Haleem

Rinse the wheat, barley, yellow lentils, red lentils and chana dal, and soak them separately or together in 2500 ml cold water for 8 hours; then drain in a sieve.

In a large pot, heat 40 g ghee and sauté 150 g sliced onion until golden, then add the beef, ginger, garlic, turmeric, chili powder, ground coriander, ground cumin, cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and black peppercorns. Pour in 1500 ml water, season with salt and bring to a boil.

Cover the pot and simmer the beef over low heat for about 2 hours, until very tender. Remove the meat along with the cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and peppercorns; shred the meat into fine strands and reserve the broth.

In another large pot, combine the soaked wheat, barley and lentils with 2000 ml water. Cook covered for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the grains and lentils are fully broken down; add some of the reserved broth as needed.

Mash the grain-and-lentil mixture with a pestle, or pulse briefly with an immersion blender, until it forms a thick, almost smooth paste with a bit of texture remaining. Pour in the rest of the beef broth and stir to combine.

Add the shredded beef to the grain base and cook the haleem over the lowest heat for another 45 minutes, stirring frequently from the bottom, until it turns thick and stretchy.

In the remaining 20 g ghee, fry 100 g thinly sliced onion until deep golden brown. Serve the haleem hot, topped with the fried onions, green chili, fresh ginger strips, cilantro and lemon wedges.