Carrots Stew; Original Dish from Iran’s Azarbaijan Province

Tabriz carrot stew is one of the most delicious and original dishes of Tabriz in northwest of Iran. It is both made with chicken and meat. They use chopped fried carrots in it. Contrary to what is supposed to be, this stew is not sweet and has a sour-sweet flavour due to using of plums. But you can add as much as sugar you want to make the food sweet.

Ingredients:

1 kg of grated or chopped carrots

500 grams of beef or chicken meat (optional)

1 medium-size onion

1-2 tbsp. of tomato paste

3 dried lemons or plums

Salt, pepper, turmeric

Saffron

Lemon juice or verjuice

Directions:

First wash the carrots and chop them in a same size and then fry. Chop the onion finely and fry with meat (or chicken). Add salt, turmeric, and pepper to the meat and onions and pour some water on them to cook. When the meat or chicken is cooked well, add a little water. Then, add the dried lemons and plums. Finally, pour some steamed saffron into the stew and then add the carrot, tomato paste and salt to it. Put the lid of the pot and let it cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. If you want, add some lemon juice or verjuice at the end. This is something optional. You can decorate this stew with some barberry and pistachio slices and serve along with rice.

Notes:

Carrot stew is made with chopped carrots. So do not grate them. Do not boil carrots instead of frying, because the taste of the food will be changed and gets slightly sweet. The main seasoning of the stew is saffron, lemon juice or verjuice. If you are a fan of sweet foods, you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar at the end.

Fatemeh Askarieh

Fatemeh Askarieh is an Iranian journalist working on a range of fields including culture, art, lifestyle, cultural heritage, and tourism. She has been working with the Iran Front Page (IFP) Media Group for 10 years, and is currently the head of the Art and Lifestyle Department.