Haleem

HALEEM
-Haleem is a thick Persian, Pakistani and North Indian dish. Although the dish varies from region to region, it always includes wheat , lentils and meat. (Wiki)
Traditionally Haleem is made with mutton or beef, But I always prefer chicken over mutton. So I always make it with boneless chicken. But I have tasted the traditional mutton Haleem so many times.The best Haleem I have tasted ever was at PAKWAN in Fremont, CA, USA.
And believe me Mutton haleem is more tastier than the chicken haleem, but the latter is healthier. So, here is my way of making haleem. I know its a very long procedure, but its worth it :)
Ingredients:
600 grams of boneless chicken,
1 cup of wheat/ broken wheat,
1/2 cup of chana daal/ gram lentils,
3 tbsp of barley,
1 cup of oil,
1 tbsp garlic paste,
1 big onion,
1-2 tbsp of red chilli powder,
1 tsp of garam masala,
1 tbsp of coriander powder,
a pinch of turmeric powder and
salt to taste.

For garnishing:
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander powder,
1 small piece of ginger- cut into julienne,
2-3 thinly sliced onions,
juice of 1 lemon,
2-3 chopped green chillies (optional) and
Oil for deep frying the onions.

Method:
Soak the wheat, lentils and barley for 1- 1 1/2 hours. Heat 1/2 cup of oil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add the garlic paste and fry for 1 minute. Now add the chicken pieces and all the dry spices -chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and garam masala and fry for few minutes. Now add the soaked grains and lentils to the chicken and mix well again. Add 6-7 glass glasses of water and cook on medium heat for 1-2 hours or until the lentils, grains and the chicken is cooked. Meanwhile deep fry the onions for garnishing on low flame until, light brown and crisp.Keep aside.
When its cooked, pass the curry through a sieve with small holes, separate the chicken pieces and shred them finely, blend the grains and lentils in a food processor very coarsely. Make sure not to make it to fine paste.
Now mix together the drained liquid, blended grains and shredded meat and bring to boil. Cook over low heat and cover the pan with a lid, and cook for 20 mins, stirring frequently.
Now fry 1 onion in the remaining 1/2 cup of oil, until light brown and add to the haleem and cook on low flame for another 10 minutes.
Garnish with lemon juice, ginger, chopped coriander leaves, and the fried onions. Serve hot as a side dish or main course.