Khoreshte Gheimeh – Veal stew

This dish is a highlight in Persian cuisine. The aroma and taste are almost seductive!

An easy dish with a taste of dried lime and lentils served with basmati rice made in the Persian way, of course! What you need to keep in mind is to soak the yellow lenses well in advance.

In my parents’ home, this dish was always cooked with veal, but you can also use lamb or beef. Acid, heat, salt, and fat are essential elements for Persian food to taste good, or rather, food!  You may have noticed, for example, squeezed lemon, dried lime is frequently used in Persian cuisine.  You find dried lime at oriental stores. I use both whole lime and ground one in this dish.

Garnish
1 medium potato peeled and cut into sticks. You can also take advantage of ready-made ones called Pommes Pinnes, which are available in regular grocery stores at the chips department. Works perfectly!

6 st. whole small tomatoes (let these boil with the last 10 minutes in the pot

Garnish
1 medium potato peeled and cut into sticks. You can also take advantage of ready-made ones called Pommes Pinnes, which are available in regular grocery stores at the chips department. Works perfectly!

6 st. whole small tomatoes (let these boil with the last 10 minutes in the pot.

Method:

1. Start by washing the lenses and soaking it with a little flake salt for a few hours or overnight. There are different qualities of the split peas, some that cook quickly and others take longer; you have to try it out; regardless of quality, cooking is facilitated by soaking it in good time.
2. Cut the meat into tiny pieces 1 x 1 cm (0,39 x 10,39 inches approx.) and set aside.
3. Peel and chop the onion.
4. Measure everything and have it ready before you start cooking. This way, you will not forget the ingredients!
5. Peel the potatoes and cut them into sticks, soak them in lightly salted water in the meantime.
6. Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water for about 3 minutes. Strain and cool it all in the refrigerator. When it’s time to set, fry them for about 6 minutes or until they get a nice golden color. If you use Pommes Pinnes, you can skip this.
7. Melt some butter and oil in a thick-bottomed saucepan, pour in the chopped onion, and fry it for 5 minutes.
8. Add the meat and continue to fry it for 3 minutes together with the onion, then add the lentils and continue to fry for another 2 minutes.
9. Pour over the spices and stir so that everything is mixed well.
10. Peck the dried lime and put in the pot; you peck so that the lime can “sink” in the sauce.
11. Add tomato puree, concentrated stock, and water.
12. Let everything boil, lower the heat, and then let it simmer without a lid for about 30 minutes. Feel the lenses, let everything cook until the lenses are ready.
13. Wash the tomatoes and let them boil in the pot for the last 10 minutes.
14. Add more water if needed; the sauce must not be too thin!
15. Please taste and correct the seasoning. I always add a little squeezed lemon towards the end.

Place the casserole in a deep serving dish, place the tomatoes so that they are visible, and sprinkle on fried potatoes on top.

Serve with basmati rice in the Persian way.

Enjoy!