Ingredients
Scale
- 130 g (1 cup) walnuts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 onions (finely diced)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Small piece orange peel
- 900 g (2 pounds) diced lamb shoulder (fat trimmed)
- 90 g (¾ cup) dried cranberries
- 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 2 tbsp honey
- 500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock (or broth)
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley to garnish
- 1 tbsp chopped mint to garnish
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (for rice)
- 450 g (2 cups) basmati rice
- 5 cardamom pods
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cinnamon stick (for rice)
- ½ tsp ground turmeric (for rice)
- ¼ tsp salt (for rice)
- 950 ml (4 cups) hot vegetable stock (or water)
Instructions
- Roast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Let them cool before grinding them into a coarse powder.
- In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add finely diced onions and sauté until they become translucent. Stir in minced garlic along with ground spices including cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, and orange peel. Cook for about 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Add diced lamb shoulder to the pot in batches if necessary. Brown on all sides for about 5–7 minutes.
- Add dried cranberries, pomegranate molasses, honey, chicken stock, ground walnuts, salt, and stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low; cover the pot with a lid. Let it simmer gently for about 90 minutes until the lamb is tender.
- In another pot, melt unsalted butter over medium heat. Add rinsed basmati rice along with cardamom pods, bay leaf, half cinnamon stick, turmeric, salt, and hot vegetable stock. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is fluffy.
- Once everything is ready, serve hot garnished with chopped parsley and mint alongside basmati rice.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Category: Main
- Method: Stewing
- Cuisine: Persian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (300g)
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 14g
- Sodium: 620mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 90mg