COPPERHarees recipe
Wheat and meat simmered for hours then beaten together until no grain or fibre can be told apart.
Ingredients
- 500 g cracked wheat
- 1000 g chicken
- 80 g ghee
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2500 ml water
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
How to make Harees
- Soak 500 g of cracked wheat in cold water overnight, four hours will not let it break down.
- Drain it into a heavy pot with 1 kg of chicken on the bone, 2.5 litres of water and 1 tablespoon of salt.
- Bring to a boil, skim the foam, then hold at the barest simmer for 3 hours, stirring so nothing catches on the bottom.
- Lift out the chicken, pull the meat from the bones and throw the bones and skin away.
- Return the meat and beat the pot hard with a wooden mallet or the back of a heavy spoon until wheat and meat become one smooth paste, this beating is the dish and there is no shortcut to it.
- Pour off any loose liquid so the harees holds its shape on a spoon.
- Spread it in a shallow bowl, pour 80 g of melted ghee over the surface and dust with cinnamon.
What is Harees?
Harees is a traditional dish from Qatar, simmered in one pot, and takes about 15 hours and 30 minutes from start to finish. It is built around chicken, cracked wheat and ghee. The recipe below uses 6 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Harees take?
At 930 minutes it is slower than 92% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 44 dishes built on chicken. The method runs to 7 steps.
Any tips for making Harees?
Soak the cracked wheat overnight, then beat the pot hard until wheat and meat become one smooth paste; there is no shortcut to it.
How Harees compares
Cracked wheat appears in only 2 other dishes in the atlas.
Cooked with the same thing elsewhere
Other traditional dishes built on cracked wheat, from other countries.
Copper documents Qatar alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.