For years now Sudhakar and I have awaited Ramzan in Bangalore just so we could dig into some heavenly Haleem, a Ramzan specialty of Dakhani Degh, right next to Sagar Apollo Hospital. This small restaurant religiously puts up the same nondescript banner each and every year announcing this specialty. Its available right from the afternoon in small containers (Rs 75) and big containers (Rs100).

Dakhani Degh Haleem

Haleem is mutton that is pounded, mixed with a load of dry fruits and spices and cooked on dum overnight in a lot of ghee and oil. You can forget about healthy eating with this indulgence. When you get to Dakhani Degh, the haleem counter is set up right outside and you will see them ladling the heavenly goodness out of a huge vessel that is constantly cooking on a wood fire. A large container can safely feed four adults with a healthy appetite. Choose naans or rotis to go with this and always squeeze a bit of lime over the haleem before you start. The caramelized onion slivers on top only add to the smoky flavor.

A perfect way to round of this meal is to have the Qubani ka Meetha, which is apricots stewed in sugar with dollop of fresh cream. Of course, once through with this meal you should not indulge in any work that is physically or mentally taxing – and by this I mean, the maximum you can do is drag yourself to bed and fall asleep.

Dakhani Degh Qubani Ka Meetha

This year round, we heard of another place that makes haleem and Qubani ka Meetha and decided to buy from both places at once to judge on how good it was. This place is a home-run affair. Right opposite Dakhani Degh is a bumpy road. Take it all the way to the dead end and look for a sign board that says Farah Foods. This is the same establishment that now provides haleem to bigwigs such a Spar. Anyways, we bought the same set of Haleem and Qubani ka meetha. Both of these were a bit cheaper than Dakhani Degh.

Haleem, Naan and Qubani Ka Meetha from Farah Foods

The Haleem tasted as good as the one from Dakhani Degh. But the Qubani ka meetha was a disappointment. It was a bit watery and did not really pack the punch of the heavy sweet that it is supposed to be. Since Anoushka has not yet developed a taste for haleem we got her a mutton biryani which is cooked the Hyderabadi way.

Dakhani Degh Mutton Biryani

All in all – our haleem experimentations left us satiated for this year. Can’t wait for next year though. And while on iftar food, Sudhakar went on this amazing ‘Iftar raid’ as he and his friends called it. Look out for his post on this blog soon.