It’s that time of the season again that I don’t know about anybody else but atleast I had been waiting for. Haleemmmm! What is haleem you ask? Click here for the wikipedia article.

Paradise (28th August, 2009) – My first haleem of the season. It was not my choice but heck I was famished for my first fix and I didn’t care where it came from. Paradise certainly carries a lot of hype. I think it is given a lot more respect than it deserves. There is always a lot of rush and there are security guys directing you and keeping an eye on everything. The haleem itself wasn’t very spicy. Not many fried onions even though we asked for more and when asked, he said “Dhala na saab”. Nothing special. There was a little bit of bone debris but not enough to kill your patience. Priced at the usual Rs.65 per plate. We badly wanted a second fix but Zam Zam cafe next door was not ready yet and Paradise was not worth another shot. For the whole experience, I give it 6/10. Perhaps 6.5.
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Sarvi Bakery, Banjara Hills, Opp. Care Hospital (29th August, 2009) – Ajay almost betrayed me by oversleeping but he did turn up 2 hours late. Now Sarvi claims to have gotten the “Best Haleem of the Year” award from Times of India in 2008 but from last year’s experience I expected them to suck. I went there with Mansoor last year and it was horrible with a capital H. It’s priced at Rs.65 per plate and there is a special combo offer where you’d get a 350 ml Thums Up Express pet bottle for Rs.8 more. It wasn’t chilled so we didn’t take it. What surprised me was the haleem. Compared to yesterday’s haleem at Paradise, it was a whole league better. There was very little bone debris and the spice was just right. There weren’t too many onions, not much garnishing and it was a little on the drier side but overall, the haleem itself was very yummy. 8/10.
★★★★★★★★☆☆

K.G.N. Chicken Haleem Centre, beside Cafe Coffee Day, in the lane opposite Care Hospital (29th August, 2009) – After the first fix at Sarvi, which was pretty nice, we walked deeper into the lane to this place called K.G.N. I had been here about four times in the last two years and I always liked it. Now, I agree chicken haleem does not have the depth or texture of mutton haleem but nevertheless, it is good in its own way. It’s a very small place with half a dozen plastic chairs. The haleem had a good sprinkle of fried onions and a nice amount of ghee to make it wet. Obviously chicken haleem tastes very different from its mutton counterpart and the problem is that you cannot have too much of it because it tastes similar right through-out but on the positive side, there is no bone debris at all and it’s all still filling. It was a nice second fix. I enjoyed it. Now what makes this most attractive though is the price. Rs.30 per plate. Now that’s value for money. It’s just as filling as mutton haleem for less than half the price! Reminds me of those good ol’ days, when we would get haleem for Rs.20 and Rs.30 per plate. We spent Rs.130 at Sarvi for two plates. We would get as many as four here for that same price, with 10 rupees still in hand. What would we do with that 10 rupees? Why, ofcourse have tea at the K.G.N. tea stall. We did that last year as well. And while the amount of tea we got this year was much lesser, it was still more than a thimble and it tasted amazing. A perfect end to the filler. For the whole package and value for money, I am getting tempted to give this a niner but I’ll hold my emotions. 8/10.
★★★★★★★★☆☆

Light Sun Cafe, beside Flyovers Bridge, Sanathnagar (29th August, 2009) – My dad’s friend owns this place and he sends haleem two or three times every season, a 1kg bucket for free. It’s been 4 years and I kind of have a soft spot for them. After having chicken haleem at K.G.N., me and Ajay spent the next one hour chattering. He left, and when I got home, there it was, the 1kg bucket. I was already two plates old for the day but who would want to say no to haleem that comes right to your doorstep and for free? I am a greedy man. Like on most cases, their haleem was very spicy, a tad too spicy and it isn’t often they get the spices gastronomically correct. It being the third plate in a span of two hours, I went about it slow and steady. Moderate amount of bone debris. Nice sprinkle of fried onions. The spices dominated and it was hard to capture the texture. Now every time it so happens that atleast half of it is leftover for the next day and mom makes changes to it, adding milk and zafraan for one. That subdues the spices and lets the other tastes stand out. In that form, I would give it 8/10 but out of the box, definitely not more than 6/10. Price unknown.
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Paradise (29th August, 2009) – As if three plates were not enough, just as I was finishing, dad walked in with a parcel from Paradise. At this point, I was pretty tired. That and my general feeling towards Paradise perhaps makes this rating negatively biased. After the spice bomb from Light Sun Cafe, this tasted insanely  bland. Too much bone debris. Not enough garnishing. It was getting cold and it tasted more horrible with the fats seperating out. Lacked polish. On the positive side, it seemed very gastro-friendly. Harsh but 5/10. Perhaps 5.5.
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

The Altered Hybrid, at home (30th August, 2009) – Well, just like I said, mom took yesterday’s haleem from both Paradise and Light Sun, put it all together, added milk, water and a rich mix of fried cashews, onions and zafraan and I’ve just had it for breakfast. And with that extra dash of fried onions sprinkled on the top, all the rich flavours come together to make it taste very royal. Awesome. 9/10.
★★★★★★★★★☆