PERSIAN SHORBA
 
 
Serves 8
Author:
Recipe type: Stew/Soup
Cuisine: Persian/Azeri
Ingredients
  • 10 large bone-in beef short ribs (trim most of the outer fat)
  • ⅓ cup water
  • 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin
  • ⅛ cup water
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • ¾ cup slow-cooking split peas (pick through and rinse under cold water before cooking)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 cups hot water
  • 4 limoo amani (Persian dried lime), poke some holes with a fork
  • 1 TBSP dried tarragon leaves (do not crush)
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 TBSP tomato paste
  • 2 cups sliced garlic chives (Persian Tareh), or scallion greens
  • 4 medium white potatoes peeled and cut in half (will serve half a potato per person)
  • ½ cup boiling water
  • 4 large eggs, to be added to Shorba right before serving
  • Sangak (Persian flat bread) or pita bread
Instructions
  1. Trim and discard the large outer fat from the short ribs. Add the short ribs with ⅓ cup water to a large dutch oven or any heavy bottomed pot. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot and cook for about 15 minutes. The water will cook off and the natural fat from the ribs will come out. Uncover the pot.
  2. Gently braise the meat in the fat over medium low heat for about 45 minutes, or until it is completely browned on all sides. Some of the bones might fall off during this process, don’t discard them. All the bones are going to be simmered with the meat for added flavor.
  3. Meanwhile add the slow-cooking split peas to a small saucepan. Cover the peas by 1 inch with cold water and add ½ tsp salt. Bring it to a boil then cook over medium heat until just tender but firm. Do not overcook. Drain and set aside.
  4. Remove the browned meat and bones from the pot and set aside. Brown the sliced onions in the meat fat. Scrape the drippings and bits of browned meat with a spatula into the sliced onions and fry over medium high while stirring frequently. When the onions start to get golden brown add ⅛ cup water and ¼ tsp Kosher salt and keep stirring until the onions caramelize.
  5. Add the meat and bones and 3 cups of hot water to the onions. Bring it to a boil, then cover the pot and cook over the setting between medium low and low for about 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Remove all the bones and discard.
  6. Add 4 prepared limoo amani to the pot and continue cooking for another hour, or until very tender.
  7. Add 1 TBSP tomato paste to the pot and stir to dissolve in the broth. Add 1 TBSP dried tarragon leaves, the par-cooked split peas and ½ teaspoon each of kosher salt, ground turmeric and ground black pepper.
  8. Add 2 cups sliced garlic chives, potato halves and ½ cup boiling water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pot and cook until the potatoes are fork tender (15-20 minutes).
  9. Break 4 large eggs and gently drop them one by one right into the simmering Shorba with some space between them. Cover the pot and cook only until the egg whites are set (about 5 minutes).
  10. To serve, dish out all the ingredients onto a serving platter with a slotted spoon and leave as much of the soup in the pot as possible. Pour the soup in a serving bowl and add some pieces of Sangak bread. Use a spoon to stir and coat the bread pieces. Allow a couple of minutes for the Sangak pieces to soak up all the soup. Divide this wonderful delicacy among your guests!
  11. Serve the Shorba warm with extra Sangak bread, Sabzi Khordan (assortment of fresh herbs), Torshi (pickled vegetables), Piaz (onions) and Mast o Khiar (yogurt mixed with chopped cucumbers. Enjoy!
Recipe by Persian Mama at https://persianmama.com/shorba-3/