Khoresh Bij Bij
Caspian Sea stew with poached eggs
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon turmeric, ground
- 1 lb ground meat
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 medium yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces, peeling is optional
- 4 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 1/2 cups water, adjust as needed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, adjust as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground
- 2 tablespoons Ab Ghooreh (unripe sour grape juice), or fresh lemon juice
- 4-6 eggs
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, saute the onions in oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add garlic and turmeric and continue to saute for 2 additional minutes.
- Add the ground meat, breaking the chunks into smaller pieces and blending them into the sauted onions. Saute the meat and onion mixture for 5 minutes on medium-high heat. The meat should have turned light brown and no longer look raw.
- Add the tomato paste and continue to stir and saute for another 2 minutes to bring out the flavor of the tomato paste.
- Add the potatoes, tomatoes, water, salt, pepper and Ab Ghooreh or lemon juice and bring to a gentle boil. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover and cook for 40 minutes. Test to make sure the potatoes are sufficiently cooked and tender.
- Using a spoon, pull the meat back to make room for the eggs to get cracked into the pan. Crack the eggs into the meat sauce one at a time.
- Sprinkle a touch more salt and pepper on top of the eggs, cover, and cook on medium-low heat for about 5-6 minutes depending on how runny or cooked you prefer your eggs.
- Once the eggs are cooked to your liking, turn off the heat and allow the stew to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
- Bij Bij can be served with Persian flatbreads or with steamed basmati rice and a side of yogurt and fresh herbs.
Notes
Ground beef can be replaced with ground lamb or turkey. I have also made this dish with crumbled up pieces of tempeh to make it vegetarian friendly.
A good quality canned tomatoes can be substituted if ripe tomatoes were not available.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!