Potato Khoresh (Khoresh-E Gheymeh)

Makes 6 servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons oil, butter, or ghee
• 2 large onions, peeled, thinly sliced, placed in a bowl, cover with cold water
• 1 pound stew meat (lamb, veal, or beef), or boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 whole limu-omani (dried Persian limes), pierced
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon advieh (Persian spice mix)
• 1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Zest of 2 oranges
• 1/2 teaspoon ground saffron dissolved in 2 tablespoons orange blossom water
• 1/4 cup yellow split peas

Deep Fried Potatoes:

• 1 1/2 pounds or 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into matchsticks and soaked in cold water
• 2 cups canola oil for deep frying
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1 teaspoon limu-omani powder (dried Persian lime powder)

Directions

• 1. In a Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat and brown the onions and meat. Add the limu-omani, salt, pepper and turmeric. Sauté for 2 minutes longer.
• 2. Pour in water - 3 cups for stew meat, 2 cups for chicken - and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 55 minutes or 10 minutes for chicken, stirring occasionally.
• 3. Add the advieh, tomato, honey, orange zest, and saffron-orange blossom water. Cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes.
• 4. In a saucepan, cook the yellow split peas in 3 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt for 30 minutes. Drain, rinse, and add to the Dutch over. Give it a gentle stir.
• 5. Check to see if meat and peas are tender. Taste the khoresh and adjust seasoning to taste by adding lime juice or salt. Transfer to a deep casserole, cover, and place in a warm oven until ready to serve.
• 6. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the potatoes and dry thoroughly. In a deep skillet, heat 2 cups oil until hot, add the potatoes, and deep fry until golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes and place them on paper towels. Sprinkle with course sea salt and limu-omani powder, and set aside.
• 7. Just before serving add the potatoes on top of the khoresh. Serve with chelow (saffron steamed rice), torshi (Persian pickles), and sabzi-khordan(fresh herb platter) on the side.

Variation for Baking Potatoes:
To bake the potatoes instead of frying them, preheat oven at 350°F (180°C). Place the potato slices in a Ziplock bag with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt, seal, and shake the bag to even coat potatoes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread potatoes over it. Bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Dust with salt and limu-omani (lime powder).

Vegetarian Variation:
Eliminate the meat from the ingredients. Increase the split peas to 1/2 cup and add them in step 1 (instead of step 5). In step 2, increase the water to 4 cups and reduce the cooking time to 30 minutes. Proceed with the recipe from step 3, but eliminate step 5 altogether.

Note:
Qeymeh - This khoresh without potato is called qeymeh. If often accompanies thick Persian soups (oshes) and rice with fresh fava beans (baqala palow).

**This recipe is taken from renown Persian chef, Najmieh Batmanglij's "New Food of Life". Available for sale on our site**

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