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Ghormeh sabzi (Persian herb stew)
Photo: Amin Majidi, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

main dish

Ghormeh sabzi (Persian herb stew)

قورمه سبزی (ghormeh sabzi)

A deep green stew of masses of fried herbs, lamb, kidney beans and dried limes, served with rice.

Eaten in: Iran

Prep
40 min
Cooking
3 h
Resting
12 h
Total
15 h 40 min
Servings
6

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About the dish

Ghormeh sabzi is one of Iran's best-loved khoresh stews, cooked in many homes every week. Its secret lies in the herbs – flat-leaf parsley, coriander, chives or leek and fenugreek leaves – finely chopped and fried slowly in oil until they darken and develop a deep aroma. They are then simmered with chunks of lamb or beef, kidney beans and whole dried limes, which give the dish its distinctive, slightly bitter sourness. The stew cooks gently for several hours and is served with white saffron rice, ideally with crisp tahdig. Like many stews, it tastes even better the next day.

Main ingredients

  • flat-leaf parsley
  • coriander
  • chives or leek
  • fenugreek leaves
  • lamb
  • kidney beans
  • dried limes

More: Wikipedia (en)

Recipe

Ghormeh sabzi (Persian herb stew)

https://foodmap.ominuvo.com/dish/ghormeh-sabzi

Ingredients

6 servings

6 servings

Method

  1. Soak the beans overnight, drain and cook in fresh water for about 40 minutes until nearly tender.

  2. Chop the onion and soften it in 2 tbsp oil, add the turmeric and the meat and brown on all sides.

  3. Cover the meat with the water, bring to the boil and simmer, covered, over low heat for 1 hour.

  4. Meanwhile chop the parsley, coriander and chives very finely. Fry them in the remaining oil over medium heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring often, until they darken considerably. Stir in the fenugreek at the end.

  5. Pierce the dried limes with a knife. Add the herbs, beans and limes to the meat.

  6. Simmer, covered, over very low heat for another 1.5 hours, until the sauce thickens and a film of oil rises to the top.

  7. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Serve with steamed rice.

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