harees

{{About|A dish from the Cuisine Arabian Gulf |the Maghrebi sauce|Harissa|the semolina-based dessert|Basbousa}}

{{Short description|Armenian and Middle Eastern cracked wheat and meat porridge}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Harees

| image = Al fanar harees (7797136886).jpg

| caption = Harees

| alternate_name = Hareesa, Haleem, Arizah, Harisa, Jarish

| country = Arabian Peninsula, Armenia

| region = Middle East, South Caucasus and Horn of Africa

| creator =

| course = Main Course

| type = Porridge

| served =

| main_ingredient = Wheat, butter, and meat (usually mutton but sometimes chicken)

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

{{Infobox intangible heritage

| Image =

| Caption =

| ICH = Harees dish: know-how, skills and practices

| Countries = Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates

| ID = 01744

| Region = AST

| Year = 2023

| Session = 18th

| List = Representative

}}

Harees, haresa, harise, jareesh, ({{langx|ar|هريس}}), boko boko, or harisa ({{Langx|hy|հարիսա|harisa}}) is a dish of boiled, cracked, or coarsely-ground cracked wheat or bulgur, mixed with meat and seasoned.{{cite web|title=Al Harees, traditional Emirati Cuisine|url=http://www.uaestylemagazine.com/26/al-harees-traditional-emirati-cuisine.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406014700/http://www.uaestylemagazine.com/26/al-harees-traditional-emirati-cuisine.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 6, 2015|website=UAE Style Magazine|date=26 July 2013}} Its consistency varies between a porridge and a gruel. Harees is a popular dish known throughout Armenia where it is served on Easter day, and the Arab world, where it is commonly eaten in Arab states of the Persian Gulf in the month of Ramadan, and in Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain during Ashura by Shia Muslims.

Etymology

"Harisa", also transliterated as "horisa", derived from the Arabic verb "haras" meaning "to squish" to describe the action of breaking and pounding the grains before mixing it with water to create a porridge.Gil Marks, Encyclopedia of Jewish Foods, 656 (Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2010), 258.

In Arabic, "Harees" ({{langx|ar|هريس}}) is linked to the verb ({{langx|ar|هَرَسَ|harasa}}) which still means to mash or to squash.{{cite web|last1=Team|first1=Almaany|title=Definition and meaning of Harees in Arabic - Arabic dictionary - Page 1|url=https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B3/|website=www.almaany.com|language=en}}

History

According to medieval Armenian lore, the patron saint of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, was offering a meal of love and charity to the poor. There weren't enough sheep to feed the crowds so wheat was added to the cooking pots. They noticed that the wheat was sticking to the bottom of the cauldrons. Saint Gregory advised, "Harekh! Stir it!" Thus, the name of the dish, harissa, came from the saint's own words. Harissa has been offered as a charity meal ever since.{{cite book |author=Irina Petrosian, David Underwood |title=Armenian food: fact, fiction & folklore |publisher=Yerkir Pub. |year=2006 |isbn=9781411698659 |edition=2. |location=Bloomington, Ind. |page=65}} The dish is traditionally served on Easter day. It is still prepared by many Armenians around the world and is also considered the national dish of Armenia.{{cite book |author=Sonia Uvezian |title=Cuisine of Armenia |publisher=Hippocrene Books |year=1996 |isbn=9780781804172 |series=Hippocrene Cookbooks Series |pages=455}}

Harisa is mentioned by Ibn al-Karim in Kitab Al-Tabikh as early as the seventh century.Ibn al-Karīm, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, and Charles Perry. A Baghdad Cookery Book : the Book of Dishes, 127 (Kitāb Al-Ṭabīkh), (Totnes, UK: Prospect, 2005), 72. In the anecdotal cookbook, the Umayyad Caliph, Mu'awiya, returns from a trip to Arabia after returning to his newly won Persian lands. In some versions of the story, Mu'awiya is met with some Yemenite Jews whom he asks to prepare the porridge he tasted abroad while in other versions, he approaches locals. This story should be taken with a grain of salt as the author penned the story three centuries after it supposedly occurred. At the very least, harisa was prevalent as a Levantine dish.

Harees is documented in Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's 10th-century cookbook Kitab Al Tabikh.,Charles Perry, "Cooking with the Caliphs", Saudi Aramco World 57:4 (July/August 2006) [http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200604/cooking.with.the.caliphs.htm full text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141130201629/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200604/cooking.with.the.caliphs.htm |date=2014-11-30 }} as well as in al-Baghdadi's 13th-century cookbook Kitab Al Tabikh and Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī's 13th-century Andalusian cookbook Kitab Fadalat al-khiwan fi tayyibat al-ta'am w'al-alwan.

Harees is also the origin of haleem,{{cite web|url=https://scroll.in/magazine/925615/why-are-some-indian-muslims-renaming-ramzan-favourite-haleem-as-daleem|title=The haleem debate: Why some Indian Muslims are renaming the Ramzan delicacy 'daleem'|date=3 June 2019 }} and cholent.Gil Marks, Encyclopedia of Jewish Foods, 656 (Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2010), 40.

Preparation

The wheat is soaked overnight, then simmered in water along with meat and butter or sheep tail fat. Any remaining liquid is strained and the mixture is beaten and seasoned. Harees may be garnished with cinnamon, sugar, and clarified butter.

