When learning to cook regional dishes, I like to go straight to the source. I want to observe the way it’s done by people who grew up cooking and eating the food. I’ll travel pretty much anywhere to learn the secret of an authentic regional dish.
Luckily, when I wanted to learn Persian cooking, I didn’t have to travel– instead, our friend Farah came to me. 🙂
Farah was born in Iran. She immigrated to Israel with her family when she was 5 years old. Her father worked as a cook in many different places, eventually landing as the head chef in a Tel Aviv hospital kitchen.
Farah followed in her father’s footsteps, opening a small Persian cafe in Jaffa for other Iranian immigrants. She later moved to the United States with her family and cooked professionally for many years.
Farah cooks in my kitchen while I take notes.
Farah is a terrific cook, and she’s generous with her talent. I asked her to give me a crash course in Persian cooking. When she asked what dishes I’d like to learn, I told her I really wanted the secret to making Persian rice with tah-deeg.
So, she taught me how to make Persian rice with dill and lima beans… and Persian rice with raisins and carrots… and garlic roast chicken... and cucumber salad… and kooba, fried bulgur wheat pies stuffed with ground lamb and pine nuts. In addition to all this, my husband’s sister brought along two delicious eggplant recipes.
Needless to say, by the end of the night we were beyond stuffed! I think I waddled to bed. But the calorie splurge was worth it. Such a delicious meal!
Did I mention the Persian Lamb Stew? No? Well, it was my favorite dish of the night. I love it when a simple recipe is so full of flavor.
You may be more familiar with traditional Irish Stew, but even if you’re not a big fan of lamb, you might want to reconsider and try this stew. The spiced meat is ultra tender, it flakes with a fork and melts in your mouth.
The basmati rice soaks up the yummy sauce, a perfect accompaniment to the stew. As a bonus, this dish is gluten free. It also contains a hefty dose of turmeric, a spice that has strong anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties. What a treat!
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Persian Lamb Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (or more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt (if salt sensitive, you may want to use less and salt to taste at the end of cooking)
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (omit if spice sensitive)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions, minced
- 3 pounds lamb meat cut into chunks for stewing (leg meat works well, it cooks up very tender)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
- 4 cups steamed basmati rice for serving
Instructions
- In a small dish, mix together turmeric, black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper seasoning.
- In a large pot, or large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat till hot (not smoking). Saute for 10 minutes until onion softens and starts to turn golden brown.Begin browning the lamb. Add the lamb stew meat to the pot. You can use bone-in lamb meat, boneless meat, or a combination of the two. Brown the meat for a few minutes on each side. Drain the fat that collects at the bottom of the pot.
- Sprinkle the seasonings evenly across the top of the browned meat.
- Cover the meat with 4 cups of water. Bring mixture to a slow boil, then reduce heat to medium low. Simmer on medium low heat for two hours.
- Use a large shallow spoon to skim the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid every 30 minutes.
- After 2 hours, add tomato paste to the pot and stir slowly until paste dissolves into the broth.Simmer for another 20 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the meat is nice and tender and the sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt and.or spice, if desired.
- Garnish the stew with fresh parsley or cilantro. Serve lamb and sauce over freshly steamed basmati rice.
Nutrition
I made this last night and added baby spinach to it and a little fresh coriander. Really enjoyed this recipe and will definitely try it again but may add some dried prunes to it. Thank you. Even my husband enjoyed it.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Made pretty much as written with minor adjustments. I used smoked paprika and a pinch of kashmiri red chili instead of the chili flakes (worried about the kids). Kids and husband asked for seconds and thirds. I am sure it will taste even better the next day, but I am tempted to add a splash or so of fish sauce for a bit more umami. Thanks for the recipe. It was ine that everyone enjoyed.
Just made this and it’s as described– simple to make, the sauce comes out perfectly, and the meat is melt in your mouth good — but (my opinion here) its missing a certain something – turmeric makes it look good for sure, but it isn’t a very flavorful spice and it seems like there should be something else — for me it was a bit bland.
