Rhubarb-Lamb Stew

Rhubarb is found in many parts of Central Asia and is believed to have originated in the Himalaya. In this stew, its tartness combines well with small slow-cooked chunks of lamb or beef. Although rhubarb is used in Persian and Azeri cooking, other peoples of Central Asia most emphatically do not view it as desirable food. Once while trekking in Zanskar in the Ladakh region of Kashmir, I came across some tender rhubarb on a glacial melt slope. Far from fresh fruits and vegetables, I was deli