Khoresh Mast

A speciality of Isfahan, khoresh mast is a festive dish of shredded lamb topped with a baked, lightly sweet saffron yoghurt, served warm with rice.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 2h 10m
Total: 2 hours 35 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
✅
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • For the lamb:
  • 600g lamb shoulder, boneless, cut into 3cm cubes
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • For the yoghurt topping:
  • 500g full-fat Greek yoghurt
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar
  • ½ tsp saffron threads, ground and steeped in 3 tbsp hot water
  • 1 tsp rosewater
  • To garnish:
  • 25g unsalted pistachios, slivered
  • 25g blanched almonds, slivered

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot and fry the onion for 10 minutes until golden. Add the turmeric, lamb, salt and pepper and brown for 8 minutes.

  2. Add 500ml hot water, cover and simmer very gently for 1 hour 30 minutes until the lamb falls apart. Shred the lamb with two forks and reduce the juices until only a few spoonfuls remain. Stir back into the meat.

  3. Preheat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan). Spread the lamb in a shallow ovenproof dish.

  4. Whisk the yoghurt, egg yolks, sugar, two-thirds of the saffron water and the rosewater until smooth, and spoon evenly over the lamb.

  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the yoghurt is just set and lightly golden at the edges. Drizzle with the remaining saffron water and scatter with the pistachios and almonds. Serve warm with chelo.