80 g Lapeh (yellow lentils)
4 Firm tomatoes -OR-
1 tb Tomato paste
1 md Onion
Oil
1 ts Turmeric
500 g Lamb (boned leg); cut into
-small cubes
Salt; pepper
1/2 ts Saffron; ground
2 Bay leaves
2 Limu omani (dried limes);
-up to 3
3 md Potatoes; up to 4
The day before you want to cook the dish, sort through the lapeh,
pour over boiling water to cover, and leave to soak overnight. The
next day, drain the lentils in a sieve and rinse with fresh water.
Coarsely grate the tomatoes and set aside.
Finely chop the onion. Heat some oil in a large pan and fry the onion
until golden. Sprinkle with turmeric and stir once.
Add the cubed lamb and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, until light brown on
all sides. Sprinkle with pepper and saffron, add the bay leaves, and
fry for a further 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the grated tomatoes to the meat, cover, and simmer over a very
low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomato
sauce thickens. (If you cannot get ahold of any flavorful tomatoes,
use 1 tb tomato paste instead. Add the tomato paste to the meat and
fry for just 3 to 4 minutes or so, until the color darkens and the
fragrance of the tomato paste rises.
Pour over 250 ml boiling water and bring everything to a boil over
high heat.
Prick the limes in several places with a fork to prevent them from
exploding while cooking, and place in the sauce with the lentils. If
necessary, add just enough water to cover the lentils and meat by 1
cm and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan, and simmer
for at least 1-1/2 hours. If the level of liquid in the pan falls too
low, top up with a little boiling water as necessary. In principle,
however, the less water that evaporates and has to be replaced, the
better. Flavor escapes with the steam, and the koresh is meant to be
thick. If, on the other hand, the stew becomes too thin, leave the
lid open a crack.
While the meat simmers, prepare the rice for chelo: first wash the
rice in several changes of water, drain, and soak for 25 minutes in
lukewarm water to which 1 tb salt has been added.
About 20 minutes before the rice and meat are done, peel the potatoes
and cut into matchsticks.
Heat a generous amount of oil in a large pan and fry the matchstick
potatoes over a medium heat until crisp, then drain on a paper towel.
Serve the stew, topped with the crisp-fried matchstick potatoes, with
the rice
Tips:
The crisp potatoes are an essential part of this dish. Use takeout
fries as a backup option.
Note:
The oil is hot enough for deep frying when small bubbles rise around a
wooden spoon dipped in the oil.
Recipe by The Persian Kitchen by Neda Afrashi, 2006
