Instant Pot Abgoosht
By Sarah Ewald & Emily RahravanPublished on July 20, 2022
Time
2 hours, plus 8 hours brining
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
To serve, place bowls of soup and platters of lamb mixture, lavash, radishes, onion, scallions, and herbs on the table and allow diners to combine components to their taste. If you cannot find limu omani in a store or online, substitute 2 tablespoons lime juice.
Instructions
- Dissolve 1½ tablespoons salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Add chickpeas and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
- Add chickpeas, 7 cups water, lamb, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, tomato paste, limu omani, garlic, salt, pepper, turmeric, and cinnamon stick to Instant Pot. Lock lid into place and close pressure-release valve. Select high pressure-cook function and cook for 40 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot and let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Quick-release any remaining pressure, then carefully remove lid, allowing steam to escape away from you.
- Using slotted spoon, transfer large pieces of lamb and vegetables to large bowl. Strain soup through fine-mesh strainer into separate large bowl or container; discard bones, limu omani, and cinnamon stick. Transfer strained solids to bowl with lamb and vegetables.
- Return soup to now-empty pot. Using highest sauté function, bring soup to simmer, then turn off Instant Pot. Stir in saffron and let steep for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Using potato masher, mash lamb mixture until meat is finely shredded and chickpeas and vegetables are mostly smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and transfer to serving platter. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls and serve with lamb mixture, fresh herbs, scallions, radishes, red onion, and lavash.
Time
2 hours, plus 8 hours briningYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
It consists of lamb cooked with nutty chickpeas, silky potatoes, a fresh tomato, and a whole onion. Enhanced with warm spices, (turmeric and a cinnamon stick) abgoosht gets its most unique flavor from limu omani (dried Persian limes). The earthy, citrusy tang of the dried rind delivers a sweetness, sourness, and muskiness that is distinctly Persian. Once cooked, the solids are mashed into a savory paste that is served alongside the broth. The lamb mash is eaten on pieces of lavash and adorned with fresh herbs, scallions, sliced radishes, pickles, and raw onion. In Iran, Abgoosht is so synonymous with being one-pot that it is sometimes called “dizi,” which refers to the traditional stoneware pot in which it was prepared and served. Dizi can also mean a kind of teahouse (popular for smoking and chatting) that stews a vat of abgoosht for lunch and serves it cheaply to anyone who stops by. Abgoosht has a long reputation as a staple for poor families because back when families were large and their access to meat small, stewing lamb and mashing it with nutrient-rich foods extended the meat to every family member. Nowadays, abgoosht has increased status, as high-end restaurants have cropped up that specialize in abgoosht, offering a traditional experience, eating out of individual dizi pots and mashing your own food tableside. While abgoosht was originally made in dizi pots and took all day to cook, home cooks have been enjoying the speed of pressure cookers for decades. As the technology continues to advance, Instant Pots have become the next logical vessel with their faster cook times due to no steam escaping during cooking. The Instant Pot makes this as simple as combining everything, covering it with water, cooking it under pressure, then straining out the solids for mashing. Once we added the liquid back to the pot, the sauté function provided a gentle simmer to flavor and color the broth with a pinch of saffron. The final meal is a delicious and nutritious spread for the entire family (and then some).
Before You Begin
To serve, place bowls of soup and platters of lamb mixture, lavash, radishes, onion, scallions, and herbs on the table and allow diners to combine components to their taste. If you cannot find limu omani in a store or online, substitute 2 tablespoons lime juice.
Instructions
- Dissolve 1½ tablespoons salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Add chickpeas and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
- Add chickpeas, 7 cups water, lamb, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, tomato paste, limu omani, garlic, salt, pepper, turmeric, and cinnamon stick to Instant Pot. Lock lid into place and close pressure-release valve. Select high pressure-cook function and cook for 40 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot and let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Quick-release any remaining pressure, then carefully remove lid, allowing steam to escape away from you.
- Using slotted spoon, transfer large pieces of lamb and vegetables to large bowl. Strain soup through fine-mesh strainer into separate large bowl or container; discard bones, limu omani, and cinnamon stick. Transfer strained solids to bowl with lamb and vegetables.
- Return soup to now-empty pot. Using highest sauté function, bring soup to simmer, then turn off Instant Pot. Stir in saffron and let steep for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Using potato masher, mash lamb mixture until meat is finely shredded and chickpeas and vegetables are mostly smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and transfer to serving platter. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls and serve with lamb mixture, fresh herbs, scallions, radishes, red onion, and lavash.
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