Jireesh

Ingredients

The grain

• 500 gjireesh, coarsely crushed wheat
• or 500 g coarse cracked wheat
• water, for soaking

Meat

• 1 kglamb, on the bone
• or 1 kg chicken pieces
• 2 teaspoonssalt

The pot

• 3onions, chopped
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tablespoonstomato paste
• 4 tablespoonsghee or oil
• 2 tablespoonsbezar spice mix
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 2dried limes, loomi, pierced
• 1cinnamon stick
• 2 litreswater
• salt and black pepper

To finish

• 3 tablespoonsghee, melted
• 1onion, sliced and fried crisp
• chopped coriander

Directions

1. Rinse the jireesh in several changes of water. Keep rinsing until the water runs clearer. Cover it with cold water and soak it. Give it at least two full hours. Drain it thoroughly before it goes in.
2. Heat the ghee in a large heavy pot. Pat the lamb pieces completely dry. Add them in batches without crowding. Brown them well on every side. Lift them out and set them aside. Building the base takes patience. Add the chopped onions to the pot.
3. Cook them for a good twelve minutes. They should soften and turn deep golden. Add the crushed garlic to them. Cook it for a good two minutes. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good three minutes. Add the bezar and the turmeric. Fry them for one full minute more.
4. Return the lamb pieces to the pot. Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Add the pierced limes and the cinnamon. Pour in all of the measured water. Season it with salt and black pepper. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cooking the meat takes about an hour. Cover the pot and simmer slowly. Give it a good sixty full minutes.
5. Add the drained jireesh to the pot. Stir it through the pot thoroughly. Add more hot water if it looks thick. Bring it back to a gentle simmer. Cooking it on takes real attention.
6. Stir it every few minutes without fail. It sticks and burns within a minute unstirred. Use the lowest heat that keeps it moving. The grain should be completely soft. Add hot water if it goes too thick. Taste it and adjust the salt now. It needs more than you might expect.
7. Spoon it into a wide shallow dish. Set the lamb pieces over the top. Pour melted ghee over the whole thing. Scatter crisp fried onion over that. Add chopped coriander over it all. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Milling grinds wheat to flour while crushing breaks it into coarse pieces that keep the bran and germ and hold their texture, so jireesh stays grainy rather than going smooth; that coarseness is its whole character.
• Bulgur is parboiled, dried and then cracked, which is why it cooks in twenty minutes, while jireesh is simply crushed raw wheat and needs well over an hour; they are not interchangeable.
• Cracked wheat sinks and catches on the base within a minute if unstirred, and a burnt layer flavours the whole pot, so stir every few minutes and scrape the bottom each time.

Substitutions

• Coarse cracked wheat is the closest substitute for jireesh.
• Chicken can replace lamb and needs considerably less cooking.

Variations

• Some cooks beat it partly smooth at the end and others leave it entirely coarse.
• Jareesh in Saudi Arabia is the same dish under another spelling.
• A version made with chicken is quicker and equally common.

History

Bedouin wheat dish that predates imported rice; the grain is crushed rather than milled.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jireesh?

Jireesh is a main from Kuwait: cracked wheat cooked with meat and tomato to a coarse porridge. Bedouin wheat dish that predates imported rice; the grain is crushed rather than milled.

How long does Jireesh take to make?

Jireesh takes 20 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 1 hour 45 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Jireesh?

Yes, within limits. Coarse cracked wheat is the closest substitute for jireesh. Chicken can replace lamb and needs considerably less cooking.

What is the most important thing to get right in Jireesh?

Spoon it into a wide shallow dish. Set the lamb pieces over the top. Pour melted ghee over the whole thing. Scatter crisp fried onion over that. Add chopped coriander over it all. It keeps three days refrigerated.