Haleem stalls on rise in Vijayawada

Vijayawada: The fasting month of Ramadan is very special for every Muslim. This month is also a great time to relish Muslim delicacies, with perfectly cooked, heavily spiced dish made of pounded meat and lentils with ghee.

Vijayawada is known as a place of food lovers and new restaurants and hotels are coming up after it became the capital city. Moreover, haleem centres are also increasing year after year in the holy Ramadan fasting season with a good crowd gathering every evening to have the mouth water recipe haleem. Many stalls are offering different and unique tastes of haleem.

Vijayawada is said to be the second city in the country after Hyderabad preparing this Arabic dish in such a large scale. Usually, in One Town area, all biryani centres make haleem this season. However, few wealthy Muslim families make haleem in their own home.

People, who hesitate to go to the One Town Haleem Centres, which are generally overcrowded, they visit the Pista House outlets in other parts of the city. Even big hotels and restaurants have added Haleem to the menu this holy month.

The process of making Ramzan special dish Haleem is laborious and time-consuming process. It requires physical strength and an ability to tolerate the heat generated from the kiln."Haleem is an Arabic dish. It is a stew composed of boneless meat, lentils and pounded wheat made into a thick paste, by cooking it for hours together. Haleem was introduced to Hyderabadi's by Chaush people, migrants from Arab areas in the regime of Nizam. Since then, it has become a dish for people to observe Roza".

Haleem is a healthy and robust food. "As the people fast full day, they have to take strong food in the evening and then only they can continue the fasting on the next day. Haleem will help them maintain appetite. Goat meat and chicken will be used as the main ingredient for Haleem-making. Wheat powder, ginger, garlic paste, turmeric, red chilli spicy material will be added. Dry fruits and other spices will be used.

We will start cooking of Haleem at dawn, and the preparation ends in the evening." said a Haleem maker. The notable point is non-Muslims gather in a large number at the Haleem centres located near Panja centre, one town, to enjoy the taste of Haleem.

Venkat an employee said there are several places in the city to grab the mouth-watering Haleem. "I eagerly wait for the Ramzan season solely to eat Haleem. I can never get enough of it. It's a dish right from heaven, Nothing is more perfect", he added.

-C Pradeep