Ghormeh sabzi ( fa, قورمه‌ سبزی) or Khoresht sabzi ( fa, خورشت‌ سبزی), also spelled ''qormeh sabzi'', is an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...

. It is considered the

national dish A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...

of Iran. It is a very popular dish in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

History

Ghormeh sabzi dates back as far as 5,000 years and originated in

Etymology

''Ghormeh'' is derived from

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and means "braised," while ''sabzi'' is the Persian word for herbs.

Preparation

The main ingredients are a mixture of sauteed herbs, consisting mainly of

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...

leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

s or

green onions "Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Described as "one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever" and as one of "the most popular R&B instrumentals of its era", the tune is a ...

, and

coriander Coriander (;

, seasoned with the key spice of dried

fenugreek Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Its seeds and leaves are common ingredients ...

leaves. The herb mixture has many variations. Any dark bitter greens can be used, such as kale, mustard greens, or turnip greens, although none are part of the original recipe. This mixture is cooked with

kidney beans The kidney bean is a variety of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''). It resembles a human kidney and thus is named after such. Red kidney beans should not be confused with other red beans, such as adzuki beans. Classification There are ...

, yellow or

red onions Red onions (also known as purple or blue onions in some mainland European countries, though not the UK) are cultivars of the onion ('' Allium cepa''), and have purplish-red skin and white flesh tinged with red. They are most commonly used in c ...

black lime Dried lime, also known as: black lime; ''noomi basra'' (Iraq); ''limoo amani'' (Iran); and ''loomi'' (Oman), is a lime that has lost its water content, usually after having spent a majority of its drying time in the sun. They are used whole, sl ...

(pierced dried limou-Amani

Persian lime Persian lime (''Citrus'' × ''latifolia''), also known by other common names such as seedless lime, Bearss lime and Tahiti lime, is a citrus fruit species of hybrid origin, known only in cultivation. The Persian lime is a triploid cross betwee ...

), and

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asi ...

-seasoned lamb or beef. The dish is then served with polo (Persian parboiled and steamed

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

) or over

tahdig Scorched rice, also known as crunchy rice, is a thin crust of slightly browned rice at the bottom of the cooking pot. It is produced during the cooking of rice over direct heat from a flame. Varieties Cape Verde In Cape Verdean Creole, the bu ...

. The ''Financial Times'' noted that there is much disagreement among Iranians on the ingredients used in the stew.

Cultural importance

''Self'' magazine listed ghormeh sabzi as one of twelve of the most meaningful dishes among cultures passed down among families. The ''Tehran Times'' wrote that the dish "is one of the most prominent dishes in Persian culinary heritage." Iranians in the diaspora traditionally celebrate "International Ghormeh Sabzi Appreciation Day" two days after

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

References

External links