Khoresh Gheymeh

Persian lamb and yellow split pea stew with tomato, turmeric, and dried Persian limes, crowned with fried potato matchsticks

Origin: Iran

From the journey of Pea.

Khoresh gheymeh is one of the great pillars of the Persian stew repertoire, a dish found in every Iranian household and served at the religious commemorations and communal meals (nazri) where vast pots are cooked to feed a crowd. Its name comes from the way the meat is cut, into small dice (gheymeh), and its soul is the yellow split pea, lapeh (لپه), which gives the stew its body, its gentle nuttiness, and its golden colour. The split pea sits at the heart of Persian home cooking, an unshowy but indispensable pulse that the cuisine could not do without, exactly as the dried pea has been a cornerstone of the Western Asian table since the first Neolithic farmers. In gheymeh it is simmered slowly with diced lamb or beef, tomato, and the warm trinity of Persian spice (turmeric, a whisper of cinnamon, and the haunting, sour, fermented fragrance of dried Persian limes, limoo amani), until the meat is meltingly tender and the peas are soft but still hold their shape. The crowning glory is the tahdig of the stew world: a tangle of slender fried potato matchsticks (or sometimes fried aubergine) heaped over the top just before serving, adding crunch against the soft stew. Gheymeh is always eaten with chelow, the buttery Persian steamed rice with its prized crisp golden crust. It is generous, deeply savoury, and quietly sour, the kind of dish that defines a cuisine from the inside.

Ingredients

Stew

600 g boneless lamb or beef, cut into 2 cm dice
150 g yellow split peas (lapeh), rinsed
2 piece onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 piece ripe tomatoes, grated, or 200 g tinned chopped tomatoes
1 tsp ground turmeric
0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
4 piece dried Persian limes (limoo amani), pierced a few times with a fork
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Seasoning

1.5 tsp salt, or to taste
0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Topping

2 piece large potatoes, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
200 ml oil, for frying the potatoes

Method

Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pot over a medium heat. Fry the chopped onions for 10 minutes until soft and golden. Stir in the turmeric and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute.
Add the diced meat and brown it all over with the onions for about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes, then add the grated tomatoes.
Pour in enough hot water to cover the meat by 2 cm. Add the pierced dried limes, the salt, and the pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook gently for about 1 hour, until the meat is becoming tender.
Add the rinsed split peas and continue to simmer, covered, for a further 35 to 45 minutes, until both the meat and the peas are tender and the sauce has thickened. Add a little hot water if it reduces too far.
Meanwhile, fry the potato matchsticks: heat the frying oil in a separate pan and fry the potatoes in batches until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and salt lightly.
Taste the stew and adjust the salt and sourness (squeeze a little juice from a soft cooked lime if you want it more tart). Transfer to a serving dish and heap the fried potato matchsticks over the top just before serving.
Serve hot with chelow (Persian steamed buttered rice).

Notes

Dried Persian limes (limoo amani) are essential to the authentic flavour and are sold in Middle Eastern shops; do not substitute fresh lime, which gives a different, brighter sourness. Some cooks use ground dried lime (limoo powder) in addition to whole limes. Aubergine cut into batons and fried may be used in place of, or alongside, the potato topping, for gheymeh bademjan.

The Gastrographer

Name: Khoresh Gheymeh
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 45 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 5
Cuisine: Iran
Ingredients: 600 g boneless lamb or beef, cut into 2 cm dice; 150 g yellow split peas (lapeh), rinsed; 2 piece onions, finely chopped; 2 tbsp tomato purée; 2 piece ripe tomatoes, grated, or 200 g tinned chopped tomatoes; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 0.25 tsp ground cinnamon; 4 piece dried Persian limes (limoo amani), pierced a few times with a fork; 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 1.5 tsp salt, or to taste; 0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 2 piece large potatoes, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks; 200 ml oil, for frying the potatoes

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control