Hyderabadi ‘Haleem’ now available across India with an extended shelf life of a month

Hyderabad: If you’re not from Hyderabad and have heard of Haleem during the Ramadan season, you no longer have to miss out. Pista House, renowned for its Haleem in the city, has started shipping out its bestselling dish across India, all with a shelf life of one month.

Traditionally, relishing the Ramadan favourite Haleem beyond Hyderabad’s borders proved challenging, with spoilage often hindering delivery attempts. Sometimes people used to fly down from other cities, only to relish the season’s Haleem. However, people outside can now enjoy fresh and flavourful Haleem from the comfort of their homes.

“We have achieved this extended shelf life through retort packaging, a method that involves intense heat treatment to eliminate any bacteria, ensuring the Haleem remains fresh for a month,” said Mohammed Abdul Mohsi, Owner of Pista House, Hyderabad.

Retort packaging is a process of packing perishable food items without using any preservatives. These food items are packed in retort pouches that contain cooked or semi-cooked food items, they are later sealed and sterilized with the help of heat and pressure. This also eliminates the need for refrigeration, which will allow people across the country to relish their favourite dish without any compromise.

“We do not use any added preservatives or any chemicals to increase the shelf life, it is all the change in packaging that extends the shelf life to a month, while before Haleem would only last for a day,” he added.

The making and shipping process of the dish is done at Pista House’s Attapur Kitchen, where cutting-edge machinery facilitates the retorting process.

“We get around 400 to 500 orders per day for Haleem across India and there is a great demand mainly from Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai as well,” he said.

In addition to nationwide shipping, Pista House has launched Haleem Hot Pots for gifting purposes this Ramadan. These are a premium gift pack for haleems allowing people to share the dish among their loved ones.