Life has been busy recently – which made coming to California this week for Thanksgiving and walking into my house greeted by my lovely mom and a big, steaming bowl of rice and Khoresht-e Beh all the sweeter. Persian Quince Stew (called Khoresht-e Beh in Farsi) is Fall in a bowl – a delicious, unique Persian stew that is seasonal and comforting all in one.
Khoresht-e Beh (Persian Quince Stew)
This post is a bit different from the usual, since the recipe was prepared by my mom and merely enjoyed by me (and you, hopefully!). Anybody who’s had the pleasure of eating my mom’s cooking knows how amazingly talented she is. And anybody who’s had the pleasure of eating quince, knows what a unique and interesting fruit it is. When raw, it’s like a furry, inedible cousin to apples and pears. But when cooked, something incredible happens and it’s transformed in color (to a beautiful pinkish hue), texture (it gets silky soft) and taste (to a very delicate flavor). Quince can be hard to find as the season is extremely short, so grab them up if you see them!
Bonus Pic: Ahu & Mom
It wasn’t until my mom’s mom passed away at a very young age, that she picked up the famous Rosa Montazemi‘s book and taught herself how to cook. As you can imagine, getting this recipe from my mom was quite a fun adventure. She doesn’t use measurements – she knows how much of what to add by smell, sight and taste. I’m sure any of you who have ever gotten a recipe from a mom, aunt or other loved one, knows that getting accurate measurements is tricky. Hopefully you all can appreciate the implicit conversion of a ‘fist full of this’ and a ‘pinch of that’ into tablespoons and cups!
Khoresht-e Beh (Persian Quince Stew)
The dried limes are a common ingredient in Persian cooking and can be found at any middle eastern store or from Amazon. They are simply dehydrated and the flavor is very concentrated and gives a sharp tang in stews. Also, while the stew is traditionally meat-based it can be easily made completely vegetarian / vegan by omitting the meat. This will not work for all Persian stews but works well with Khoresht-e Beh since the quince is chunky and holds up well on its own.
Like all Persian stews, it is best served and enjoyed with Persian rice – tahdig not optional! Run out and get your quince today before its ephemeral season is over, and enjoy this glorious dish!
- 2 pounds veal, cubed
- 3 large quince, cored and sliced into wedges (we leave the peel on)
- 1 cup yellow split peas, washed thoroughly
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1½ tablespoons turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground saffron
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3-5 small dried limes (called limoo amani or black limes), punctured with a knife or fork
- 2-4 cups of water
- 1 cup canola oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat ½ cup oil in a large pot over medium and saute your onions until translucent (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add the cubed veal, sear on all sides. Once the meat starts release its juices, add the turmeric and stir well.
- Add your cinnamon, tomato paste, dried limes and 1 cup of water and cover with lid. Let the stew simmer for 1 hour on medium-low heat. ***Note: make sure to puncture your dried limes a few times with the tines of a fork or a sharp knife before adding in.
- While your stew is simmering, heat the remaining oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the quince slices to the oil and fry until golden on all sides. You'll have to fry in batches.
- As the quinces turn golden, remove from the oil and place aside on a plate.
- After the stew has been simmering for an hour, add in the other cup of water and split peas.
- Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring a few times to ensure the splits peas do not stick to the bottom.
- You're almost there! Add in the quince to the stew, and simmer on low for an additional 25 minutes.
- Add the saffron and stir - simmering for another 5 minutes.
- Serve with rice, and enjoy the fruits of your labor!
That’s a bowl of comfort and love!
Love the bonus photo of you and your mom, Ahu…two elegant ladies!
Thank you so much Angie, what a sweet comment!
Ahu, a truly delightful post! I really enjoy quince for baking but I have never had the pleasure of eating a savory dish with quince. That sounds fabulous but looks even better than it sounds – wish I could have a little taste right now – how fun that you “converted” your mum´s recipe! And how gracious of the two of you to share the recipe!
I truly enjoyed this post!
All the best,
Andrea
Andrea, thank you so much! I thought this post might catch your eye, as Germans also like to cook with quince. 😉 We love quince jam, cakes, etc but this dish is a unique way to use one of our favorite fruits.
Thanks xoxo,
ahu
Love all of it. I never had this khoresht growing up, but it looks awesome. Jealous!
