Gheimeh

A classic Persian stew of tender beef and yellow split peas in a tomato and saffron sauce, sharpened with dried limes and crowned with crisp fried potatoes.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 2h 30m
Total: 3 hours
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 600g stewing beef, cut into 2cm cubes
  • 150g yellow split peas, rinsed
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 tbsp tomato purée
  • 3 dried limes (limoo amani), pierced several times
  • ¼ tsp saffron threads, ground and steeped in 2 tbsp hot water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
  • 500g potatoes, peeled and cut into thin sticks, for the topping
  • Sunflower oil for frying

Method

  1. Put the split peas in a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Drain and rinse.

  2. Heat the oil in a large pot and fry the onions for 12 minutes until golden. Add the turmeric, then the beef, and brown for 8-10 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée and fry for 2 minutes.

  3. Add 800ml hot water, the salt and pepper, cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes.

  4. Add the split peas, cinnamon and dried limes. Cover and simmer for a further 60 minutes until the beef and split peas are tender but still hold their shape. Stir in the saffron water and lime juice for the last 5 minutes.

  5. Meanwhile, rinse the potato sticks, dry them thoroughly and fry in 2cm hot oil in batches for 5-6 minutes until golden and crisp. Drain and season with salt.

  6. Ladle the stew into a serving dish, top with the fries just before serving and serve with chelo.