Khoresh Havij (Khoresht Havij, Khoreshe Havij, خورش هویج) is another delicious stew from the ancient Persian cuisine. The origin of the stew refers to the Azerbaijan parts of Iran, especially Tabriz. Havij is the Persian word for carrot, and you may have heard about this food before by the term Persian carrot stew. At first, when people think about carrot in a stew, they feel like that it cannot be a delicious meal because the carrot has a sweet taste.
However, there is almost nobody to dislike Tabrizian Khoresh Havij which they make with carrot, meat, and dried plums and has a sour and sweet delightful taste. In some regions of Azerbaijan, it is considered as an official food, and they serve it at funerals and parties. You can easily find it in Azerbaijan and Tehran region’s restaurants. This is one of the foods that Tabrizian people host their guests with it.
Different types of Khoresh Havij:
Like all other Persian stews, it is possible to cook Khoresh Havij with beef, lamb, or chicken. It is also possible to add dried plums (Aloo Bokhara) or not. Some people in some regions add dried sour grapes (Ghooreh) to the stew. Indeed, it all depends on how sour or sweet you like your food. It is also possible to cook it with ground beef. You can either make Koofteh Rizeh with the ground meat or add it purely to the carrots. However, the original Azeri Khoreshe Havij is the one made with carrots, beef, and dried plums.
Khoresh Havij Ba Aloo:
Khoresh Havij Ba Aloo is a type of Persian carrot stew that is made with carrots, meat and dried plums. There are plenty of types available for dried plums. The one that Tabrizians add to their Khoresht Havij is called Aloo Bokhara. However, you can add any type of it if you cannot find Aloo Bokhara.
Important nutrition facts of Khoresh Havij:
100 gr of Khoresh Havij has about 338 kcal. It has 24.80 gr carbohydrates, 14.62 gr protein, and 21.08 gr fat. Khoresh Havij also has a notable amount of 7.70 mg vitamin E, 5.62 mg vitamin C, 5.35 mg vitamin B3, a remarkable amount of 50 mg vitamin B4, and all other varieties of vitamin B. this stew also has other essential vitamins such as vitamin A. this stew contains 534.11 mg potassium, 133.62 mg phosphor, 824 mg sodium, 30 mg magnesium, and 44 mg calcium. It also includes many other critical minerals needed for the body.
Vegetarian tips:
Khoresh Havij can be a fantastic vegetarian or vegan dish. You can easily exclude the meat and fry the carrots. It is optional to add sour grapes or dried plums to it. Koresh Havij and Chelow is an excellent Vegetarian Persian dish. If you are a vegan or a vegetarian you can confidently cook and eat this food.
Serving style of Khoresh Havij:
Iranians usually serve Khoresh Havih with a dish of Chelow as the main course for dinner or lunch. A cup of soup such as soup e jo or cream of soup e Jou can be the right choice as an appetizer before this food. Salads such as lettuce salad and Shirazi salad (Persian cucumber salad), Sabzi Khordan, Torshi, Sir Torshi (garlic pickles) are the available options for the side dish. However, Sabzi Khordan is the best one. All drinks can be served next to this food, but Doogh (Persian yogurt drink) is the best option as a beverage next to this food.
What are the ingredients?
The main ingredient is carrot. You need vegetable oil to fry the carrots with it. If you had fried onions, you could use some of its stock oil to fry more delicious carrots. Then you need meat, which can be lamb, beef, or chicken. You can also use ground meat and meatballs. It would be best if you had some spices such as tomato paste, saffron, pepper, and salt. You also have two optional ingredients, including Dried plums and dried sour grapes. You can add either of them to make the stew sourer or sweeter.
How to cook Khoresh Havij?
To cook Khoresh Havij, first wash and peel the carrots. Then cut the carrots into thin threads (finger length) using a knife or a shred. Add vegetable oil into a pan and fry the carrots. Cook the meat separately with onions and water. After the meat cooked thoroughly, add meat to the carrots. Add some tomato paste to the gravy and make a sauce then add some saffron to it. Add the sauce to the stew. Let it cook until it is not juicy anymore. Serve it with a dish of Chelow.
Recipe:
This recipe is adequate for four people. The preparation time is about 30 minutes, and the cooking time is 2 hours.
Khoresh Havij
Ingredients
- 1 lb lamb (or beef)
- 4 big carrots
- 1 diced onion
- 8 dried plums (optional)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup brewed saffron
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- Wash and peel the carrots
- Cut the carrots into finger length and thread width spices
- Dice the onions
- Cube the meats
- Cook the meat with 5 cups of water, turmeric and onions
- Fry the carrots with vegetable oil
- After the meat cooked thoroughly, add the meat to the carrots
- Add saffron and tomato paste, salt and pepper to a ½ cup gravy and pour that sauce on the stew
- Add the plums and cook the stew for 10 more minutes.
Notes
Uniqop’s advice:
- You can use this recipe with any meat(lamb, beef, chicken, ground beef, ...)
- Using fried onion’s stock oil makes a more delicious carrot stew
- If you are going to add Koofteh Rizeh as the meat, cook it separately and then add it to the stew.
- You can use 7 oz butter instead of vegetable oil.
- As a vegan, you can add sauteed soybeans instead of meat.
