Harees is the iconic Eid al-Adha dish of central Arabia and the Najd region. Whole wheat grains (not pre-crushed, unlike jareesh) are slow-cooked with meat for many hours until the grain breaks down and the meat shreds into a single smooth paste. It is a festive and ritual dish, served across the Arabian Gulf and central Arabia at Eid, and is also a Bedouin staple of the Northern region. The very long cook (often overnight) and the use of whole grain rather than cracked are what distinguish it from jareesh.
Smooth, silky, faintly grainy and deeply savoury, the wheat and meat merged into one paste, the ghee and cinnamon on top giving warmth. Eaten at Eid in small bowls, it is austere, rich and the sacred festive dish of central Arabia.
Whole wheat grains are soaked overnight, then cooked with bone-in meat and water for many hours (often overnight), during which the grain fully breaks down and the meat shreds, and the two merge into a single smooth paste that is beaten as it cooks. The very long cook is the entire technique; nothing else is added but salt, ghee and a little cinnamon. The paste is smoother than jareesh because the whole grain releases more starch as it breaks down.
Variations
A Gulf version adds sugar for a sweet harees. Some cooks use chicken instead of lamb.
On the Palate
Where Harees Najdi sits in the Saudi flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
6 steps · 30 min
- 15 min
Soak 300g whole wheat grains in water overnight; drain.
- 25 min
In a heavy pot, combine the wheat, 700g bone-in lamb, 2 litres water, 1 onion and 1 tsp salt.
- 350 min
Bring to a boil, then simmer covered over very low heat 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally, until the grain breaks down completely.
Watch outKeep it at the barest simmer for hours and stir now and then — it's done only when the wheat has collapsed and the meat shreds at a touch; rushing the heat scorches the bottom.
- 418 min
Remove the bones; beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until it forms a smooth, single paste.
Watch outBeat it hard with the wooden spoon until no grain or fibre remains — it should turn glossy and stretch into one smooth paste, smoother than jareesh.
- 55 min
Stir in 80g ghee and half tsp cinnamon.
- 64 min
Mound in a bowl; top with a little more ghee and cinnamon; serve hot.
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