May’s Hareesa
A traditional comfort food that brings family together
By Z. Z. Dawod
When temperatures drop and the days get short, people yearn for warmth and comfort. As the holiday season approaches, familes are reunited and traditional dishes spark childhood memories of years gone by.
Hareesa is a favorite Chaldean comfort dish that can warm the entire family on a cold winter’s day. It’s not a complicated meal to prepare but it does take some planning, if you want to do it right.
Bloomfield Township resident, May Denha (whose maiden name is Manna), has a large extended family. When word gets out that she’s making Hareesa, her home becomes a magnet: In her family, May’s recipe is legendary.
“The beauty of Hareesa is in its simplicity,” she says. May is referring to the handful of ingredients that make up this delectable age-old dish. “This recipe has been handed down from generation to generation — I owe this recipe to them.” Still, over the years, May has experimented and made slight variations, creating her own unique blend.
May considers Hareesa to be a among the best of comfort foods. As she prepares to make another batch, she is reflective. “The beauty of comfort food is that it’s nostalgic. It brings up celebratory moments and invokes lots of feelings,” she reminisces.
“I make this for Sunday gatherings with my family, especially during the winter months. “I call all the Mannas, and whoever is around will come over.”
Sitting together to enjoy a hot bowl of Hareesa takes everyone back in time, remembering different holidays and celebrations.
Dish Origins
A member of the grass family and one of the first cultivated crops, barley was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9,000 bc. By approximately 2,000 bc, this versatile grain had spread throughout Eurasia.
In addition to using the barley as food, it was also made into malt, as ancient brewers discovered that it was a great source of fermentable grain for brewing beer.
Barley was well-suited for growing in the Nineveh Plain, due to its temperate climate and well-drained soil. In Tel Keppe (Telkeif), most families worked a small plot of land, growing barley and other crops.
Crossing Cultural Boundaries
The word hareesa has its origins in the Middle East. Although the dish has been a Chaldean staple for centuries, because barley was widely available, variations of Hareesa recipes emerged throughout the region and beyond. Regional favorites have existed in other cultures—specifically in countries like Lebanon, Syria and Palestine—for many generations. The dish is also popular in South Asian cuisine, especially in the Kashmir Valley of India and Pakistan.
While the basic recipe always consists of barley and meat, it has evolved to include spices that are native and popular to each region. Traditionally, lamb or chicken was also used.
In the age of fast food culture and instant gratification, slowing down to make a dish such as Hareesa can teach us the value of patience and spark an appreciation for our culinary heritage — bringing family together, back to our roots.
RECIPE
Hareesa
Recipe shared by May Denha
Ingredients
8 cups water (add more, as needed)
3 lbs. beef - cubed
1 beef Oxtail
3 cups of barley (rinse and soak for 1 to 2 hours)
64 oz. of beef stock (two 32 oz. cartons, low sodium)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
Instructions
Fill an 8-quart oven-proof pot with water. Add the cubed beef and beef oxtail, and bring to a boil. Cook at boiling point for 30 minutes.
Add salt, pepper and beef stock and bring to a boil. When purchasing the beef stock, be sure to select the “50% less sodium” or the “low sodium” variety, otherwise the overall taste will be too salty.
Next, add the barley after rinsing it well and soaking it for 1-2 hours prior to cooking. Pour the barley into a sieve to drain the water, then add to the pot. Bring to a boil once more, cooking for another 30-45 minutes.
After giving it a good mix, leave it to simmer on low heat. In the evening, carefully place the pot in the oven to slow cook overnight at 180-200 degrees. If you place it in the oven at 8 pm, plan to remove it after about 9 hours, at 5 am.
After taking the pot out of the oven in the morning, remove the oxtail first. Then, with the back a large serving spoon, find the cubed meat and mash it against the side of the pot. After slow cooking for nine hours, the meat is so tender it will fall apart, turning from chunks to delicious shreds of beef. Mashing the meat will ensure that every spoonful is a perfect blend of barley and beef. Enjoy!