In the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen, we had a new member to demonstrate a Persian recipe. Azar is an Iranian and she enjoys the community kitchen as she can learn about food from other cultures and also practice her English. Azar is a beautician and I was told that she does a very good job in threading, an ancient method of hair removal which originated in India and gaining popularity in the Middle and Far East.
The Beef Stew has a very lemony flavour. The flavour comes from the dried lime which can be found in Persian stores and is relatively cheap. Minoo volunteers to get us some the next time she goes groceries shopping at a Persian store.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 cup split peas
- 1 lb beef or lamb, cubed
- 3 dried lime
- 2 teaspoons lemon powder
- 3 cups water
- salt and cinnamon to taste
- 2 large potatoes, cut into sticks for making fries
Click on Read More for the instructions.
Instructions
 Fry the onion is a large frying pan with the olive oil until soft. |
 Add the turmeric and tomato paste and mix well. |
 Add the split peas and meat and stir to coat the meat with the sauce. |
 Prick the dried lime with a fork to release it’s flavour. |
 Add the dried lime and water and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer for approximately one hour or until the meat is tender. Season with salt, lemon powder and cinnamon to taste. |
 When the stew is almost done, fry the potatoes. |
 Garnish the beef stew with the fries. |
 Azar served the Beef Stew with Split Peas a la Lime with basmati rice.
Azar, thank you for sharing a dish from your culture. |
I garnish many of my signature dishes with fries and tater tots, but never stew. What a great idea!
Now that we are on a fixed income recipes like this are a Godsend.
Those “limes” look decidedly unsanitary, though. I plan to omit them.
Oh cool. Nice recipe! =) We do love our sour-ish/tangy dishes at home. And wow, I’ve never seen dried limes or lemon powder before! Bookmarked/clipped this.
This looks great–an easy dish with a little twist from what I typically make. I will be on the lookout for lemon powder and dried lime!