Fresh Herbs + Dried Lime Braise

Name: Fresh Herbs + Dried Lime Braise (Khoresh-e Qormeh Sabzi)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h 55 min
Yield: Serves: 6
Cuisine: Iranian
Ingredients: 1 cup/85 g finely chopped fresh chives or spring onions; ¼ cup/60 ml oil or ghee; ¾ cup/150 g kidney beans, soaked in water overnight, drained and rinsed (or 2 x 14 oz cans, drained and rinsed and added in the last 30 minutes of the cooking in step 5); 3 tablespoons oil or ghee; 3 cups/255 g finely chopped fresh parsley or 1 cup dried; 1½ teaspoons turmeric; 2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced; 6 whole dried Persian limes, pierced; 3 cups/255 g finely chopped fresh cilantro or 1 cup dried; ½ teaspoon ground saffron threads dissolved in 4 tablespoons rose water (optional); 2 teaspoons ground cardamom; 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced; 1 tablespoon fine sea salt; ¼ cup/60 ml freshly squeezed lime juice; 2 lb/900 g lamb shanks (bone in, tops cut off and included in the braise); 3 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves or ¾ cup/65 g finely chopped fresh fenugreek; 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Khoresh-e Qormeh Sabzi

Preparation info

Serves:
6

Difficulty
Complex
Ready in
4 hr

Appears in

Cooking in Iran

By Najmieh Batmanglij

Published 2020

About

This dish was adopted by Tehranis in the early 1800s when the Qajars brought a variation of it from Azarbaijan. In Tabriz it is made with black-eyed beans instead of kidney beans, tarragon instead of fenugreek, and verjuice instead of dried Persian limes. Around the Persian Gulf it is made hot and spicy, and they add dill, spinach, and lots of garlic. Around the Caspian, it’s made with fish (added in step 5). You can also replace the lamb with turkey or chicken. In the photo opposite, this

Ingredients

Asia
Iran
Azerbaijan
Tabriz
Tehran
Spicy
Gluten-free

Ingredients

Method