Persian stews are an essential element of Persian cuisine and a great place to start if you want to start in cooking Persian food. Whether it’s sweet and sour Fesenjoon flavored with pomegranate molasses or herby ghormeh sabzi made with dried limes, there’s an incredible Persian stew to suit every flavor preference.

Four dishes with different stews, two red, one green, and one brown.

🌟 Why You’ll Make These Persian Stews Time and Time Again

  • Amazing depth of flavor: These stews offer a deep, flavorful experience with every bite. Slow-cooked beef, tender veggies, and a vibrant mix of herbs and spices create rich, aromatic layers of flavor.
  • Hearty and filling: You’ll never be more comforted and satisfited than after a heaping ladle of one of these one-pot Persian stews served warm over a bed of fresh basmati rice.
  • Adventurous ingredients: You’ll see class Persian ingredients like dried limes, pomegranate molasses, and saffron to create the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and savory notes in these stews. These stews use plenty of fresh herbs to add a bright finish.

😋 5 of the Best Persian Stews

1.

Khoresh Gheymeh (Persian Meat and Split Pea Stew)
Khoresh Gheymeh is a robust and flavorful meat and split pea soup, instantly recognizable by the yellow split peas dotted throughout.
Check out this recipe
Serving bowl with red meat stew.

2.

Traditional Ghormeh Sabzi (Persian Herb Stew)
Ghormeh Sabzi is something I grew up eating almost every week. Filled with fresh herbs and dried limes, the aroma of this stewed, herbaceous dish brings to the house is incredible and nourishing in itself, and instantly presences me to family Shabbat dinners.
Check out this recipe
Green stew in a white pot.

3.

Khoresh Bademjan (Persian Eggplant & Chicken Stew)
Khoresh Bademjan is a fantastic, rich stew made with chicken, Japanese eggplant, and sour grapes. It is one of my mom's staples.
Check out this recipe
Top view of cooked eggplant stew with chicken in red sauce.

4.

Fesenjoon (Persian Pomegranate & Walnut Chicken Stew)
Khoresh Fesenjan, also known as Fesenjoon, is a tasty sweet and sour stew made with walnuts, pomegranate molasses, and chicken.
Check out this recipe

5.

Khoresh Beh – Persian Quince & Plum Beef Stew
Khroesh e Beh, a quince, plum, and beef stew is the most popular Persian recipe on my blog, and it will please everyone at the dinner table.
Check out this recipe
Red beef and quince stew in a white bowl with a gold serving spoon.

🍚 What to Serve with Persian Stews

Pair any of my stews with these dishes for a balanced and hearty meal.

🏆 Become a Pro at Persian Cooking!

I put together these easy-to-navigate guides to help anyone of any skill level learn the basics for Persian recipes and general cuisine.

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Serving bowl with red meat stew.
Author: Candice Walker

Persian Stew Recipes: Khoresh Gheymeh

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I hope you enjoyed this ultimate guide to the best Persian Stews. This Khoresh Gheymeh is a wonderfully spiced beef Persian stew with split peas. It's served with potatoes and spiced with Persian 7 spice.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Persian
Diet: Gluten Free, Kosher
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 260kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. boneless lamb roast or beef chuck or shoulder
  • 3 tbsp flavorless oil like canola or avocado seed
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric dry, ground
  • 2 tsp advieh
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 4 cups water
  • ½ cup yellow split peas picked through for rocks
  • 6 oz. tomato paste 1 small can
  • 2 dried limes
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Partially cook yellow split peas in hot water at a gentle boil. You should par-boil them for about half an hour, then drain and set aside.
  • Next, sautee the yellow onions in the oil over medium-high heat, until they are translucent.
  • Add in boneless lamb roast or beef, advieh, turmeric, salt, and pepper and sauté meat until it's brown on all sides.
  • Add the garlic and stir while you cook another 30 seconds until fragrant.
  • Add in the tomato paste, 4 cups of water, split peas, and dried limes.
  • Bring the stew to a boil.
  • Serve stew warm over potatoes or rice

Notes

You can buy dried limes on Amazon or at your local Middle-Eastern market.
You can make your own advieh or find it online, and/or don’t have time to make it, you can substitute every 1 teaspoon of advieh with this mix: ⅓ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon coriander, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of cardamom.
Do not overcook the meat when you are browning it or it will be dry and tough. Just barely brown the meat on all sides without cooking it all the way through.
You can cook potatoes in the stew and serve on steamed basmati rice. Simply peel yukon gold potatoes and add them to the stew at the same time as the water is added. Or, you can serve the stew over potatoes.
Freezer friendly.

Nutrition

Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 285mg | Potassium: 723mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 470IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.

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