Its pretty easy to make but like so many iranian dishes it is a little time consumming so you need to allow about 4 hours to prepare and cook . Its best cooked the day before eaten.
Khoreste khalal serves 4
500gr lamb
1 large onion
4 medium sized limu ormani
100 gr zereshte black or red
100gr sliced khalal
1/3 tspoon zarchube
salt
sugar
1&1 tomatoe paste
zaffron
Preparation:
1. chop onion and cut lamb into small cubes. Crush limu ormani by hand and remove pips.
2. grind a few pinches of zaffron with a cube of sugar and pour on 1 medium cup of boiling water. Cover and allow to infuse for at least 1 hour.
cook:
3. Gently fry the chopped onion in enough oil to cover the pan until it changes colour and when golden add zarchube and continue to stir. You may need to add a little more oil.
4.Add small cubes of lamb and continue to fry until lamb changes colour and then add the limu ormani. Continue to stir gently until you begin to see the oil from the limu.. it should appear as darker brown dots and usually takes about 3-5 minutes. Add a little water and stir in. By now the meat and sauce should be a dark brown. Add more water, enough to cover the meat and simmer on a low heat for about 1/2 hour.
* If you are using 1&1 tomatoe paste you dont need to add salt at this stage. If you are not you may want to add salt now.
5.After 30 mins add approx 1 tblsppon of !&1 tomatoe paste and 2 cubes of sugar. Taste .. it should be a mix of sweet and salty/sour and the colour should be a rich dark red. You may want to add more salt or sugar according to your own taste.
6. Continue to cook on a low heat for about 1 hour, stir occassionaly and add hot water as needed. The sauce should always just cover the meat.
7. Wash and drain the zereshte and khalal. Warm a small pan on a low heat and add the zereshte and khalal. Stir and when steam has more or less stopped add oil and fry until the zereshte begins to look a little darker and the khalal begins to turn a little pink. Add the cup of zaffron and allow to cook for a minute. Add to the meat and allow to cook for a further 30 mins, stir gently now and then.
Khoreshte khalal is best cooked the day before you want to eat it!
Enjoy!
