meat and bones as in the neck, joints or loin

boiled water as required

salt to taste

Topping:

¼ cup butter

2 whole cardamoms, partially opened

1 date (optional)

Wash the meat several times under running water. Slash with a sharp knife. Rub with flour and a pinch of salt. Allow to stand for a few min., then thoroughly rinse under running water to wash away any running blood.

Thoroughly wash the wheat, rubbing it together in water, rinse under running water.

Boil 2-3 cups of water in a large pot, preferably a Harees pot or a large pressure cooker.

Add the wheat, mix, allow to boil. Cook until slightly fluffy. Remove the white froth, as it forms.

Add enough boiling water to cover the wheat by 6cm. Cover, allow to boil. Add the meat pushing it down. Add enough water to cover the meat, remove the brown froth as it appears.

Mix frequently until the wheat absorbs most of the water. Bury the meat in the wheat, cover and cook on low heat for 2-3 hrs. placing a metal sheet underneath the pot or cook in a warm oven, check frequently. Add boiling water as and when required until the meat is almost dissolved and the wheat kernels are almost disintegrated. If using a pressure cooker, cook for ¾ hr. making sure that there is enough water to prevent the Harees from burning. Generally, less water is required when Harees is cooked in a pressure cooker.

When the wheat kernels have completely lost shape, beat the Harees using a special wooden beater called “Medhrab”. Add salt dissolved in boiling water.

Add boiling water, or remove the extra soup, until a smooth thick batter consistency is obtained. The milky thick soup could be served for “Fotoor (breakfast), the sunset meal in Ramadan.

Dissolve salt in boiling water, add according to taste while beating rapidly. Beat until the mixture is homogenous and elastic.

On a low heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan with the partially opened cardamoms and one date to remove the white froth.

Serve the Harees in individual serving dishes or a large serving dish (4-5cm deep). Dip a round tablespoon in the butter and level the Harees in the dish. Using the back of the spoon, form a well in the middle of the dish. Fill the well with melted butter and sprinkle some on the remaining Harees and serve.

Harees is also served in soup plates or small casseroles, each serving 3-4 persons. The casseroles are distributed on the table or along the table cloth which is traditionally laid out on the floor.

Variations:

In Kuwait and Iraq, Al Harees is sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon powder.

Al Harees is sometimes prepared with chicken instead of meat.

Notes:

The original recipe was much more economical, the proportion of meat to wheat was that of not more than 1:2, but nowadays people prefer to prepare Harees with more meat, that’s why the proportion varies from one house to another depending on personal taste and preference.

For best results, when beating Al Harees, follow the traditional method by placing the pot on the floor on a jute bag or rough material, covering the sides of the pot. Set in front of the pots on a low wooden stool, grab the pot by both feet. Beat using the Medhrab in a circular direction towards the side of the pot. Nowadays special electrical Harees mixers are also available.