Abgoosht

Abgoosht, meaning meat broth, is a slow-simmered stew of lamb, chickpeas, beans and potatoes, served as a broth with bread and then as a mash.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 8h 20m
Cook: 2h 50m
Total: 11 hours 10 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 700g bone-in lamb shoulder or neck, cut into large pieces
  • 150g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
  • 100g dried white beans, soaked overnight
  • 1 large onion, halved
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 3 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and left whole
  • 2 tomatoes, halved
  • 3 dried limes (limoo amani), pierced several times
  • 2 litres water
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • To serve:
  • Torn flatbread (sangak or lavash)
  • Fresh herbs, radishes, raw onion and pickles (torshi)

Method

  1. Drain the soaked chickpeas and beans. Put the lamb, onion, chickpeas, beans and turmeric in a large pot with the water. Bring to the boil, skim off any foam, then reduce to a gentle simmer.

  2. Cover and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes until the lamb is nearly tender.

  3. Stir in the tomato purée, add the potatoes, tomatoes and dried limes with the salt and pepper. Simmer for a further 1 hour until the potatoes are soft and the lamb is falling from the bone.

  4. Ladle the broth through a sieve into a bowl and serve it over torn flatbread.

  5. Remove the bones and mash the meat, beans and potatoes with a potato masher or pestle to a coarse paste (gusht-kubi). Serve with bread, fresh herbs, raw onion and pickles.