Ghormeh Sabzi
A deeply aromatic herb khoresh with beans and dried Persian lime.
Serve with Persian riceChelow, kateh, the rice cooker, and tahdig→What is it?
Ghormeh sabzi is built around a large quantity of chopped herbs — most often parsley, coriander, chives or another leek-family green, and fenugreek. Fresh herbs are the usual starting point, and there are far more of them than a cook new to the dish tends to expect.
The herbs are cooked until the raw, grassy character goes out of them and a deeper, darker aroma comes up in its place. Kidney beans and dried limes simmer alongside the meat, and the dried limes are what give the stew its particular sourness.
The Persian table
It is served over steamed white rice, often with torshi — Persian pickled vegetables — or yogurt alongside. The fresh herbs need a long, slow fry, so it is a dish that tends to be cooked with time in hand rather than on a weeknight.
Variations +−
- The herb mixture varies by household; the proportion of fenugreek is the most commonly debated part. Dried herbs are used when fresh ones are hard to find.
- Some cooks use lamb, others beef; a meat-free version made with beans alone is also common.
Explore the ingredients
Related Persian dishes
Photo credits +−
- Gheymeh — File:Gheymeh stew.jpg · Photo by Kalpase · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fesenjan — File:Khoresht-e fesenjan.jpg · Photo by stringparts (Flickr) · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
- Khoresht Bademjan — File:Khoresh bademjan.jpg · Photo by مانفی (Manfi) · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph
File:Ghormeh Sabzi.JPG · Photo by Amin Majidi · Wikimedia Commons · CC0