Gheimeh - a Persian Meat and Split Peas Stew

Source 

Used to be a great site with Persian recipes, but it’s gone :-( 

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 3 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 750 grams stewing lamb or beef (1500 cal)

- 250 grams split-peas (850 cal)

- 3 medium onions (180 cal)

- 500 grams potatoes (465 cal)

- 1/2 cup of cooking oil (960 cal)

- 2-3 tbsp of tomato paste (20 cal)

- juice and zest from 2 lemons or 3-4 crushed dried limes (25 cal)

- 1/2 tbsp of turmeric

- 1/2 tbsp of paprika

- salt and pepper to taste

Total 4000 cal, 10 servings, 400 cal / serving

Instructions

1. Prior to cooking, soak split-peas in warm water for 2-3 hours, then drain out the water.

2. Peel and thinly slice onions, then fry in oil until golden. 

3. Wash and cut meat into small pieces and fry in onions until color changes. 

4. Add 3 glasses of water and bring to boil. Let boil slowly for 1-1.5 hours until mostly cooked, adding more water if needed.
5. Wash and cut the potatoes. Add potatoes, split-peas, salt, pepper, spices and tomato paste and continue boiling slowly until cooked. Add more water if needed during cooking.

6. If using dried limes, they should be added in with the other ingredients. If using juice, add in towards the end and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Adjust seasoning according to taste.

7. Serve with white rice. 

Afterthoughts

- Very good stew. This recipe is for a huge amount. You can freeze it in serving size portions or you can make half of the amount. 

- The stew should be liquid, almost like a sauce over the rice, so add more water as needed. 

- The rice in the picture is crispy, cooked with oil on low heat for about 40 minutes, until a hard layer is developed at the bottom of the rice, it’s called “tahdeeg” and I should post a separate recipe for that some time.