Khoresh Gheymeh

The story

Khoresh Gheymeh is a Iranian main with a clear sense of place. Khoresh gheymeh is a major Persian stew of meat, yellow split peas, tomato and dried lime, often crowned with fried potatoes. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Ingredients

• 800 g beef or lambcut into 2 cm cubes
• 250 g yellow split peasrinsed
• 240 g onionsdiced
• 70 g tomato paste
• 4 piece dried Persian limespierced
• 1.5 tsp ground turmeric
• 0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
• 500 g potatoescut into matchsticks
• 80 ml neutral oil
• 1200 ml water or stock
• 2 tsp fine salt

Method

1. Cook onions in 25 ml oil until

   Cook onions in 25 ml oil until golden. Add turmeric and meat and brown for 5–6 minutes.

   Look for: golden Tip: Part-cook split peas separately and finish them in the stew to control texture. Avoid: Adding peas too early can dissolve them, wet potatoes do not crisp and crushed dried lime can turn bitter.

2. Stir in tomato paste and cook 2

   Stir in tomato paste and cook 2 minutes until it darkens slightly, then add stock and pierced dried limes. Simmer covered for 50 minutes.

   Look for: it darkens slightly, then add stock and pierced dried limes

3. In a separate pan simmer split peas

   In a separate pan simmer split peas in water for 15 minutes until partly tender, then drain. This helps control their cooking so they do not disappear into the stew.

   Look for: partly tender, then drain

4. Add split peas to the meat and

   Add split peas to the meat and simmer another 35–45 minutes until both are tender. Add cinnamon and salt near the end and adjust dried-lime sourness carefully.

   Look for: both are tender

5. Rinse potato matchsticks, dry very thoroughly and

   Rinse potato matchsticks, dry very thoroughly and fry at 175°C until crisp and golden. Salt immediately.

   Look for: crisp and golden

6. Serve gheymeh with rice and add the

   Serve gheymeh with rice and add the fried potatoes only at the table so they stay crisp on top of the stew.

   Look for: Meat and peas are tender but still distinct, sauce coats the spoon and potato topping is crisp.

Nutrition

per serving

Estimated from the listed ingredients and default serving size. Actual values vary with brands, trimming, absorption and cooking losses.