Khoresh Gheimeh — Split Pea & Lamb Stew

Name: Khoresh Gheimeh — Split Pea & Lamb Stew
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Persian
Ingredients: 500 g Lamb or beef stewing meat, in 2 cm cubes; 150 g Yellow split peas; 2 medium Onion, finely chopped; 3 tbsp Tomato paste; 3 Dried limes (limoo amani), pierced; 1 tsp Ground turmeric; 0.5 tsp Ground cinnamon; Ground dried lime or a pinch of advieh (optional); 2 Large potatoes; 200 ml Oil for frying; 3 tbsp Oil for the stew; 1.5 tsp Salt

A comforting tomato-red khoresh of diced lamb and yellow split peas, sharpened with dried lime and warm with cinnamon, then crowned with a heap of thin, crisp fried potato straws. The everyday stew of Iranian home tables and religious gatherings.

来源

食谱提供 Persian home kitchens · 🏺 传统 · Everyday and festive cooking of Iranian households — the shared repertoire behind sofreh (the spread) that no single person owns

Persian · traditional dish — An ownerless traditional dish, so no cook is credited. The cited article describes gheimeh (also gheymeh/qeimeh) as an Iranian khoresh of diced mutton, tomatoes, split peas, onion and dried lime, garnished with golden thinly sliced crispy potatoes and sometimes fried aubergine, usually served with white Persian rice — which fixes both the base and the two classic garnishes noted here. Quantities and method are this book's own.

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Unicorns in the Kitchen Ana Verdi

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步骤

Fry the onion in the 3 tbsp oil until soft and golden. Stir in the turmeric, then brown the meat all over. Add the tomato paste and fry for 2 minutes until it darkens a shade.
Pour in enough hot water to cover by 2 cm, add the pierced dried limes, cinnamon and salt, cover, and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
Stir in the rinsed split peas and cook, covered, for another 30 to 40 minutes, until both the meat and the peas are soft and the sauce has thickened. Add a splash of hot water if it dries out.
💡 The split peas should hold their shape but crush easily. If they still have a hard core, they need more time — do not serve gheimeh with chalky peas.
While it finishes, fry the potato straws: heat the frying oil, and fry the matchsticks in batches until crisp and golden. Drain on paper and salt lightly.
Taste the stew and balance it — press a dried lime against the pot for more tang, or add a pinch of sugar if it is too sharp. It should be tangy, savoury and gently warm with cinnamon.
Spoon into a shallow dish and pile the crisp potato straws over the top just before serving, so they stay crunchy. Serve with plain saffron rice.

💡 小贴士

Gheimeh is one of the classic dishes cooked in huge pots as nazri — food shared with the neighbourhood during Muharram — which is why almost every Iranian has a fixed idea of how it should taste.
A well-known variant, gheimeh bademjan, swaps the potato straws for slices of fried aubergine laid over the top. Both are traditional; make whichever you have to hand.
Short on time for frying? Bake the potato matchsticks tossed in a little oil at 220°C until crisp. Less rich, but far less fuss and no pan of hot oil.