Khoresh Gheimeh: Beef and Split Pea Stew with Dried Limes and Fried Potatoes

What you need

• 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) beef chuck, cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) cubes
• 2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 tbsp for the onions, 1 tbsp for the beef
• 50 g (3 tbsp) tomato paste
• 1 tsp (turmeric) ground turmeric
• 125 g (2/3 cup) yellow split peas
• 2 dried limes, pierced a few times with a fork
• 1 tsp dried lime powder
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads, ground
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 700 ml (3 cups) water
• 400 g (14 oz) potatoes, peeled and cut into thin sticks about 5 mm wide
• 500 ml (2 cups) frying oil, neutral oil, for the potatoes
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Cook the onions, stirring now and then, until soft and golden, 12-15 min.

2. 2

   Steep the saffron in 3 tbsp of hot water. Rinse the split peas and drain them.

3. 3

   Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and brown the beef in batches, 5 min per batch. Move it to the pot.

4. 4

   Pour 100 ml of the water into the frying pan, scrape up the browned bits and tip everything into the pot.

5. 5

   Push the onions aside and stir the tomato paste and turmeric into the pot for 1 min.

6. 6

   Add the split peas, dried limes, dried lime powder, 1 tsp salt and the rest of the water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 30 min.

7. 7

   Stir in the saffron water and lemon juice. Taste: the stew should be clearly sour, so add more lemon juice if needed.

8. 8

   Cover again and simmer for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until the beef is fork-tender and the split peas are soft but still whole. Add a splash of hot water if the stew gets dry.

9. 9

   Take the pot off the heat and rest it for 10 min.

10. 10

    Rinse the potato sticks, then dry them very well. Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to 175 °C (350 °F).

11. 11

    Fry the potatoes in batches until golden and crisp, 6-8 min. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

12. 12

    Serve the stew hot with the potatoes on top, so they stay crisp.

Imported from etkjokken.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.