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Meat and dal become the best buddies, only this time of the year. Yes, it’s Ramadan — the holy month of fasting, and haleem, perhaps, leads the list of delicacies on an iftar menu. Where do you get it in the city? There are several places but there’s one that serves four different varieties — Shahi, Hyderabadi, Afghani and Irani! The address is 135 Park Street, Calcutta’s good old Shiraz.
All the four varieties of the wholesome stew — prepared with chunks of meat, wheat, rice, five types of lentils (moong, masoor, urad, chana and sona moong) and a generous sprinkling of spices — will be available daily from 2pm till July 31, as part of Wah Haleem Festival at the Park Street eatery.
While meat is mashed and mixed with lentils and cooked in Hyderabadi haleem, the Irani and Shahi varieties contain pieces of meat. Afghani haleem has meat koftas cooked and added to the stew and is mild on spices. Shahi is the haleem from Lucknow and is the spiciest of them all. Each variety costs Rs 120-plus a plate.
“It would be fair to say that haleem came along with the Arab and Persian settlers to India. One remarkable thing about haleem is that the original cooking method has not been changed,” said Ishtiaque Ahmed, partner, Shiraz Golden Restaurant.
As haleem is part of an iftar menu, it is generally had at dusk. “You can pair it with roti or naan. Some people even love to add haleem to their biryani!” said chef Wasi Ahmed, who has been working in the Shiraz kitchen for the past 45 years.
We ask what his favourite is. “I specialise in Lucknow cuisine. So for me it is always the Shahi haleem. But that doesn’t mean the others are any less. We have many customers who love the Afghani variety,” said the 62-year-old chef.