Landed on this site today while searching for stewing lamb recipes and thought it sounded good. Made exactly as presented. Now I have to make it again tomorrow as it so absolutely delicious my husband and I can’t stop sneaking little bowls of the tender meat and thick, gorgeous sauce (it was to be served tomorrow).
Although the recipe makes plenty of sauce I may consider doubling the spices and water so we have even more to enjoy. Do you think it would work?
I am now going to look at your blog and other Persian recipes in particular. Thank you, Tori!
Hi Tricia! If doubling the spices and liquid you should also double the meat quantity, otherwise the flavor balance will be off. Part of the sauce’s flavor comes from the lamb fat. Glad you enjoyed it!
This is a wonderful dish! We used Aleppo pepper for the red pepper flakes and it was fine.
Aleppo pepper is mellower and more complex.
Next time I will add prunes.
Hey, What a great simple reciepe.
I added star anise, cinnamon and appricots.
I also served with saffron rice. A littlw Moroccan twist to this fantastic recipe.
Delicious! I added two garlic cloves last half and hour of cooking! The meat become so tender its falling apart! Perfect to cook up on a Sunday and use with different carbs/salads throughout the week as leftovers; only the sauce itself carries so much flavor! This will be made again!
I made this dish this evening and served it over Quinoa instead of rice. It is amazing something so simple could taste so amazing. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I will make it again, but I think I will add more vegetables the next time. If you like lamb, this is a wonderful recipe.
Hi Tori, about to try this for the first time tonight. Had a quick question, I noticed there are a few steps where you remove the fat. Is that to make it lighter or some other reason? Isn’t the fat one of the more flavorful components? Thanks!
Hi Travis, I hope you enjoyed it. Lamb is generally VERY fatty. Normally I like leaving the fat in for soups and stews, but here the fat would be overwhelmingly rich to my taste. It will still have plenty of fat and moisture after removing excess fat.
My family Absolutely loved this dish!! I prepared and cooked it right to recipe and it turned out amazing..
Thank you for sharing!
Before I make this, can you add curry powder to it?
I suggest trying it as written first, the curry powder might work but it also might make it overly spicy depending on which powder you use. Without testing it myself I can’t give you a firm answer on this.
We loved it, my husband had seconds which is the best complement in my book. Looking forward to making it again but planning the lamb in advance. The market was picked over when I got there but I just HAD to try it.
Add some eggplant/aubergine after browning the meat and you get a lovely creamy consistency. Highly recommend this recipe!
Oddly enough, this recipe was the first time I’ve ever cooked lamb. And the second time I’ve ever eaten lamb. The first time I had lamb was in a Peruvian restaurant in a stew. I was feeling bold one day and had found this recipe and decided to go for it.
This recipe is absolutely fabulous. I added a can of garbanzo beans at the beginning when adding the water and spices. I just read a comment about adding green beans and think I may do that next time. I use 3 lbs of boneless leg of lamb, ciapetti brand. This is in my normal rotation now and I make it about once a month. It freezes wonderfully. For me, the sauce never comes out thin, it actually comes out a bit thicker than what I see in the pictures. I love this recipe!!
Thought this was a bit bland… Sauce was a bit too runny. Followed the recipe as listed.
Lovely flavour. The whole family enjoyed it…even the 11 month old.
Making this right now! Hag Sameach! How wonderful to find your site!
Best lamb stew recipe I have ever tried. (I did leave out the red pepper.) The other reviewers variations with potatoes, green beans, prunes etc. sound wonderful too. Thanks so much!
Such an easy simple lamb stew. This is the stew I’ve been trying to make all fall. I left out the chili flakes and threw in some green beans and served over rice. My family of 6 ate it up : )
Absolutely gorgeous…… Just made it ….. And eaten it …
Thank you for this recipe it’s one we’ll have time after time