Khoresh-e Ghormeh Sabzi (Persian Herb, Bean and Lamb Stew) Recipe (2024)

Here are some tips from me and my mom, who makes the most delicious ghormeh sabzee in the world:*Use less cilantro or leave it out altogether. I use 8 bunches of parsley and maybe one of cilantro.*Use more fenugreek. I use 4 tablespoons of dried fenugreek (which is more fragrant than fresh).*Use more dried limes. I use 8 and I puncture them with a fork before putting them in.*Cooking the meat and beans in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes cuts cooking time way down.Enjoy!

Any substitutes for the Persian limes? Or where to get them?

Please do not use dill in ghormeh sabzi. sincerely, your friendly neighborhood iranian woman.

The dried lime is available on Amazon under "limu amani" or "limu omani".

This is fantastic. Two additions: a splash of pomegranate molasses, and fresh pomegranate seeds to garnish. Omani limes are key to the flavor---seek them out if you can (but if you just can't find them, the juice of a lime would probably work OK). Definitely make tahdig---I used the Splendid Table approach (just rice) in a cast iron skillet with olive oil as the fat. So easy, so good.

Where would one find the limes?

You can use dried Persian lime powder instead of whole dried limes. A squeeze of fresh lemon over the plated stew at the end brightens up the flavor. Definitely don’t use fresh supermarket lime. Spinach can be added if you would like more greens in the dish. But fenugreek and dill are essential. This a very hard dish to mess up, but absolutely wonderful. With tahdig one of my all time favorites.

You can use either, but dried fenugreek, usually available in South Asian groceries under the name “kasoori methi” (in a yellow box), works perfectly well and is often used even when fresh fenugreek is available because you don’t have to cook it down and using dried fenugreek doesn’t change the flavor profile of the dish. I would say using fresh dill is much more important.

Is dill missing from the ingredients list? I don't see it there.

I’ve never in my life soaked kidney beans, and I lived ;)

If the dry limes are floating, you can take them out, poke with a fork in a few places and/or gently press down on a plate. Then return to the stew.

If you're using chicken, here is a suggestion: change the herb mixture to 50% dill, 50% the rest of the mix. And, saute copious amounts of garlic (half a bulb or one whole) with the herbs.

I have made this with chicken as well. Less cooking time is required with chicken, of course.

I made this without the Omani lines or saffron, and with fenugreek seed instead of leaves because that’s what I had on hand. Added some grocery store lime juice at the end. It may not have been traditional, but it was a flavorful, complex, tender, satisfying dish. Made with rice, and the mast-o khiar (yogurt sauce) and salad-e shirazi (cucumber salad) from the same feature, both also with modifications for simplicity. What a wonderful meal!

Before making this recipe, I was a bit skeptical of the 30 min soaking time for kidney beans, but trusted NYT. Kidney beans in particular contain high amts of phytohaemagglutinin, and can cause vomiting and diarrhea if not prepared properly. The US FDA recommends soaking for 5 hours+ and cooking at 212F for 30 minutes (simmering temps are below this).Anyway, everyone in my household had horrible stomach pains for a few hours after. Why promote a recipe that flouts basic kitchen safety?

3 tbsp fenugreek

I’m so disappointed: this turned out extremely bitter. I didn’t even use the stems of the parsley at all. It was so promising but the final meal was such a disappointment

Adding additional parsley, reducing the cilantro, doubling limes, and 4 Tbsp. of Kesoori Methi. FABULOUS!!!! This dish, hands down, a stew for the Gods.

I didn’t have dried limes, but I used a few slices of preserved lemon for the sour flavor, and it turned out great!

I tried it with boneless chx thighs and was so hopeful; even bought “lemou-omani” and fenugreek and made David Tanis’s Persian rice (which I love) to accompany it. But it was very bland. Even with the added 6 cloves of garlic. It was like a very bland, unspiced chicken saag (with herbs instead of spinach). Someday maybe I’ll find an Iranian friend or very authentic Iranian restaurant to see how it should taste, but I won’t make it again. Now need recipes for all my limes!

Recipe needs at least two more cups of water.

Why in Step 9 does it say to return dried limes to the stew? The dried limes are already in the stew from Step 7.

Added three cas of beans and was sauced well

Addd extra can of beans. Could have added another or another eight ounces lamb. Very saucy but delicious!!

Oh and 3/4 cup beans not 1/2.

I cook the meat with the turmeric, salt and pepper seasoning in a pressure cooker like instant pot and then add the cooked meat after sautéing the greens. Let the whole mixture simmer for 30 mins. Cuts the prep and cook time in half. Also, I skip hand chopping the greens and use a food processor, on the slow side so the greens don’t become mushy. I am not Iranian but married to one, and my husband says I make the best ghormeh sabzi with this technique. I follow the ingredients here 1:1

Made with 2 lbs cubed beef, 2 tbsp dried, crushed fenugreek leaves, and a can of pre-cooked, rinsed kidney beans. No chives were available, so I skipped those. Used only 1 dried lime since they can be potent and overpowering sometimes. Skipped the periodic salting the recipe suggests (why salt continuously when you can just taste at the end and adjust once?). Came out great. 5/5.

Check the halal grocery stores for the limes! My friend also told me you can buy the herbs pre cooked in a jar or frozen.Followed the recipe to a t and it was delicious!

This is a wonderful dish and absolutely worth the investment and effort, but as written, this particular recipe falls a little short. Step 7, where you slowly cook the herbs, requires significantly more oil and time than indicated and also benefits from about two to three times as much fenugreek. And more significantly: MORE PERSIAN LIMES - like 8 of them, total. Their acidity and unique flavor make the dish sing, and 4 is just too few. With those tweaks, this is a winner.

Labor intensive so save for a day when you have time. Big hit at the table.