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 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.
Daniel says
Would you still use 4 cups of water if you were making this for 3? I used the calculator to determine how much ingredients should be used but it doesn’t say anything about water.
Tori Avey says
For 3 servings I would recommend using 2 cups of water, then reducing until the sauce is thick enough to your liking.
Debbie says
Hi Tori, can this recipe be frozen? Rice and lamb together?
Thank you, Debbie
Elisa says
This recipe is absolutely delicious — and so easy to make. I served it over farro and sprinkled pomegranate seeds on the first day, the second day I served it with yogurt and pickled onions. I also used lamb neck – which I browned and cooked whole, then after it cooled I pulled the meat off and added back in. I am excited to try other recipes of yours – this was my first. Many thanks!!!
GINA RUBEN says
Hi Tori, I’d like to make this for good friends who are coming over for a casual night of dinner and a board game or two. What would you suggest to go with? Looks great, and amazing reviews!!
Tori Avey says
I often serve this with saffron rice and a salad. Two suggested recipes below. 🙂
https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/saffron-rice/
https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/rainbow-israeli-salad/
Kristin U Shulman says
Making this right now for tonight’s dinner. We bought a lamb two years in a row and have stew meat left over that we never used. Can’t wait to try it!
orly Pattison says
hi my name is orly,i l’d like to tell you i’ve been doing your stew for a long time:],and I always wanted to tell you that it brilliant everybody enjoyed it….including my grandson [2] .the only thing i changed was less black pepper .and less chillies crushes thank you
Tori Avey says
So glad you like it Orly! 🙂
Mary says
I did try the Persian Lamb recipe, and it was delicious. I used fresh organic tomatoes instead of tomato paste. Everyone enjoyed the sauce. I also used less red pepper. For next time, wonder if adding raisins sparingly would be a good idea?
Sue says
I tried this recipe using 1lb. Of lamb stew meat, cutting the recipe by 1/3.
I didn’t have tomato paste, so I used organic catsup (1 tablespoon).
I had fingerling potatoes that I roasted with a little olive oil and kosher salt (400 degrees for 25 minutes).
A salad and voila…
It was delicious! My husband said this should be a staple.
Thanks for a simple recipe that really works.
Tori Avey says
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Shanaya says
Hey! Sounds great- could you add spinach to this too?
Tori Avey says
I don’t see why not.
Nancy says
Hi! I’m going to make this tomorrow, but can I use chicken stock instead of water? Do you think It would ruin the flavor?
Tori Avey says
Chicken stock will work great, but be careful on the salt content– use low sodium if possible, and adjust the salt to taste. 🙂
Warren J says
I will try this dish today, will let you know how it turned out. Thanks for taking the time to do this……. I love food from around the world.
Tori Avey says
Enjoy Warren!
Shirley Wilson says
I have looked for a recipe like this for years. I used to make one very similar but I used lamb flank steak for the meat. I served it with toasted almonds sprinkled on top and finely chopped hard boiled egg. I somehow lost the recipe and then couldn’t remember the measurements of the spices. Thank you for sharing this, I will make it as soon as the summer heat turns to autumn.
D says
I don’t like lamb. So, I was searching for something to use up the lamb other than the traditional ‘lamb stews’ and found this recipe. Well……. it was marvelous! In fact, I used up all the lamb I had in the freezer on this recipe and purchased more lamb just to keep making this dish. I love it; my husband loves it, and my four kids love it! I am making this for a huge family gathering this week. What a find! Thank you! ( I also love that it is gluten and dairy free!) I’d give it 10 stars if it was an option.
Julie says
Added some yogurt and greens to this. I was surprised how good it was! My boyfriend loved it as well.
Tori Avey says
It is surprising how something so simple could turn out so tasty. 🙂
Alison says
A smashing dish for almost no effort. I’ve made it several times now and will keep putting it on the menu. Thank you for this gem! (Note: because it’s spicy, I cut down on the black pepper and red pepper to make it easier for my kids to eat. Then I add more of those seasonings to my own bowl.)
Joe says
Made it with meaty lamb neck bones. Very good. About using beef, veal or bison?
Alina says
So I found this to be way too spicy for my liking, is there something I can do to tone it down? It tastes great, just too spicy!
Tori Avey says
Hi Alina! It shouldn’t be too spicy unless you are super spice sensitive. I recommend using only 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and no chili flakes, to see if that fixes it for you. Those are the two sources of heat here. 🙂
Santiago says
I accidentally added the tomato paste before simmering for 2 hours. Will it turn out ok?
Tori Avey says
Yes no problem, it should be fine.
MLENYC says
It’s not clear to me: Do I brown the lamb in the same pot with the onions, or remove the onions first? Don’t the onions burn if the lamb is browning with them? (Sorry, I couldn’t access all 41 comments, so not sure if someone already asked this.)
Tori Avey says
The meat is browned with the onions, the way Farah taught me. The onions shouldn’t burn if you stir often and keep a close eye on it. You can certainly brown the meat first if you prefer, then drain off the fat before browning the onions separately. Either method will work, this just avoids you having to brown these ingredients separately.
ERUM says
Can I create this without the tomato paste?
Tori Avey says
I don’t recommend making it without the tomato paste. There are so few ingredients here, eliminating one will throw off the balance of the flavor.