Chorosh sabsi (Persian herb stew with dehydrated limes) is pure comfort food. There are several types of meat you can use for this dish including bison, veal or lean beef. You can also make this dish vegetarian by replacing the meat for seitan, or you can exclude it all together and double the kidney beans. Sour grapes can be challenging to find, so feel free to omit if you cannot find.
Keep in mind that Shirazis (Persian Jews originating from the city of Shiraz) do not add red kidney beans, while Tehranis (Persian Jews originating from the city of Tehran) do add kidney beans. I personally add them for a splash of color and texture.
Note: You can order dehydrated limes (sometimes called black limes or limoo amani) online from specialty spice stores or even Amazon.
Chorosh Sabsi (Persian Stew with Dehydrated Limes)
A herbaceous, slightly sour, comforting stew.
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs. stew meat (lean beef, veal or bison)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 bunches fresh parsley
- 2 bunches fresh cilantro
- 1 leek, washed well and chopped
- ½ bunch fresh mint
- ½ cup fresh spinach (optional)
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- ½ cup lime or lemon juice (approximately the juice of 3 limes/lemons)
- 3 cups water
- 5 whole dehydrated limes, pierced
- 1 (15-oz) can low-sodium red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
- ¼ cup gureh (sour grapes) (optional)
Instructions
- In a 6-quart saucepan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion starts to become translucent (about 1 minute). Add the meat; cover and cook until meat no longer looks red, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper.
- Grind fresh herbs in a food processor.
- Add the ground fresh herbs, celery, lime juice, water, dehydrated limes, kidney beans, and sour grapes if using to the saucepan.
- Bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1½ hours or until meat is tender.
- Serve hot over basmati rice.
Notes
You can order dehydrated limes (sometimes called black limes or limoo amani) online from specialty spice stores or even Amazon.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Persian
My husband’s family has been making this stew for generations and it’s a favorite of ours. We do add the kidney beans because it does need that touch of color and texture, IMHO, and barely affects the flavor of the dish. It’s not the prettiest dish but the flavor is amazing.