Harees

Making Harees

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1. Drain the soaked wheat and put it in a large heavy pot with the meat, onion, cinnamon stick, cardamom, bay and water.

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2. Bring to a boil, skim the surface carefully, then cover and simmer very gently for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Stir every 30 minutes and top up with hot water if it looks dry.

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3. The wheat should be completely soft and starting to break down, and the meat should be falling off the bone.

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4. Lift out the meat, discard the bones, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, bay and onion.

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5. Shred the meat finely and return it to the pot with the salt.

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6. Now beat the mixture hard with a wooden spoon, pressing it against the side of the pot, for 10 to 15 minutes, until it becomes smooth, thick and slightly stretchy. An electric hand mixer with dough hooks does this in about 5 minutes.

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7. Taste and season. It should be savoury and quite plain — the ghee (if using) does the rest.

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8. Spread into a wide bowl, make a hollow in the centre and pour the melted ghee (if using) in.

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9. Dust with cinnamon and cumin and serve very hot.

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Ingredient substitutions.

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Small Things That Help

• Beat it properly. Under-beaten harees is porridge with meat in it.
• Keep topping up with hot water — cold water stalls the cooking.
• The ghee at the end is not optional; the dish is deliberately plain without it.

Serving Suggestions

• Dates and Arabic coffee
• A simple salad
• Laban

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Rice Pilaf, Tabbouleh, Fattoush Salad.

Leftovers and Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days and freeze 2 months. Reheat with water, beating again as it warms.

Harees: Questions and Answers

What's in a Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: weights that include bone are counted as if all of it were eaten, so the figures run high; where a line offers a choice of foods, only one of them is counted; part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.

Dairy-free when made without the ghee.

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