Variants and traditions

There is a different traditional way of preparing Harees in each of the Arab countries in the Arabian Peninsula area, and among the tribes of these countries. Some variations include the use of cardamom pods in Saudi Arabia, or a garnish with parsley. Before the Armenian genocide where Armenians were spread through a larger area they also had different vatiations of Harisa. The wheat used in Armenian harissa is typically shelled (pelted) wheat, though in Adana, harissa was made with կորկոտ (korkot; ground, par-boiled shelled wheat). Harissa can be made with lamb, beef, or chicken.{{cite book |last1=Keoleian |first1=Ardashes Hagop |url=https://archive.org/details/orientalcookbook00keol |title=The Oriental Cook Book |date=1913 |publisher=Sully & Kleinteich}}

Harees was only made by the wealthy during Ramadan and Eid, for the duration of a three- to seven-day wedding. It was, however, customary for the Harees dishes to be shared with poorer neighbours on such occasions.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

It is similar to kashkeg, a kind of homogeneous porridge made of previously stewed and boned chicken or lamb and coarsely ground soaked wheat (typically shelled wheat).

=Arab cuisine=

File:Harees.JPG

Harees is a popular dish in Arab cuisine, from the Levant to the Persian Gulf. It is often served during Ramadan, festivals such as Eid ul-Fitr, and at weddings.{{cite web |url=http://www.visitabudhabi.ae/en/dining.in.abudhabi/cuisine.aspx |title=Welcome to Abu Dhabi - Emirati Cuisine |access-date=2010-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129114246/http://visitabudhabi.ae/en/dining.in.abudhabi/cuisine.aspx |archive-date=2010-11-29 }} In Lebanon, it is often cooked on religious occasions in a communal pot, such as in Ashura. Harise is also a common dish in Syrian cuisine and Iraqi cuisine.

Formerly found only in homes, it is now served in restaurants as well.

=Armenian cuisine=

File:Armenian Harisa.JPG

File:ArmenianHarissa.jpg

Harisa ({{Langx|hy|հարիսա|harisa}}) is traditionally served on Easter day, and is considered a national dish of Armenia. It is a thick porridge made from korkot (dried or roasted cracked wheat) and fat-rich meat, usually chicken or lamb. Herbs were substituted for meat in harissa when Armenian religious days required fasting and penance. The extremely long cooking process is an essential part of the harisa tradition. Like other ritual dishes, the time taken for preparation is part of its cherished value.{{cite book|title=Armenian food: fact, fiction & folklore|year=2006|publisher=Yerkir Pub.|location=Bloomington, Ind.|isbn=9781411698659|author=Irina Petrosian, David Underwood|edition=2.|page=65}}

Harisa is known for helping the Armenians of Musa Ler (in modern-day Turkey) to survive during the resistance of 1915.{{cite book|last=Albala|first=Ken|title=Food cultures of the world encyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/foodculturesworl00alba|url-access=limited|year=2011|publisher=Greenwood|location=Santa Barbara, California|isbn=9780313376276|page=[https://archive.org/details/foodculturesworl00alba/page/n21 8]}}

=Egyptian cuisines=

In Egyptian cuisine, "freekeh", unripened, crushed durum wheat, was used to cook harisa, giving the resulting ferik a unique green hue.Joel Haber, “Ferik-Egyptian Hamin”, (Jerusalem, Israel: Aish.com, 2022); Elais and Gary, “Lamb Harissa & Gazelle’s Horns”, (Santa Fe, NM:Made In Marrow, 2019). The origin of the variation could be linked to the Sephardic migration of the 13th century, but historians remain uncertain.Marks, 11.

=Kashmiri cuisine=

File:Hareesa.JPG

Harisa or Hareesa (Kashmiri : {{Lang|ks|{{uninastaliq|ۂرؠ سہٕ}}}} {{IPA|[hərʲsɨ]}}) in Kashmir is prepared during winter (Chillai Kalan),{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/magazine/823623/harissa-the-traditional-winter-delicacy-that-warms-up-a-cold-kashmiri-morning|title=It's harissa time again: Savour the traditional winter delicacy that warms up cold Kashmiri mornings|first=Rayan|last=Naqash|website=Scroll.in|date=16 December 2016 }} typically made of mutton and rice flour and eaten with Kashmiri Bread called Girda (Kashmiri : {{Lang|ks|{{uninastaliq|گِردٕ}}}} {{IPA|[girdɨ]}} ). It is cooked in huge degs (earthen pots) placed in wood fired ovens. Downtown Srinagar is considered as the hub of harisa making in Kashmir.

= Zanzibari =

In Zanzibar, the dish is called boko boko and may be cooked with lamb, beef, or chicken. This same dish is also served across Tanzania and Kenya. Resta, Lizzie. "A Culture Seen Through Cuisine: Traditional Zanzibari Recipes." (2008). ([https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1097&context=isp_collection PDF])

= Ethiopia =

Hareesa, or harees, is a popular dish mainly in the Harari region. It is cooked with lamb or beef and served on Eid or special occasions such as the birth of a baby.{{cn |date=October 2023}}

= Emirati Cuisine =

Harees is a traditional Emirati dish made from wheat, meat (usually chicken or lamb), and a pinch of salt. The wheat is soaked overnight, then cooked with meat until it reaches a smooth, porridge-like consistency. This hearty dish is particularly popular during Ramadan and festive occasions. It is often garnished with ghee for added flavor. Harees is a staple in Emirati households and showcases the simplicity and richness of Emirati culinary traditions. {{Cite web |title=Emirati Cuisine {{!}} Al Fanar Restaurant & Cafe {{!}} UAE |url=https://www.alfanarrestaurant.com/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=Al Fanar Restaurant |language=en}}