Though Hyderabadi haleem is the traditional hors d'oeuvre at weddings, celebrations and other social occasions, it is particularly consumed in the Islamic month of Ramadan during Iftar (the evening meal that breaks the day-long fast) as it is high in calories.
[5][6] Sultan Saif Nawaz Jung Bahadur, an Arab chief from Mukalla, Hadhramaut, Yemen, who was among the seventh Nizam's court nobility, popularised it in Hyderabad.
[8][9] Traditionally, Hyderabadi haleem is cooked on a low flame of firewood for up to 12 hours in a bhatti (a cauldron covered with a brick and mud kiln).
For home-made Hyderabadi haleem, a Ghotni (a wooden hand masher) is used to stir it until it reaches a sticky-smooth consistency, similar to minced meat.
[10][11] The ingredients include meat (either goat meat, beef or chicken); pounded wheat; ghee—(milk fat rendered from butter, also called clarified butter); milk; lentils; ginger and garlic paste; turmeric; red chili pepper spices such as cumin seeds, caraway seeds (shah zeera), cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, saffron, jaggery, natural gum, allspice (kabab cheeni); and dry fruits such as pistachio, cashew, fig and almond.
It is served hot topped with a ghee-based gravy, pieces of lime, chopped coriander, sliced boiled egg and fried onions as garnish.
[20][21] The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), a local civic body that monitors health and safety regulations in the city, has set up hygiene and quality standards to be followed by the eateries selling it.