National Dish United Arab Emirates: Harees (Recipe)
In this article
Harees is wheat and meat cooked together for hours until they collapse into one smooth mass. It is Ramadan food across the Gulf, and it is made in enormous quantities in mosque kitchens and served to whoever comes.
About Harees
Whole wheat berries and meat go into a pot with water and almost nothing else. Long cooking and hard stirring break both down until you cannot tell them apart. The texture is the whole point: smooth, thick, slightly stringy from the meat.
There is no spice beyond salt and sometimes cinnamon. Ghee goes on at the end.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 1 cup wheat berries, soaked overnight
- 200 g chicken or lamb
- 1 litre water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- Butter or ghee, to serve
- Optional: chopped almonds or pistachios, to top
Shopping for the ingredients
Whole wheat berries, sold as jireesh or harees wheat in Middle Eastern shops, cracked or whole. Lamb shoulder on the bone or chicken thighs, both with some fat. Real ghee, which is what it is finished with.
Preparing the dish
Soak the wheat overnight, without exception. Cook everything in one pot with plenty of water and check it does not catch. The stirring at the end is the work: a wooden spoon or a mash, beating until it is smooth.
Step-by-step instructions
- Soak the wheat berries overnight, then drain.
- Tip the wheat into a large pan and bring to the boil with the water.
- Add the meat and season with salt.
- Simmer over low heat for 1 to 2 hours, until both the meat and the grains are soft.
- Remove any bones and shred the meat.
- Beat the mixture hard with a wooden spoon or mash it until smooth and creamy.
- Stir in cinnamon if using.
- Serve hot, topped with melted ghee and chopped nuts.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Harees is wheat and cannot be made gluten-free; that is the dish. For lactose-free, finish with oil rather than ghee, though clarified butter contains very little lactose.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
There is no traditional meat-free harees. A version with wheat, chickpeas and vegetable stock beaten smooth works and gives a similar texture. Falafel, tabbouleh and fattoush are the vegan dishes on an Emirati table.
More tips and tricks
Soak the wheat overnight, since the dish will not work otherwise. Cook it far longer than seems necessary. And beat it properly at the end, which is what turns a porridge into harees.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Fried onions on top are common in some households. A pressure cooker cuts the time to 40 minutes. Sugar and ghee make the sweet version eaten at Eid.
Ingredient substitutions
Pearl barley for wheat berries, with a different texture. Chicken, lamb or beef. Butter for ghee.
Drink pairing ideas
Gahwa, Arabic coffee with cardamom, served in small cups. Laban, the salted buttermilk. Fresh dates alongside, which is how the fast is broken.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve it in a shallow bowl, smoothed flat, with a well of melted ghee in the middle and nuts scattered over. It is eaten with a spoon, and during Ramadan it comes after the dates and water that break the fast.
A bit of history
Harees is old, pre-Islamic in the Arabian peninsula, and versions run from Armenia (harissa) through to India (haleem). Cooking it in bulk for the community during Ramadan is the tradition that keeps it alive. It anchors Emirati cuisine alongside machboos.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Harees
Harees is wheat and meat cooked for hours and beaten smooth, finished with ghee. Soak the wheat overnight, cook it long, and beat it properly at the end.
