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Winter 2015

Recipes

Gheimeh - Persian and Mesopotamian stew of which the main ingredients are meat, tomatoes, split peas

I would like to write a recipe on how to cook ‘Yellow Split Pea Stew’ and I hope you like it!

This stew is one of the most famous dishes of Iran and is usually eaten with rice.

Ingredient:

  • 400 g lamb or beef cut into small cubes
  • 1-cup yellow split peas
  •  Dried limes (4 to 5)
  •  Spices: 1/2 tsp turmeric, ¼ tsp ground pepper, 1 tsp salt, 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 tbsp. tomato paste
  • 2 medium sized onions
  • 2 medium sized potatoes
  • Brewed saffron to your taste (1 tsp. saffron mixed in ¼ cup of warm water)

Add about 1 tsp of vegetable oil to your pot and then add chopped onions. Sautee onions until they become golden and then add the meat and fry till it becomes brown in color. Add tomato paste and fry a little more until it changes color. Stir thoroughly; be careful not to burn tomato paste! Then, add about 2 tbsp of brewed saffron and all the spices except salt.

We will add salt after meat is cooked. Add about 4 cups of water; add dried limes and two cinnamon sticks. It is better to cook yellow split peas separately with a little water for about 15 minutes. Once done, you can add it to meat. Once the meat is done, you can add salt and let it simmer for 15 minutes on low heat.

In the meantime, slice the potatoes and fry them. When we serve the stew, we can add some fried potato over the stew.

Iranian usually serves stews with cooked rice or saffron rice.

I hope you enjoy this delicious meal as much as I do!