That Translator Can Cook: Harees
A traditional Gulf meat porridge: crushed wheat, chicken, onions, and various spices.
Even though I’m not a porridge person because of the texture, a lot of my cooking becomes overcooked and has a porridge consistency. I wonder what would happen when I actually try to create porridge…
Harees is a very old recipe; variations of this porridge can be found in the 10th-century cookbook, Kitab al Tabikh. According the Friday Magazine, “the word Harees comes from the Arabic ‘harasa’ or even older, the Akkadian ‘harasu,’ which refers to the mashing of meat with barley or shelled whole grains of wheat.” According to Bawarchi, harees came to royalty from King Khuosrow of Persia in the 6th century, and it became a tradition to serve it to visitors and travelers when Caliph Mu’aviya of Damascus made harees for the Arabian Yemeni delegation. Ibn Batutta mentioned this dish in his travelogues (in the 14th century).
Harees is popular in the Gulf and is typically eaten during important family gatherings (i.e. weddings) and holidays, especially Ramadan. This porridge is a Ramadan favorite because it’s very nourishing and filling after a day of fasting. Many believe that Prophet Muhammad favored this dish; most likely because the mashed meat and wheat in harees makes it easy to digest. According to Abu Dhabi Culture, harees “is cooked in a pot called a ‘mash pan’ and stirred with a wooden spoon called a ‘Masad Masr’.”
Here is how to make this porridge (recipe and picture belongs to MJ):
Steps
Put the ghee into a pot and turn the heat on; then, add the onion and garlic, and mix well.
Next, add the cubed chicken and mix. Then, add the salt and spices; mix. All the aforementioned spices should be added to your taste. Bouillon cubes can be added instead of salt.
Next, add the crushed wheat, after washing and straining it; mix it into the other ingredients well.
Add water until the ingredients are submerged.
Let it simmer on low heat, continually stirring, until it is completely cooked. Keep in mind: if you need to add a little bit more water, then do so.
After everything is cooked, set the harees aside until it cools and is only a bit warm. Then, put it through a blender.
Return it to the pot, heat it again, pour it out, and sprinkle the onions fried in the butter and spices on top.
Ingredients
1 cup of crushed wheat, soaked for 2-3 hours before cooking
3 cuts of chicken tenderloin, washed and cut into small cubes
1¼ liters of water for cooking, keep in mind you can add more if you need to
1 large onion, finely minced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. of softened ghee
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon
Dried lime
For the garnish:
1 onion, finely minced
Cinnamon
Pepper
Dried lime
1 tbsp. of butter or ghee
Translators’ Discussion
The author listed سمن طري as one of the ingredients, and I used ‘softened ghee,’ even though according to the steps, you don’t need to soften it ahead of time. I suppose ‘shortening’ could also work, but in my experience, ghee is used more often. How would you all have translated this phrase?
I know Step 6 is phrased a bit weird, but the original simply stated “set it aside until it becomes warm.” I felt like I should clarify it more, but maybe I made it worse?