Khoresh is an Iranian stew that’s served with basmati rice and has many variations based around dried fruits, herbs, and vegetables. I learned to cook this type of stew from my father, who emigrated to Israel from Iran as a child. He wanted to preserve tastes from his home and, as he had a flare for cooking, he quickly learnt from his sisters how to make traditional Iranian dishes. He taught my mother, and they would make those special stews for Friday night meals. It’s quite possibly our family’s favorite food – it’s definitely my sisters’ and mine! This recipe has a strong flavor of dried fruit and dried lime, which appear frequently in Iranian kitchens. This unusual combination creates a rich, delicately balanced sweet and sour flavor. It’s the first stew I learned to cook, and to this day, it transports me back to our Friday nights at home.
Ingredients
- 1 large onion finely diced
- Splash canola or vegetable oil
- 1 lb 2oz cubed beef 500g
- 1½ cups water 375ml/13fl oz
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons plum jam or any other red jam
- 3 dried limes
- ½ cup dried black-eyed beans soaked in water overnight 90g/3¼oz. Or 7oz canned black-eyed beans drained and rinsed 200g.
- 15 dried apricots
- 15 prunes
- 1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
Nutritional Facts
Instructions
- In a large saucepan on a medium heat, sauté the onion in a splash of oil for 3–4 minutes until golden.
- Add the beef and let it brown, and seal on all sides. Cover the meat with the water, bring to the boil and skim off, and discard the foam that forms on top of the meat.
- Mix the tomato purée/paste with 125ml/4fl oz/½ cup of water, then add to the saucepan. Repeat the same process with the jam. Mix everything well and bring it to a gentle boil.
- Break up the dried limes. They are quite hard, so need to be crushed with a rolling pin, then you can break them up with your hands into 3–4 pieces each. Add to the pan along with the beans and dried fruit. Sprinkle in the sugar, add the lemon juice, and season with the salt.
- Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 2 hours, mixing occasionally.
- When the khoresh is ready, it should be thick but liquid enough to serve over rice. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water and cook for a further 30 minutes. If it’s too watery, remove the lid and let it cook a little longer until it reduces and thickens to the required consistency. Serve with white basmati rice.
Recipe and photo courtesy of My Tel Aviv Table.
I’m going to make this tonight. Where do I find dried limes?
check out a Middle Eastern market