Ghormeh Sabzi, Persian Herb Stew

Every Iranian believes that their mom makes the best Ghormeh Sabzi in the world! Italy is famous for Pizza, Mexico for Tacos, and Korea for Kimchi but Ghormeh Sabzi, the national dish of Iran is second to none. The combination of the sour taste of dried lime, the exotic aroma of Persian vegetables, and tender lamb meat on top of soft Persian rice is magical and lets you taste the essence of Persian cuisine in a single bite. This iconic meat and vegetable stew or as Iranians call it “Khoresht Sabzi” is the ultimate test of cooking skills and gets cooked in different colors, tastes, and styles.

We are going to cover everything about Ghormeh Sabzi. We show you the traditional way to make Ghormeh Sabzi, how to cook the perfect Persian rice, and even Vegetarian and Vegan Ghormeh Sabzi which are kinda ironic due to the fact that Ghormeh means fried meat in Persian!

What do you need to make Ghormeh Sabzi?

Beans:

You can use red beans, Roman beans, red kidney beans, or a mixture of beans in Ghormeh Sabzi. The beans need to be soaked in water for at least 2-3 hours and get drained before using. If you want to make the best Ghormeh Sabzi in the world, you need to plan ahead and soak the beans overnight. This prevents the beans from being gassy which makes it easier to digest.

Vegetables:

Fresh herbs and vegetables play an important role in Ghormeh Sabzi. Other than onion which appears in almost every single Iranian dish, the most common combination of vegetables is 2 parts parsley, 1 part chives, 1 part spinach, and a small amount of fenugreek (Shanbalileh). We recommend using dried Shanbalileh to increase the mouth-watering aroma. You can also add coriander and scallion.

Meat:

Lamb meat is the heart of every Iranian Khoresht (Persian stew). The amazing and delicate cubes of lamb meat give Ghormeh Sabzi lots of flavors as well as diversity in texture. If you care more about the taste than being healthy and are in love with the smell of lamb fat, you can add some lamb bones resulting in a more intense taste and aroma. Of course, you can use beef instead of lamb to decrease the amount of fat and be more healthy too. Don’t worry if you are a vegetarian, my friend, you can substitute the meat with walnuts, or mushrooms. 

Citric Addition:

Being tart, acidic and salty is the main character of Ghormeh Sabzi. Using Limo (Limoo) Amani or Persian Lime (dried lime) is the most exciting way to flavor this tasty dish. Persians use Limo Amani as a whole with tiny holes in them and let the unique and exotic taste of it change Ghormeh Sabzi slowly into the most delicious Iranian food. Traditionally, you should even serve Ghormeh Sabzi with at least one Limo Amani in each Khoresht dish which helps the appearance too. You can use lemon, lime, or verjuice as substitutes to Limo Amani.

Rice:

Like any Persian stew, Ghormeh Sabzi should be served along with a tray of aromatic Persian rice. Cooking Persian rice to perfection is an art! There are lots of varieties of rice and each one of them needs a separate introduction and instruction. The rice gets cooked separately and there are two methods available, Chelo and Polo. We will try our best to teach you Chelo in full details and with additional tricks and tips because it is the most suitable method of rice for Ghormeh Sabzi  

How Do You Make Ghormeh Sabzi?

Step 1:

If you have not soaked the beans overnight, soak them in a large bowl of water for 3 hours and change the water every hour. Wash and pat dry your vegetables, chop them finely, and saute your vegetables with oil for 10 minutes on medium heat. 

Step 2:

Choose a suitable pot and saute your onion, lamb cubes, turmeric (or saffron) and oil on medium heat. The meat should get a nice golden brown color. Season the meat with salt and pepper and add 4-5 cups of water, let it boil for about 10 minutes to have half-cooked meat.

Step 3:

Rinse the soaked beans and add to the pot, let it get cooked for 20 minutes. Add the vegetables to the pot and let it cook for at least 3-4 hours. In the last hour, you should add the Limo Amani (dried limes) to the pot, this prevents the lime from collapsing to be in perfect shape in your dish of Ghormeh Sabzi.

Note: This is the traditional way of cooking Ghormeh Sabzi as this dish gets better and better when you cook it slowly and with lower heat. You can use a slow cooker to perfect this dish.

Note: This is the traditional way of cooking Ghormeh Sabzi as this dish gets better and better when you cook it slowly and with lower heat. You can use a slow cooker to perfect this dish.

How to Make Vegetarian and Vegan Ghormeh Sabzi?

To make Vegetarian or Vegan Ghormeh Sabzi you just need to substitute the meat with Walnuts. The process is the same as the traditional way but instead of the lamb meat, you should use whole walnuts. You can also substitute the lamb meat with different kinds of mushrooms. You can even roast the mushrooms and add them in the last stage of cooking to prevent them from getting too soft.

How to Make Persian Rice, Chelo?

For this tricky part of our recipe, I’m going to share my mom’s recipe with you. These are secret and professional tips that you can not find anywhere else!

Chelo:

Step 1: You need 1 cup of rice for each person. Clean the rice from any potential tiny twig or stones. Wash it with mild water and be careful not to break the rice seeds. 

Step 2: Now you need to soak the rice in mild water and salt for 1-2 hours. For every 3 cups of rice, you need 1 tbsp salt. Pick a proper pot and fill half of it with water. Boil the water and add the rice along with salty water. (You can add 1-2 tbsp Persian yogurt or 1 tbsp lemon juice)

Step 3: When the rice started boiling, add 1 cup cold water. When it starts boiling again, pick up a seed of rice and pinch it between your fingers, it should be still hard and half-cooked. When you get to this point take the pot off.

Strain the rice and wash it with hot water. Taste it, it should not be too salty or tasteless.

Wash the pot and warm it up with high heat, add 2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil. Add the strained rice and try to make a dome, add 1 cup of boiling water around your dome.

Note: For a better Tahdig (that delicious crunchy crust), you can use some potato slices or Flatbread before adding the rice.

Cover your pot with high heat until it starts steaming then let it cook for about 30 to 60 minutes on low heat.

Note: You can design the rice tray with saffron rice, barberry, and sliced almonds or pistachios. Don’t forget to put some of that crunchy Tahdig on top! Enjoy this and more recipes on Top Iranian foods of all time.

Final note: Usually Iranians have a rice dish in front of them and add Ghormeh Sabzi on top of that repeatedly. Each bite should contain a little bit of Ghormeh Sabzi along with rice.