By Danish Khan, Muslim Mirror,
Hyderabad, July 17: Hyderabadi Haleem is a world famous delicacy mostly made in the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims observe fasting. The taste is heavenly. After the nawaabi Hyderabadi Biryani, this is the delicacy which is craved by all. Lot of hard work goes in its making. The food originated as an Arabic dish and was introduced to the Hyderabad state by the Arab diaspora during the Nizam’s rule. Blended with local traditional spices, it formed a unique Hyderabadi haleem, becoming a popular food among the native residents by the 19th century. As it provides instant energy and is high in calories, people take it as an evening meal that breaks the daylong fast. This has made the dish synonymous with Ramadan.
In 2010 Hyderabadi Haleem was awarded Geographical Indication status by the Indian GI registry office. It became a first non-vegetarian product of India to receive a GI certification. Hyderabadi haleem’s GI tag means that this dish cannot be sold as Hyderabadi haleem unless it meets the standards laid down for a flavored Hyderabadi haleem. There are six quality measures right from procurement of the ingredients to the 12-hour cooking process. It can be called Hyderabadi Haleem only if the maker follows the prescribed standards. For example, it has to be goat meat, cooked in pure ghee and the cooking has to be done over firewood for 12 hours.
During the 2012 Ramadan season, 1.2 billion worth of Hyderabadi haleem was sold in the city. The dish is available in a number of varieties like beef, mutton, chicken and dry fruits with different other ingredients. There is also a vegetarian Haleem. Hundreds of Haleem points employ thousands of youngsters at attractive salaries to manage the ever growing number of customers for the whole month of Ramadan. During the 2012 Ramadan season, 25,000 people were employed in the preparation and sale of haleem. A chef in the mega Haleem mart can fetch around Rs 1 lakh for whole month. Chefs and their assistants stand for hours around the huge cauldrons placed on the kilns to prepare the dish through a painstaking process.
As of 2011, during Ramadan there were 6,000 eateries throughout the city that sold haleem (70% of which are temporary erected for Ramadan), and 28% of Hyderabadi haleem produced in the city was exported to 50 countries throughout the world. Ramadan is incomplete in Hyderabad without Haleem. Even the non-Muslims relish it at thousands of hotels and eateries across the city.