This tangy, herb-packed Persian Green Plum Stew (Khoresh Gojeh Sabz) is how we welcome spring! Made with sour green plums and loads of fresh herbs, it’s a cozy classic that shows off one of Persian cuisine’s most unique seasonal ingredients.
A staple of Persian cuisine is the stew. We have so many different varieties of stews with some having a tomato base and others an herb base. The stew can be meatless or have a base of beef, lamb or chicken.
Persian stews are almost always served with Persian rice, steamed basmati rice usually studded with saffron. While kebab is what many westerners think of when they hear about Persian food, kabob is typically served on special occasions and restaurants.
Stews are also served in Persian restaurants, but they are more commonly served around the family dinner table on a day to day basis. The stew I am sharing today is not a common stew, but one that originates in the Northern part of Iran, near the Caspian Sea.
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Recipe highlights
- Unique: This is not a common Persian that is served here in the US. If you are lucky enough to find sour plums, then you must try this wonderful stew.
- Sour plums: This stew perfect for late spring, when green plus are in season. The sourness of the stew is dependent on the sourness of the green plums. You can add more or less plums based on your own personal preference. You can also add more dimensions to the sour base by adding lemon juice or limoo omani.
- Flavor: The base of this stew is made with herbs, fresh parsley and mint, a similar base found in khoresh karafs, celery stew. I typically use beef stew meat for my meat base, but you can also make it with lamb, whole chicken or keep it meatless. Some vegetarian friends use mushrooms and substitute meat with them.
About green plums – gojeh sabz
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Persians also have a love for sour foods and use different ways to add sour to our dishes. The most common way we sour our stews and soups is with dried limes. We use whole dried limes as well as ground dried limes.
The stew I am sharing today, uses green plums. These are small cherry plums that are not ripe. Most people see an unripe fruit and simply wait for it to ripen and sweeten. But green plums, gojeh sabz, are enjoyed in their unripe and sour stage.
Gojeh sabz are in season in mid to late spring, usually the months of April and May. It is a short season, but these green beauties are a coveted treat among Persians. Many eat them alone, with a bit of salt to balance the sourness.
If talking about sour plums makes you wince, just consider opening your horizons. You can find sour plums in Persian and middle eastern markets in late spring. Although we usually enjoy these gojeh sabz as is, you can also pickle them or use them in a stew.
Plums aren’t the only unripe fruit that Persians enjoy. We also enjoy sour unripe grapes, gooreh. We also pickle the gooreh or use it in stews, specifically Persian Eggplant Stew (khoresh bademjan).
We also enjoy raw green almonds (chaghaleh badoom). This is the stage where the outer pod is soft and edible and the inner almond is still not fully formed. The center is deliciously sour.
We enjoy chaghaleh badoom by itself, like gojeh sabz, with a bit of salt or in a stew, Khoresh Chaghaleh Badoom.
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Ingredients you need
- Beef stew meat: I used 1-inch chunks of London broil for this stew, but you can also use bone-in beef or lamb shanks. You can also make it with bone in chicken.
- Green unripe plums: The star of this stew are the sour green plums (gojeh sabz). They are typically available here in the US in middle eastern markets in April and May. They bring the sour that Persians love. You can adjust the sourness by adding more or less plums to the stew. If you want more sour flavor, you can also add lemon juice.
- Fresh herbs: I am a proponent of using fresh parsley and mint and not dried herbs. They offer more flavor and texture to the stew as compared to their dried counterparts.
- Onion: You can use a brown, white or yellow onion.
- Beef broth: Some people add water to their stew, but I prefer to add beef broth for more flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Oil is needed to sauté the vegetables and meat. You can also use a neutral vegetable oil.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper and turmeric
Step-by-step directions
- Sauté the onions. In a large dutch oven over medium heat and add oil. When oil is hot, add chopped onions. Cook until onions start to soften then season with salt, pepper and turmeric.
- Add the stew meat. In a large bowl mix together stew meat salt, pepper, turmeric and flour until meat is coated evenly. Raise the heat under the pot to medium-high, add stew meat and brown all sides.
- Simmer. Stir in beef broth. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits of meat from the bottom of the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer for 2 hours, stirring the stew every 30 minutes.
- Chop the vegetables. Using a food processor (or chop finely with a knife) chop parsley and mint.
- Sauté the vegetables. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add oil. Sauté chopped greens for 5 minutes then add it and the green plums to the meat mixture.
- Simmer. Cook stew covered over low heat for an hour. The plums will have semi-melted in the stew, but should still hold their shape. Serve stew over basmati rice.
Recipe tips and FAQs
As I mentioned before, this green plum stew is a seasonal dish and not something that is served all year round. Although most Persians love to eat these sour plums as is or with some salt, this stew is another way to showcase our beloved gojeh sabz.
Just like other Persian stews, you serve this stew over basmati rice. You can also use brown basmati, if you prefer. Serve shirazi salad, mast o khiar or a platter of fresh herbs (sabzi khordan) with your stew and rice.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover stew in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftover stew. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
Gojeh Sabz are small cherry plums that are not ripe. Most people see an unripe fruit and simply wait for it to ripen and sweeten. But these green plums, can be enjoyed in their unripe and sour stage. They are in season in mid to late spring, usually the months of April and May. It is a short season, but these green beauties are a coveted treat among Persians.
Just because unripe green plums are sour, does not mean they are not edible. Green cherry plums (gojeh sabz) are a specialty in Persian cuisine. These sour delights are enjoyed fresh with a bit of salt, or can be cooked in a delicious stew.
Persian Green Plum Stew (Khoresh Gojeh Sabz)
Ingredients
- 2 lb beef stew meat cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoon all-purpose flour optional
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion chopped (approximately 1 cup)
- 2 cups beef broth
- 3 cups parsley packed
- 2 cups mint packed
- 20 green unripe plums approximately ½ pound
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together stew meat ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon turmeric and 2 teaspoon flour until meat is coated evenly.
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- When oil is hot, add chopped onions.
- Cook until onions start to soften, approximately 7 minutes and add ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon turmeric.
- Cook for a 2 minutes, then raise the heat to medium-high, add stew meat and brown all sides, approximately 7 minutes.
- Stir in beef broth. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits of meat from the bottom of the pot.
- Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer for 2 hours, stirring the stew every 30 minutes.
- Using a food processor (or chop finely with a knife) chop parsley and mint. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Sauté chopped greens for 5 minutes then add it and the green plums to the meat mixture.
- Cook stew covered over low heat for an hour.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
While I’ll never turn down cooked, skewered meat, stewed meat is always my first choice. Love stews, and haven’t met one I haven’t liked. This looks terrific — so full of flavor. Neat recipe — thanks.