Halim-e Gandom

Ingredients

• 400g hulled wheat berries (gandom), soaked overnight
• 700g lamb shank or turkey thigh, on the bone
• 1 onion, quartered
• 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
• 2.5 litres water
• 2 tsp salt
• 80g butter, melted, to serve
• 3 tbsp caster sugar to serve
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon to serve
• Flatbread to serve

Before you cook

• Soak the wheat berries in plenty of cold water overnight, then drain and rinse.
• Trim any heavy fat from the meat.
• Quarter the onion.

Steps

1. Put the meat, onion, turmeric and water in a very large heavy pot and bring to the boil.
2. Skim off the grey foam that rises in the first ten minutes.
3. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours until the meat is falling off the bone.
4. Lift out the meat and let it cool enough to handle.
5. Strip the meat from the bones, discard the bones and the onion, and shred the meat finely with two forks.
6. Return the shredded meat to the pot and add the drained wheat.
7. Simmer partly covered on the lowest heat for 3 hours, stirring every 20 minutes and scraping the base so nothing catches.
8. Top up with hot water whenever the mixture stops moving easily under the spoon.
9. Add the salt once the wheat grains have burst and softened completely.
10. Beat the halim hard with a wooden spoon or a potato masher for 15 minutes, pressing against the side of the pot.
11. Keep beating until the meat has broken into long threads and the porridge pulls in ropes off the spoon.
12. Adjust with a little hot water so the texture is thick but pourable.
13. Melt the butter in a small pan.
14. Spread the halim in shallow bowls, making a hollow in the centre of each.
15. Pour melted butter into the hollow and dust the surface generously with cinnamon and sugar.
16. Serve very hot with warm flatbread for scooping.