Khoresh-e Gheymeh Bademjan is a delicious Persian lamb stew with aubergines/eggplants, yellow split peas, and tomatoes. This tasty red stew is very popular with European and American friends.
Time
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 1 h 40 min
Total: 2 h
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 large aubergines (eggplants)
500g / 1.1lbs lamb leg or shoulder
12 cherry vine tomatoes
100ml / scant 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
4 tbsp yellow split peas
4 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp sour grapes (ghooreh), from Middle Eastern shops or online
1 egg (you'll use only the white)
1 tbsp salt, for the aubergines, plus extra to taste
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground saffron
3 ice cubes
A beef or lamb bone with marrow, for extra flavour (optional)
Method
Salt the aubergines
Cut the aubergines lengthways into three slices (or halves, if they're small). Salt the cut sides generously and leave for at least 15 minutes. This draws out moisture, so they fry faster and soak up less oil.
Prepare
Put the ice cubes in a glass, sprinkle the saffron over them and set aside in a warm place. Finely chop the onion and garlic, keeping them separate. Cut the lamb into 2.5cm / 1-inch cubes.
Sear the lamb and onion
Sear the lamb in 4 tbsp hot oil over medium-high heat until golden brown on all sides, then lift it out. Gently caramelise the onion in the same oil over low-medium heat for about 10 minutes, then add the garlic and sauté for a few more minutes.
Fry the aubergines
Rinse the aubergine slices and pat them dry. Separate the egg and thinly brush both sides of the aubergine with the egg white. This stops them absorbing too much oil. Heat 4 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the slices on both sides until nicely browned.
Cook the stew
Iranian yellow split peas take longer to cook and can go straight in; supermarket split peas cook much faster, so if you're unsure, boil them separately until soft but not mushy and add them at the end.
Use a wide, shallow pot or pan with a lid. Add the onion, garlic, split peas, tomato paste, turmeric, black pepper and salt to taste, and sauté for a couple of minutes over medium heat. Add the lamb (and the bone, if using) and 2 cups / 470ml of freshly boiled water, stir well, put the lid on and simmer over low-medium heat for 1 hour.
Add the aubergines and tomatoes
Add a little more hot water if the stew has become too dry, then stir in the sour grapes and the saffron water. Lay the aubergine slices in the sauce so they are fully covered, arrange the tomatoes on top, put the lid on and simmer for a further 30 minutes over low-medium heat.
Serve
If you cooked the split peas separately, add them 5 minutes before the end. Serve with saffron rice. Nooshe jan!
Hami's tip
To make it vegan, leave out the lamb and the egg white and use more split peas, cooked with the onion and garlic. Use less water and cook for less time: add the fried aubergines and tomatoes once the split peas are cooked, after about 30 minutes, and simmer until thick.
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