It’s soooo good! Too bad quince season is like 3 days! Merci 🙂
Pleased to meet your Mom, Ahu-jan. A lovely post! I have not ventured beh /quince yet. So far, I was/am the recipient end of the treat. Your Mom’s khoresh’e beh looks fabulous, I almost use the similar ingredients for my khresh’e sib. You are right, I should grab some quin while I am able to, and get to work. Enjoy your Thanksgiving with your precious family. 🙂
Fae jan, khoreshte sib – wow, never had it or heard of it! This is one of the best side effects of blogging, I love to learn about new dishes! do you have the recipe for it or is it pretty much just like Khoreshte beh? I would love to try it!
Hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving also.
xoxo
Ahu-jan, I just visited your site and happened to see this response (did not get the alert). Here is my post http://fae-magazine.com/2013/03/13/apple-stew-khoreshe-sib/
It did not photo too well, but it is very good. Fuji apples work very well.
My family will be over for Thanksgiving. It definitely is going to be a fund day. xoxo
How heat can turn an astringent quince into such a sweet ingredient for this beautiful stew is the kind of cooking magic that I love. GREG
That is so true! What a great statement 🙂
yum! khoresh-e beh is one of my favorites (though my mom’s recipe is different: no split peas), and the farmers market was full of quince this weekend! might have to make this…
Merci Tannaz joon! I’m curious, does your mom use a different legume instead of split peas?
Beautiful photo of mother and daughter and the recipe sounds delicious! Enjoy the Khoresht-e Beh and have a great Thanksgiving. Bet you cook a great turkey too!
Thank you dear friend!
You and your mom are beautiful!! What a wonderful treat it is to have this dish! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!
Thank you so much Zainab! Hope you had a wonderful holiday 🙂
Wow, what a stew! I have only seen quince once here in the market, but you can be sure this is what I will make with it the next time I see it! Happy Thanksgiving, Ahu – I love the picture of you and your mother!
As Greg said above, it’s a truly magical fruit. Thank you David – hope you and Mark had a wonderful holiday!
Ahu! I heart this post so much, I don’t know where to start. To begin with, I’m fond of ‘beh’ as you know; love khoresh ‘e beh (excellent choice!); and simply adored seeing the photo of you and your beautiful mom! And the truism about Iranian moms and their style of sharing their recipes. It can be frustrating but ultimately is so charming. I hope you had a lovely holiday and trip home and thank you for sharing! xx
Thanks so much Azita, your sweet comment means a lot 🙂
Hi,
I am from Iran and never heard or seen people making Quince stew with split yellow peas. Quince stew is made with lamb, diced Quince, pomogranate sauce and powdered dry mint with a little bit sugar.
First cubed lamb is added to diced onions with one table spoon of your favorite cooking oil, salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin seeds are added and stirred till the lamb is no longer pink or raw looking . Then 3-4 cups water is added, letting the lamb cook to reach tenderness. Then diced Quince is added for about 20-30 minutes with 1/2 cup pommogranate sauce and one teaspoon of organic or regular sugar. You can increase the pommogranate sauce or sugar to your liking. The stew should have a sweet- sour taste. At the end about ten minutes to serving one or two teaspoon of powdered, dry mint is added and served over the rice.
Thank you for sharing your recipe for Khoresh Beh, this is very informative. Please see my other response below.
This recepie is the exact recepie for the fameous persian yellow split pea stew , and not quince stew. There must have been a mistake, because Quince stew is not similar to this At All.
Ma Ha, thank you for your detailed comments! You are right in identifying this is similar to split pea stew – this is my family’s hybrid variation and how we made the Khoreshte Beh. The beauty of telling our stories through food is that each family has a different style of ingredients and blend of recipes – and it’s what makes us unique! Thank you for taking the time to share – I appreciate it!
-ahu
Made this tonight. Requires more water– recipe called for 2 cups but for 2 lbs of beef and 1 cup of split peas it wasn’t enough. 5 dried limes made it very limey.
Aldi, my sister’s Iranian husband’s family, from Tehran, uses fresh lemon juice instead of dried limes in this dish, and yes, they use the split peas, as a “side” ingredient, and no tomato paste either. They also use some freshly grated nutmeg in addition to the cinnamon, and add some sugar, and the stew is of a sweet-sour character, and utterly delicious. So, don’t sweat the dried limes if you don’t like the taste of them. That’s the beauty of Iran being such a large country; there are regional differences in recipes, and yet they are all authentic.