Family Spice Recipes, Meal Planning & Fitness Advice
Persian Eggplant Stew (Khoreshteh Qiemeh Bademjoon)
This Persian stew highlights baby eggplants and yellow split peas. It can easily be adapted and made with beef stew meat, lamb shanks, chicken or even vegetarian.
Recipe by Family Spice
INGREDIENTS:
- 9 baby eggplants
- 4 tsp salt
- 3-4 TBS olive oil
- 2lbs beef stew meat
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp all purpose flour
- 1 onion, chopped (approx. 1 cup)
- 1-14oz can beef broth
- 1/4 cup yellow split peas, rinsed in water
- 2 TBS tomato paste
- 1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 3/4 cup goureh (pickled sour grapes) or 3-4 medium dried limes (cut in half) or 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2-3 Roma tomatoes, cut in 1/4-inch slices
- Peel skin, but keep stem intact, and cut in half lengthwise:
- 9 baby eggplants
- Sprinkle with:
- 1 TBS salt
- Place eggplants in colander over the sink for at least 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl mix together:
- 2lbs beef stew meat
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp all purpose flour
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat and add:
- 1 TBS olive oil
- When oil is hot add:
- 1 onion, chopped (approx. 1 cup)
- Cook until onions start to soften, approximately 7 minutes and add:
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- Cook for a 2 minutes, then add stew meat and brown all sides, approximately 7 minutes.
- Stir in:
- 1-14oz can beef broth
- Using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits of meat from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in:
- 2 TBS tomato paste
- 1/4 cup yellow split peas, rinsed in water
- If using dried limes or lemon juice, add to the stew now:
- 3-4 medium dried limes (cut in half) or 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours. Stew can be refrigerated 3-4 days before serving at this point. Flavor is enhanced the longer it sits.
- When eggplants are beading with sweat, after 30 minutes, squeeze dry with paper towels.
- Heat large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add:
- 2 TBS olive oil
- Fry eggplants in batches until both sides are browned.
- Add more olive oil as needed.
- Drain fried eggplants on paper towels to remove excess oil and reserve.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- If using goureh, stir into the stew:
- 3/4 cup goureh (pickled sour grapes)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- In a 13x9-inch pyrex dish, pour stew in.
- Layer fried eggplant over it.
- Layer over eggplant:
- 2-3 Roma tomatoes, cut in 1/4-inch slices
- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Serve over white basmati rice.
Prep Time: 15 min, 30 min inactive time
Cook Time: 3 hours
Difficulty: Intermediate
Servings: 8
Serving Size: 2 cups of stew
Serving Suggestions: You can also substitute the beef stew meat (pictured above) with 3lbs of lamb shanks (with bone) or 4 lb fryer chicken (cut up) (pictured below). Increase baking time in the oven to 45-60 mins. For vegetarian stew, substitute beef broth with any vegetable broth and increase yellow split peas to 1/2 cup.
