Shared by Ayelet Latovitch
Halim (Persian Porridge)
Yield: 6-8 servingsTime: Overnight soaking + 10 minactive + Inactive overnight cooking
Halim (Persian Porridge)
Yield: 6-8 servingsTime: Overnight soaking + 10 minactive + Inactive overnight cookingFamily Journey
Mashhad, IranHadera, Israel
Tel Aviv
Ayelet Latovitch, culinary director of Asif, recommends checking the halim after it's been cooking in the oven for 6 hours. Transfer the pot from the oven and use a wooden spoon to mix the halim, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. This is also a good time to taste the halim and adjust the seasoning if needed. Place the covered pot back into the oven.
As a child, Ayelet knew this dish as ash, she explains. She later learned that ash is a category of dishes and this specific one is referred to as halim. “In most [Persian Jewish] homes, halim is an overnight Shabbat cholent that's served in the morning and contains meat,” she adds. Her grandmother made hers with marrow bones instead and cooked it slowly atop a large hot plate. Ayelet’s rendition trades the hot plate for an oven that’s kept at a low temperature.
Read more about Ayelet's family in "The Persian Winter Shabbat Recipes Cooked Under a Grandmother’s Blanket" and try her recipe for polo shabati (Persian Shabbat rice with beef and dried fruit).
Ingredients
- 1 cup arborio rice or any other short grain rice
- 1 cup wheat berries
- 1 cup dried chickpeas
- 3-5 beef marrow bones, cut into 2 inch pieces crosswise
- 1 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
For garnish
- Granulated sugar
- Ground cinnamon
Preparation
Step 1
Place the rice, wheat berries, and chickpeas into a large bowl. Completely cover with room temperature water and soak overnight or for at least 8 hours.
Step 2
Drain the rice, wheat berries and chickpeas and rinse with water. Place the rice, wheatberries and chickpeas into a 4 quart Dutch oven or stainless steel pot.
Step 3
Preheat the oven to 230° F.
Step 4
Add the beef marrow bones into a separate pot and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil the marrow bones for 5 minutes. Drain the bones and rinse them with water.
Step 5
Add the marrow bones into the pot with the rice, wheat berries and chickpeas. Add the salt and pepper and 10 ½ cups of water into the pot and give the mixture a stir. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, skimming any foam that rises to the top. Place a lid on the pot and transfer it into the oven. Cook overnight or for at least 8 hours.
Step 6
Transfer the pot out of the oven. The halim should be a porridge-like consistency. If the mixture is too liquidy you can increase the heat of the oven to 285° F, place the halim back into the oven uncovered and cook for one more hour or until it thickens into a porridge-like consistency.
Step 7
Serve the halim hot. Ayelet sprinkles a bit of sugar and cinnamon on top.
