Al Harees A Family Recipe Traditional Qatari Iraqi Food

AL HAREES - A FAMILY RECIPE! TRADITIONAL QATARI, IRAQI

Steps:

• Soak wheat overnight in plenty of water.
• In a large pot, place pre-soaked & drained wheat, add 1 & 3/4 litre of water & boil until the wheat is beginning to fluff up & soften - skim off any foam or skummy bits on the surface!
• Soak the lamb / chicken in plenty of lightly salted water whilst the wheat is cooking.
• When the wheat is fluffy, rinse & drain the meat.
• In a large, heavy bottomed pot (or special harees pot), place the wheat & the meat with a little salt & pepper and enough water to come about 5cm above the wheat & meat. Cover with a tight fitting lid - you can place a damp cloth or aluminium foil over the pot & then place the lid over that of the lid is not a tight fit.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat & cook on a very low heat for 3 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally & skim-off froth or fat on the surface.
• Once the wheat is very soft & has lost it's shape & most of the water has been absorbed, remove from heat & allow to cool a little, then remove any bones & grissle. (If all the water has been absobed add about 3/4 cup - 1 cup of boiling water - if there is too much water but the wheat is cooked, ladle out the excess water.)
• Shred the lamb or chicken if any larger pieces remain - there shouldn't really be any as almost all of it will have 'melted' into the wheat.
• Now begin whipping the wheat & meat until it forms a homogenous, slightly elastic, pastelike consistency - add a little salted boiling water to thin it down if required. Use a large wooden spoon, or pound it with a wooden rolling pin to get the desired consistency. You could also pulse it in a food processor or use an immersion blender but if you are lucky enough, you might have a medhrab which is specially for harees.
• Check the seasoning & re-season if desired. Transfer to a warmed serving pot, cover & keep warm.
• Place the ghee in a pan & season to taste with salt & pepper (& any of the spices listed below). Gently warm the ghee & mix well.
• Pour the seasoned ghee over the harees & serve immediately.
• N.B : You can serve the harees with 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon & 2 tsp roasted ground cumin seeds, or 3-4 whole bruised cardamom pods added to the ghee (remove the podes before serving!). You can also serve harees with plenty of sugar & cinnamon.