Cookbook:Ghormeh Sabzi

Ghormeh Sabzi
Category	Iranian recipes
Servings	8
Time	Cook 5 hours
Difficulty

Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes | Cuisine of Iran

Ghormeh sabzi is one of the most popular dishes in the Persian part of Iran. It is relatively easy to prepare and yields food for multiple days. That is why typically a large amount of stew is prepared. The herbs and the dried limes create a unique flavour. As the meat is boiled at low temperatures over an extended period of time, it becomes soft enough to be eaten with a fork and a spoon only.

Ingredients

• 200 g red beans
• 2 onions
• 800 g beef or lamb which has some fat (such as the meat for boiled beef)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 bunch spinach
• 1 bunch coriander
• 1 can (about 400g) fried ghormeh sabzi herbs
• 8 dried limes
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt
• Pepper
• 800 g rice
• Saffron
• Sugar (optional)

Procedure

1. Boil the red beans for one hour.
2. Chop the onions into fine cubes.
3. Remove unnecessary fat from the meat, and cut the meat into smaller pieces.
4. Add a bit of normal olive oil to a big pot with lid.
5. Heat the pot and fry the onions at high temperature.
6. After 1-2 minutes, add the meat and mix it with the onions.
7. After another 1-2 minutes, reduce the heat to the lowest level. The meat will lose a significant amount of juice which will contribute to the taste of the stew.
8. Chop the parsley and spinach into fine pieces and add it to the pot, together with the herbs from the can.
9. Add boiling water (about 0.5 L, till the consistency is right).
10. Add the red beans when ready.
11. Boil for about 0.5-3 hours on low heat. The longer the better.
12. Put the dried limes in hot water for 15 minutes and puncture each of them with a fork. Smaller limes have a better taste.
13. Add the dried limes, turmeric, pepper and salt. Boil for another 0.5-1h.
14. For the best taste, let the stew cool down and store it in a fridge. The taste is better on the next two days.
15. Steam the rice.
16. Grind the saffron and sugar together in a mortar. Add about 1 tablespoon boiling water. Toss some of the cooked rice with the saffron water.
17. Serve the stew in its own bowl. Serve the plain rice in a separate bowl, topped with the saffron rice.