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Every morning, during breakfast, my mother begged my father and us three girls to tell her what to make for dinner. Several times, we all sat and made a calendar for her to follow so she would not need to ask every day. And, every dinner time, one or two of us were hoping for something else. It was never a winning battle for my mother. Looking back, we were so spoiled. She was the best home-cook we ever knew, but we still had our demands.
To fill the calendar, we each had seven spots to fill. Whatever dish I chose, mixed rice or khoresh/khorak (Persian stews), I specified it be with meatballs. Not only did I love the savory taste of each meatball but just loved round things (I still do), food or any object. In summer time, this green pea khorak was always on the list.
To cook this dish, unfortunately, I was unable to find fresh green peas. I was unable to find large, frozen peas either and settled for available frozen peas. This stew is called ‘green peas stew’ but only a few green peas are seen in the photo… they’re mostly hidden under. As you see, I also looked for tiny, round versions of the ingredients, such as marble potatoes and cherry tomatoes. I also had a little fun cutting carrots with formed vegetable cutters. However, if I knew how to make the carrots into small balls, I would have done so (I think I had seen carrots formed into balls in a store, but couldn’t remember where).
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Khorak'e Nokhod-Farangi • خوراکه نخود فرنگی • Green Pea Stew
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
INGREDIENTS
For the petite meatballs
• 230 g/ ½ lb lean ground beef (or lamb, turkey)
• ½ medium sized onion, grated
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/16 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 bay-leaf
• 6 cloves garlic, with skin
Vegetables
• 180 g/ 6.5 oz low starch potatoes, peeled or not, cut into bite size
• 100 g/ 3.5 oz carrots, peeled and cut into bite size
• 2 small Anaheim peppers, or very mild variety (optional)
• 454 g/ 1 lb green peas, fresh preferred, otherwise frozen (not canned)
• 100 g/ 3.5 oz cherry tomatoes
For the seasoning
• ½ tsp chicken base
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• ½ tsp hot pepper paste
• 2 Tbsp verjuice or lemon or lime juice
• 2+ cups hot water
• 2 Tbsp caramelized onion or ½ medium onion, chopped and caramelized
• smidgen (1/32 tsp) ground saffron dissolved in 2 Tbsp hot water
• salt & pepper, if needed, to taste
DIRECTIONS
◊ To prepare the meatballs: Prepare a large, non-stick pot with 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in it. Combine first 5 ingredients and knead well. Form meat mixture into 2cm/7/8″ balls. Place meatballs in prepared pot in one layer. Add garlic cloves and put bay-leaf on top. Put lid on and place pot on high-heat. When meatballs change color and release liquid, add hot water, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 25 minutes.
◊ Add potatoes, carrots, mild peppers (optional) and cook for 10 minutes.
◊ Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add the first 4 seasoning ingredients and dissolve well in 1 cup of hot water.
◊ If using frozen peas, briefly blanch them in salt water and drain to get rid of foam it creates.
◊ To the pot, add peas, tomatoes, seasoning mix, caramelized onion, saffron water, and hot water if needed, to just level with vegetables and meat. Increase heat, bring to a boil, lower heat to medium-low again and simmer for 5 minutes. Very carefully, taste the liquid from the pot… if needed, add salt and pepper to adjust to taste ( I did not need to).
◊ Dish out onto a deep, serving dish. It goes well with plain Persian rice/polo or with bread. Plain yogurt will be a great side.
Note: To avoid choking, please remove skins of garlic cloves before plating or tell diners to do so.
~ Noushe jan • نوش جان ~
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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Fae Jan,
I am just catching up on your posts, as I have been so busy with my studies and traveling I lost track of the blogging world, which I missed. This looks delicious, I especially love the carrot hearts 🙂
Your story growing up reminds me of my mom, as we are also three sisters, and my father is not a picky eater, but between me and my two sisters, my mom would always struggle to find a dish to satisfy us all, thank you for sharing 🙂
So good to see you, Lady from the Kabul Kitchen! You always delight me with your visits. How much longer do you have left from your studies? In what field? This is a Thanksgiving week (it is on Thursday the 26th) in the USA, and is celebrated by people of all races, nationalities and background who live in the USA. It is considered the biggest holiday celebration in the USA. Yes, bigger than Christmas. Families celebrate to be together. It is also a time of the year that brings fond, nostalgic memories of time spent with family members who are no longer with us, like my parents. I have only one child, a grown son, and my husband and I (we live in SF) are flying tomorrow to Southern California to spend “Thanksgiving” with him. I wish you and yours a wonderful life together. xoxo Fae.
