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Harees

Name: Harees
Total time: 240 min
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: United Arab Emirates
Ingredients: 250g (pearl barley) Barley; 400g (bone-in or shoulder) Lamb; 1.5L Water; 2 tsp Salt; 40g Butter; A pinch Cinnamon powder; A pinch Cardamom powder

Main Dish

⏱ 240 min

👥 Serves 6

Difficulty ⭐⭐

Wheat and meat simmered until silky and beaten smooth — the Gulf grain porridge essential for Ramadan and celebrations.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Harees is a traditional Gulf dish of cracked wheat and meat simmered for hours and beaten with a wooden paddle until smooth and almost mochi-like. Essential for breaking the Ramadan fast, Eid, and weddings, it's treasured as part of the UAE's intangible heritage. It's finished with melted ghee and cinnamon.

🌆 Where it's eaten: At dusk during Ramadan, a big pot of harees is beaten smooth with a wooden paddle in an Emirati home and set on the iftar table topped with ghee.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 6)

Barley 250g (pearl barley)
Lamb 400g (bone-in or shoulder)
Water 1.5L
Salt 2 tsp
Butter 40g
Cinnamon powder A pinch
Cardamom powder A pinch

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Rinse the barley and soak in water overnight.
Put the meat, water, and salt in a pot and simmer 1 1/2 hours, skimming.
Remove the bones, shred the meat, add the drained barley, and simmer on low another 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
When the grain is silky, beat it with a wooden spatula or masher into a smooth paste.
Spoon into bowls, pour over melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and cardamom.

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