Khoresht Kangar & Karafs (Artichoke and Celery Stew)

I discovered this wonderful creative dish through one of my favourite bloggers: My Persian Kitchen- and so I immediately set out on a quest to make it.

This is a combination of one of my favorite Persian stews (Celery Stew) with the addition of artichokes!!! Now artichokes is not a vegetable (or is it a fruit?) that is found in Iran or anywhere in the middle east so you will not see it used in middle eastern dishes. But given our globalized world its so easy to take original recipes and make them better. That is exactly what My Persian Kitchen has done with this dish

This is a pretty easy and simple khoresht to make unless you choose to use fresh artichokes and remove the outer leaves yourself. I chose to use canned artichokes (which are also delicious but obviously not a fresh choice). 

Ingredients

1 lb stewing meat

2 12oz bags of frozen artichoke hearts, fresh artichokes or canned artichokes

1 large onion

1 tsp turmeric

4 cups parsley, packed

2 cups mint, packed

2-3 tbsp brewed saffron

3 tbsp lemon juice

oil

salt & pepper



Mint, Parsley, Canned Artichokes, Celery, Onions, Beef Stew Meat, Turmeric powder



Saute the celery with some olive oil. Separately chop the herbs and saute slightly then add to the celery. [if you are using fresh artichokes, cook separately and add to celery]



 

In a separate pan, saute onions until golden, add meat and saute until no longer pink, add turmeric and water and cook for 30-45 minutes on medium heat

 

Once meat is cooked add the celery and herbs and the canned artichokes with a teaspoon of diluted saffron and let simmer for another 30 minutes. If you like a bit of citrusy flavor add a spoon of lime juice or several Persian dried lime (limoo amanee) [although limoo amanee must be added earlier in the process to allow the flavors to mix



Enjoy with a side of Basmati.