Khoresht-e-Aloo - Plum Stew

A stew laced with plums that have medicinal properties.

Iran is famous for it's stews. This stew is made with dried plums and yellow split peas. There is another variation to this stew where cooks will add spinach at the very end. I prefer it without the spinach. As you let the plums boil with the chicken, the sour flavor of the plums seep into the sauce which is what makes the dish so flavorful. Traditionally, these plums were used as a natural remedy for digestive problem as these plums act as a laxative.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

500g dried Persian plums

100g yellow split peas

2-3 tbsp fried onions

1 tsp saffron

salt

Wash plums and soak in water for about 1 hour. In a pan, cook the fried onions with yellow peas and oil. After about 5-8 minutes, add chicken with 2-3 cups of water. Leave to boil until chicken is half cooked. At this point, add the plums with the water that you soaked them in.

Leave to boil until chicken is fully cooked. Do not overcook. Dissolve saffron in water and then add it to the stew. Leave to boil, when you see the oil separate from the rest of the sauce, this indicates that the stew is ready to be served.