I’m proud of my Persian heritage… as well as the food that comes with!
I try and learn a little more about it every day, as I also do with my father’s European background. I’ve been to Iran, speak a little Farsi (Ye kami farsi baladam) and know some of Hafez’s beautiful poetry. What made me incredibly joyful this week was successfully cooking a classic khoresh – Ghormeh Sabzi.
A khoresh (also spelled khoresht) is the common term for Persian stew. It comes from the Persian word xordan which means “to eat” or literally “meal.” In Persian culture, khoresht is the most wholesome, healing and welcoming meal one can have. I made Ghormeh Sazbi this week because I’ve been under the weather and needed some good ol’ stew like mamma would make!
You typically have your stew with polo (rice) and perhaps some paneer (cheese), sabzi (herbs), mast (yogurt) and nan (bread). Most Persian stews have plenty of saffron or zarchoubeh (turmeric) which give them an incredible fragrance and taste.
The most popular khoreshs are Gheymeh, Fesenjaan and Ghormeh Sabzi. I believe most non-Persians love Gheymeh the most. It’s very rich and made of meat, tomatoes, lentils, onion and lime. I think some of the flavors are akin to some other stews in American/European culture so that helps with it being so well liked. Then Fesenjaan – very intense flavor. It’s thick and tart, made up of pomegranate syrup and ground walnuts. A must try for sure.
Finally, the dish of this post. Ghormeh Sabzi. In essence, it is a beef stew with a lot of herbs. In Farsi (Persian language), sabzi refers to herbs and vegetables as the word sabz means green.
Now the Ghormeh Sabzi recipe I made is my personal preference. There are a variety of ways to make the dish from what herbs one chooses to the type of beef used (or another meat or no meat if one prefers). For example, the photo just below was a version made with beef, no beans.
To see my recipe for this delicious dish for this series of One Girl, Many Plates, click here.
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