Ghormeh sabzi

The Khoresh-e ghormeh sabzi is often referred to as Iran's national dish, so it's a must-try for anyone interested in trying new flavors. Ghorme Sabzi, or Persian herb stew, is without a doubt the country's most popular dish, and there's no need to debate its popularity among Iranians. You'll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't enjoy this stew.

It's impossible to say no to this savory herb mixture with tender cooked meat and unusual Persian dried limes. To emphasize how popular this stew is, I'd like to point out that, ironically, the Iranians believe that you can't cook Ghormeh Sabzi unless you can make it.

It's a slow-cooked stew (khoresht) with herbs, red kidney beans, and lamb chunks that's tangy and citrusy. The stew's base is made up of parsley, coriander, chives, and fenugreek, with Persian dried limes adding a subtle sour note. It's best served with steamed rice, of course.

Ingredients

• 1 kg required vegetables
  
• 300 grams chives
  
• 300 grams coriander
  
• 300 grams parsley
  
• 100 grams 100
  
• 500 grams (boned) meat cubes
  
• 2/3 glass kidney beans
  
• 5 dried limes
  
• 1 big onion
  
• Unripe grape juice as much as required
  
• Salt, pepper and turmeric, as much as required

Instructions

• Leave the kidney beans in some water the night before you want to cook this dish (about 12 hours) so that they absorb some of it. Changing and replacing the water two or three times is a good idea.
  
• Chop the onion into small pieces. In a pot, stir fry it with some oil. After they've been fried, add a little turmeric to make them look better and taste better.
  
• Add the (boned) meat cubes to the onions after cutting and chopping them. Fry them until the meat's color has changed. Cook the kidney beans in a separate pot. You don't have to cook them all the way through; just until they're half-cooked.
• Add the onion and meat cubes with 3 glasses of boiling water. Put the lid on the pot. Reduce the heat on the gas burner because the meat must be cooked for a longer time with less heat.
• Wash the vegetables and chop them into small pieces while the meat is cooking. Fry them in a pan.
  Separate the water and kidney beans from each other when the meat is half-cooked.
• Add the meat cubes with the kidney beans and fried vegetables. The dried limes must now be added.But remember to pierce them with a fork before adding them to the stew. Pour two or three glasses of water into the pot after adding the dried limes.
  
• The stew must be well-prepared almost immediately after leaving the pot on the gas burner for two hours. The flavors, salt, and unripe grape juice can now be added. Leave the pot on the gas burner for another hour to allow the flavors to meld.