How to Make Haleem (Minced Meat)

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 11, 2025

This delicious dish is eaten during the holy month of Ramadan. Although the dish varies from region to region, it always includes wheat, lentils, and meat.

Ingredients

8.8 oz (250 g) mutton or lamb
1 cup (200 g) whole wheat – soaked overnight, drained, pounded, and husked
1 teaspoon (5 g) red chile powder
½ teaspoon (2.5 g) turmeric
1 tablespoon (15 g) chana dal (split and polished baby chickpeas) – soaked for ½ hour
1 tablespoon (15 g) moong dal (skinned and split mung beans) – soaked for ½ hour
1 tablespoon (15 g) masoor dal (skinned red lentils) – soaked for ½ hour
1 teaspoon (5 g) ground coriander
2 onions, thinly sliced and fried crispy in olive oil
4 tablespoons (60 g) ghee
2 teaspoons (10 g) ginger-garlic paste (see below)
Salt to taste

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Prepping the Ingredients

Download Article

1
Get everything ready. Cooking this recipe does not take too much time, but it does require forethought and advanced action. Before you go to start cooking, make sure your ingredients are prepped ( i.e. , mise en place ).
- To make ginger-garlic paste, grate about a 2-inch (5 cm) piece of ginger and pound grated ginger with a mortar and pestle. Add the same amount in smashed garlic cloves and pound both into a paste. If you like it spicier, add 1⅓ tablespoon (20 g) fresh green chiles.
  - You can use this paste during cooking or you can marinate the lamb in it with salt to taste for an hour prior.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Making Your Haleem

Download Article

1
In a heavy-bottomed, high-sided skillet, bring 8 cups water to a boil. Once a steady boil has been reached, add wheat, mutton, and drained dal, stirring to disperse. Stir in ginger garlic paste, coriander, turmeric, red chile powder, and salt to taste.
- Reduce heat to low to achieve a steady simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent a film from forming on the top. If too much liquid evaporates, add ¼ c (25 g) water to the pot.
2
Simmer until mutton is very tender. (This could take a while, so be patient.) When the meat practically falls apart, remove from heat and set skillet onto a sturdy trivet or something that is heatproof. Mash stew into a meaty paste.
- A potato masher works just fine for this part, though a fork or meat tenderizer would also do. (Some people use a food processor for this step!)
3
Add crushed fried onion and mix well. Slowly stir over low heat till the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pot. Then heat ghee and pour the contents over the haleem .
- Sprinkle lemon juice over before serving haleem – which should still be hot!

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

How long will it take to be ready?

Community Answer

This takes about 20 minutes to cook.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 2 Helpful 2
Question

Is it really effective to gain fat?

Community Answer

No, it is not.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

Tips

The more ghee you add, the better it will taste. However, the more fattening it will be.

Thanks
Helpful 30 Not Helpful 18
Serve with very soft bread and raw onions if desired.

Thanks
Helpful 21 Not Helpful 17

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Warnings

Be careful not to burn yourself! Exercise caution when adding the ingredients.

Thanks
Helpful 15 Not Helpful 11
When adding onions for frying, do it carefully as the oil may splatter.

Thanks
Helpful 13 Not Helpful 9
Do not undercook the meat. That is neither sanitary nor delicious.

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Log in

How to Make Haleem (Minced Meat)

Ingredients

Steps

Prepping the Ingredients

Making Your Haleem

Community Q&A

Video

Tips

Warnings

Other wikiHows

References

About This Article

Did this article help you?

Quizzes

You Might Also Like

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Featured Articles

Featured Articles

Watch Articles

Trending Articles

Quizzes

Explore Categories