Chicken Haleem - Chicken and Lentil - Wheat Berries Stew

 

Chicken Haleem

A colleague at work first mentioned Haleem and how delicious it is. A one-pot meal that is hearty and wholesome, I've been wanting to try it out in my kitchen for a long time. The main ingredient in the haleem mix is the wheat berry or little grains of wheat which are tinier than the wheat that is ground into flour.

As is my practice, I scoured the internet for haleem recipes, watched a few videos and came up with a recipe that is far from authentic, but delicious anyway. I mixed wheat berries with panch mishali dal or 5 different varieties of lentils. This consisted of red/masoor dal, split chickpeas/channa dal, white/urad dal, yellow/moong dal and yellow split peas/toor dal.

I used minced or ground chicken, 1 cup of wheat berries and a quarter cup each of the 5 types of lentils. The chicken was made into a keema curry and the lentils were first toasted in a dry skillet, cooled and blended to a fine powder. The chicken keema and haleem mix were then combined with 3 cups of water and simmered over medium-low heat until thickened.

Haleem reminds me of a rich version of khichuri in which rice is replaced with wheat berries. Delicious and nutritious, we had it for dinner with steamed rice and for lunch over a bed of rice noodles with several garnishes.

Serve with Garnishes

Ingredients

1 lb. minced chicken
1 cup wheat berries/haleem (available in Indian markets)
1/4 cup red lentils/masoor dal
1/4 cup yellow lentils/moong dal
1/4 cup white lentils/urad dal
1/4 cup split chickpeas/channa dal
1/4 cup yellow split peas/toor dal
2 large onions, minced
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. garlic paste

2 Tbsp. tomato ketchup
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. paprika/Kashmiri mirch powder
1 Tbsp. meat masala powder
1 Tbsp. ghee
salt to taste
2 Tbsp. deep fried shallots

2 + 4 cups simmering chicken broth or water

Garnishes

minced cilantro
deep fried shallots
4-5 green chilies
lime wedges
sliced onions

Directions

1. Toast lentils and wheat berries in a dry skillet until color changes to light golden.
2. Cover in 2 cups water and soak for an hour.
3. Heat oil over medium-high heat and fry minced onions until translucent.
4. Brown minced chicken, add turmeric and paprika powders, ginger and garlic pastes, ketchup, salt, meat masala and stir well.
5. Simmer over medium heat with 2 cups simmering broth/water for 20 minutes.
6. Add soaked wheat berries and lentils along with soaking water.
7. Top with remaining broth/water, stir well and bring to a boil.
8. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Cook off excess liquid until haleem thickens to desired consistency.
10. Add ghee, garnish as desired and serve.