Khoresh-e Alu

Name: Khoresh-e Alu
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Iran
Ingredients: 700 g boneless lamb shoulder (or beef chuck), cut into 4cm pieces; 2 large onions, finely sliced; 3 tbsp neutral oil or ghee; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 0.5 tsp ground black pepper; 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon; 0.25 tsp saffron threads, ground and steeped in 3 tbsp warm water; 200 g dried sour plums or prunes (alu Bukhara); 700 ml water or light stock; 1 tbsp tomato purée; 1 tsp salt, or to taste; 1 tbsp sugar, optional, if the plums are very sharp

A burnished saffron-gold Persian stew of lamb slow-braised with onion and turmeric until spoon-tender, dried sour plums melting into the sauce to lend a fruity tartness that cuts the rich meat, ladled over a mound of steamed saffron chelow rice

Origin: Tabriz and Azerbaijan, Iran

From the journey of Plum.

Khoresh, the slow-braised stew ladled over rice, is the cornerstone of the Persian table, and the family of fruit-sweetened khoreshha is among the oldest and most distinctive achievements of Iranian cookery. Khoresh-e alu belongs to the north-west, to Tabriz and the wider province of Iranian Azerbaijan, a region whose orchards have long supplied the dried sour plums (alu) that give the dish its name and its character. The Persian taste for the sweet-and-sour, the balance the cooks call malas, runs back through the medieval court kitchens to the Sassanid era, and dried fruit braised with meat is one of its purest expressions: the plums collapse into the sauce over a long, gentle simmer, their acidity cutting cleanly through the fat of the lamb whilst their fruit sugars round out the whole. The seasoning is restrained and aromatic rather than hot, built on softened onion, turmeric, and the costly bloom of saffron steeped in warm water, with no chilli to distract from the interplay of meat and fruit. Served with chelow, the steamed long-grain rice finished to a buttered, separate-grained perfection and crowned with its prized tahdig crust, khoresh-e alu is everyday home cooking of real refinement, the kind of dish that fills an Azerbaijani household with the scent of saffron and slow-cooked lamb on a winter afternoon.

Ingredients

Meat

700 g boneless lamb shoulder (or beef chuck), cut into 4cm pieces

Aromatics

2 large onions, finely sliced

Fat

3 tbsp neutral oil or ghee

Spices

1 tsp ground turmeric
0.5 tsp ground black pepper
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp saffron threads, ground and steeped in 3 tbsp warm water

Plums

200 g dried sour plums or prunes (alu Bukhara)

Liquid

700 ml water or light stock
1 tbsp tomato purée

Seasoning

1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tbsp sugar, optional, if the plums are very sharp

Method

Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and fry gently for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until soft and pale gold.
Stir in the turmeric, black pepper, and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the lamb pieces and turn them in the spiced onions until lightly coloured on all sides, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato purée, then pour in the water or stock and add the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the meat is beginning to turn tender.
Add the dried sour plums and the saffron water. Continue to simmer, uncovered, for a further 30 to 40 minutes, until the meat is spoon-tender and the sauce has thickened and taken on a deep golden colour.
Taste the sauce. It should be richly savoury with a clear fruity tartness. Add the optional sugar only if the plums have made it too sharp, and adjust the salt. Rest off the heat for 10 minutes.
Serve the khoresh ladled over or beside a mound of steamed saffron chelow rice, with the tender plums spooned on top.

Notes

Alu Bukhara, the dried sour plums sold in Iranian and South Asian grocers, give the most authentic result; failing those, use the tartest dried prunes you can find and sharpen the sauce with a squeeze of lemon or a little verjuice. The dish should taste fruity and sour rather than sweet, so be cautious with the sugar and add it only at the end. Lamb shoulder is traditional, but beef chuck braised a little longer makes an excellent winter version. Leftovers improve overnight as the plums settle further into the sauce.

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control