Ghormeh Sabzi
Persian herb stew with lamb, kidney beans, and dried limes, deeply savory.
Meat
How this varies: Many households now use frozen pre-chopped "sabzi ghormeh" herb mix (sold in Persian grocers) instead of chopping fresh — it's a legitimate, widely-used shortcut for the herbs specifically, but the sauté-until-dark step is never skipped even with frozen herbs.
Ingredients
- 500g lamb or beef stew meat, cubed
- 2 bunches parsley, finely chopped (~2 cups)
- 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped (~1 cup)
- 1 bunch chives or scallion greens, finely chopped (~1/2 cup)
- 2-3 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves, or 1/3 cup fresh fenugreek leaves, finely chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup red kidney beans, cooked
- 4-5 dried limes (limoo amani), pierced with a fork
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 3 cups water
- 5 tbsp oil, divided
- Salt and pepper
Steps
- Sauté onion in 2 tbsp oil until golden, add meat, brown on all sides, stir in turmeric.
- Add water, bring to a boil, then simmer covered 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, sauté the chopped parsley, cilantro, and chives in the remaining 3 tbsp oil over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring often, until the herbs turn dark green-black and smell deeply toasted — this step is what builds the stew's real flavor.
- Add the fenugreek leaves in the last 3-4 minutes of sautéing the herbs (it turns bitter if overcooked).
- Add the sautéed herb mixture, kidney beans, and pierced dried limes to the pot.
- Simmer uncovered 45-60 minutes more until meat is very tender, the limes have softened and released their flavor, and the stew has thickened; taste and lightly crack open a lime or two with a spoon if more tartness is wanted.
- Serve with steamed basmati rice.