Name: Shelled Wheat Porridge with Cinnamon and Sugar (Hareesa)
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Cuisine: Iraqi
Ingredients: 1 lb (450 g) lean trimmed pieces of meat (traditionally lamb); skinned chicken may be substituted; ½ teaspoon salt; Butter, sugar, and cinnamon; 1 cup (8 oz/225 g) cooked whole chickpeas, optional; 2 cups (16 oz/450 g) shelled wheat, washed, soaked for a few hours and drained

Preparation info

Makes
6
servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Delights from the Garden of Eden

By Nawal Nasrallah

Published 2019

About

This dish is not to be confused with the North African hareesa, a very hot condiment, made principally with mashed chilies, and served with couscous dishes. The word hareesa is derived from the Arabic harasa (‘mash,’ from Akkadian ‘harasu’), and here the similarity ends between the two dishes. Our hareesa is wheat simmered to tenderness and then mashed. This Arabian porridge was and still is a favorite food. Many medieval poems were recited in praise of its merit