I love the sound of this stew! Yum! Thank you for sharing, Fae. I hope you are having a good time. 🙂 xx
It really is a yummy, refreshing treat. I have been fine… just returned from a fabulous trip (will post about next week) and back to fighting the pounds. 😐
What a great looking stew, Fae, and I bet delicious, too. Anyone lucky enough to be served a bowl must be impressed by the care you took in its preparation. Just look at those carrots! Funny you mentioned fresh peas. Just last Saturday at the farmers market, I was surprised to see fresh peas available. When I asked I learned these were the harvest from the farmer’s second planting. Bless him!
Hi John, Thank you very much for the kind and generous comment. I have not seen fresh peas this year. May be I should go to our farmers’ market again to see if they did second planting! 🙂
My apologies for the late response. I was travelling for 3 weeks.
Your Green Pea Stew, looks super comforting and delicious too, Fae! 🙂
Thank you, dear Linda! Meatballs sure comfort me. 😀 )))
My apologies for the late response. I was travelling for 3 weeks.
I love how colorful this stew is, and those fun carrot shapes! 🙂
Hi Nancy, The colors are good for summer and also fits the autumn colors. 😀 )))
My apologies for the late response. I was travelling for 3 weeks.
Very delightful and beautiful dish!
Thank you, Chris. 🙂
My apologies for the late response. I was travelling for 3 weeks.
Lovely to read about you and your family choosing meals for your Mum to cook 🙂 x
Hi Sweet Elaine, After my Father’s passing, my Mother lived with my sister’s family. Till her last days, she would ask the family to tell her what to make. 😀 ))) Thank you for the kind comments.
My apologies for the late response. I was travelling for 3 weeks.
Fae you have such sweet memories of your childhood. Mothers are the kindest souls on earth.Always caring!!
This peas stew looks so heart caressing. Love the hearts and flowers you made with carrots.
About carrot roundels maybe you can cook a whole large carrot and scoop out roundels with the help of a melon scoop.
Hi SKD! Thank you very much for the touching comment. What a great idea about using a melon scoop to make carrot balls! You also taught me a new word, ’roundels’. 😀 ))) Indeed, Mothers are the kindest souls. 🙂
My apologies for the late response. I was travelling for 3 weeks.
Fae, the stew looks amazing. I have never heard of it before and I love seeing a recipe that I have never tried. All those gorgeous vegetables and meatballs look delicious. I can see why this was one of your favorites.
Hi Suzanne, This dish is not difficult to make, truly delicious, and with all that colors, a feast to the eyes. Please give it a try, adjust the seasonings to your liking.
My apologies for the late response. I was travelling for 3 weeks.
Nice recipe! Will be a great autumn dinner. Love the heart and flower shapes.
Gina
Hi Gina, Isn’t it a wonderful, healthy, colorful dish? You are right, all autumn colors are there, with hearts and flowers! 😀 )))
My apologies for the late response. I was travelling for 3 weeks.
I love the shapes of the carrots. What fun! But that must take some time!
Hi Virginia, Aren’t they cute. I use a vegetable mold/cutters and it is easy. An easy and a little extra effort makes the preparation fun, and also appreciated by the dinners. 🙂
My apologies for the late response. I was travelling for 3 weeks.
This is a lovely stew, whatever shape the vegetables – though I must admit all those small portion round veggies are very tempting, and I can imagine a child just loving this stew! I think I would also have requested meatballs as a child, but as a grown-up I still love them just as much. What a tender memory you shared with us; thank you!
Hi Sweet Darya, This stew really is a treat. Varieties of vegetables and the tiny meatballs. Thank you for the touching comments. 🙂
My apologies for the late response. I was travelling for 3 weeks.