45 min hands-on · 75 min waiting · Meat · Main course · For beginners
Khoresh-e Gheymeh
In German: Khoresch-e Gheymeh · In English: Khoresh Gheymeh
For 6 servings · US units
Slow-braised lamb with yellow split peas, dried lime and crisp fried potatoes
Khoresh-e Gheymeh is a gently braised stew of lamb and yellow split peas, deepened with tomato paste and given a quiet, sour edge by dried limes. It goes to the table over a plate of rice and under a tangle of golden fried potato sticks, which turns a pot of stew into a whole meal. This is cooking for the cooler months, when autumn and winter call for something warming.
Ingredients
- 7 ozYellow split peaspicked over; soaked or par-boiled
- 1¼ lblambboneless shoulder, cubed; mutton or beef also used
- 2oniondiced
- 3 tbspoilfor sautéing; extra for frying the potatoes
- 5 oztomato paste
- 6⅓ cupswaterfor simmering
- 4pierced or gently crackedWhole limes sun-dried until hard, hollow and brown to black; they give stews a sharp, almost smoky sourness.Substitute: There is no truly good substitute. Fresh lime juice with a little grated zest, added towards the end, supplies the sourness but not the fermented, slightly bitter depth that defines the dish; a little sumac comes somewhat closer to the tart character but is milder.Read more
- ½ tspturmericground
- 1 tbspPersian spice blendA Persian spice blend, usually of dried rose petals, cinnamon, cardamom and cumin, warm and floral with almost no heat.Substitute: The best option is to mix it yourself: roughly equal parts ground cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and crumbled dried rose petals, with a little coriander if you like. Without the rose petals the floral scent that defines the blend is lost. Garam masala is not a good substitute, as its pepper and cloves make it noticeably hotter and darker in flavour.Read more
- 1cinnamonor a pinch of ground cinnamon
- 1 clovesgarlicchopped
- saltto taste
- black pepperto taste
- 4potatostarchy, cut into sticks and fried, for topping
- 4 tspbrewed (optional)Dried stigmas of a crocus that turn food golden yellow and give it a bittersweet, floral aroma.Substitute: There is no real substitute, because the aroma is unique. Turmeric or safflower give only the colour, not the flavour; it is better to use a little less saffron than to replace it.Read more
- 2 tbspadded at the end (optional)A watery distillate of rose petals with a strong floral scent, used by the drop or the spoonful.Substitute: There is no true substitute; orange blossom water is just as floral but tastes of citrus rather than rose, and rose syrup adds sugar as well. When in doubt, leaving it out is better than flavouring with something else.Read more
- 6eggplantslender variety, peeled, salted and fried (optional)
Method
- Pick over the yellow split peas, then soak them in water for 3 to 12 hours, or par-boil them for about 30 minutes instead, and drain.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy pot and cook the diced onions slowly, first until translucent and then until golden.
- Add the cubed lamb, season with the turmeric, advieh, salt and black pepper, and brown the meat on all sides; if you are using ground cinnamon rather than a stick, add it now. Finally stir in the chopped garlic and fry it briefly, just until fragrant.
- Add the split peas, tomato paste and water to the pot, tuck in the cinnamon stick and bring everything to the boil.
- Cover the pot and braise the stew over the lowest possible heat for 1 to 2 hours, until the meat is tender and the split peas are cooked through.
- Pierce the dried limes with a fork or crack them gently, drop them into the stew and let them simmer until they have softened and given up their flavour.
- If you like, stir in the brewed saffron and the rosewater, and if you are using them, lay the peeled, salted and fried eggplants on top of the stew. Remove the cinnamon stick. Season to taste with salt and pepper, take the pot off the heat and leave it to rest for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into thin sticks, fry them in plenty of hot oil until golden and crisp, drain them on kitchen paper and salt them.
- Serve the Khoresh-e Gheymeh with rice and scatter the potato sticks generously over the top.
Tips and variations
Mutton or beef can stand in for the lamb. Salted, fried eggplants added to the pot only at the end make the stew rounder and softer. If you toast the tomato paste separately and add it only once the meat and split peas are cooked, the sauce turns darker and more robust. Cooked as a soup with beef stock, the dish can be served with potato gnocchi instead of rice. Scatter the potato sticks over just before serving so they stay crisp.
Allergens
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
