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Delicious Persian Lamb Stew garnished with parsley and mint, served with basmati rice and pomegranate on the side.
Alyssa

Persian Lamb Stew

This Persian lamb stew is a flavorful dish with melt-in-the-mouth lamb, fragrant spices, ground walnuts, and pomegranate molasses.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Persian
Calories: 260
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 130 g walnuts
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 onions, finely diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • Small piece orange peel
  • 900 g diced lamb shoulder, fat trimmed
  • 90 g dried cranberries
  • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 500 ml chicken stock (or broth)
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley to garnish
  • 1 tbsp chopped mint to garnish
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 450 g basmati rice
  • 5 cardamom pods
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ stick cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 950 ml hot vegetable stock (or water)

Method
 

  1. Toast your walnuts for maximum flavor. Transfer them to a mini chopper and grind to a fine powder.
  2. Heat olive oil and butter in your casserole until butter starts foaming. Add the onions, cover the pot and cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Stir in the garlic, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, nutmeg, salt, cinnamon stick and orange peel, cooking for a minute or two.
  4. Add the lamb, stirring to coat in the aromatic spices. If the pan gets dry, add a little of the stock and scrape any browned bits in the pan.
  5. Drizzle in the pomegranate molasses and honey. Add the dried cranberries, stirring to combine. Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer.
  6. Add the ground walnuts, stir to combine then cover the pot and cook on very low heat for about an hour.
  7. Discard the cinnamon stick and orange peel. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped parsley and mint. Serve.

Notes

This recipe can be easily adapted for Instant Pot or slow cooker.