Our Aromatic Persian Lamb with Chickpeas and Pomegranate
We’ve always thought that wellbeing is the combination of a happy body, mind and belly so what better way to positively begin a new year than cooking up a recipe that does just that! This dish is warming and comforting, but nourishing and you can feel good about eating a bowl of this. Couscous, quinoa or brown rice are excellent accompaniments.
Ingredients:
- oil for frying
- 2 onions, peeled & chopped
- 1 red chilli, seeded and finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 450g diced lamb
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3 cardamom pods, bashed
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 400ml chicken stock
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- Fist-sized bunch each of mint & coriander, roughly chopped
- Seeds from ½ a pomegranate (tips on how to get the seeds out here!)
- ½ a cucumber, seeded and sliced
- Heat 1 tsp oil in a deep pot, and saute the onions for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the chilli and garlic and allow to cook for a minute, then add the lamb and cook for 5 minutes until browned.
- Stir in the spices, fry for a minute, then add the stock, tomato purée and molasses/honey. Cover with a lid and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chickpeas, season to taste and cook for another 30 minutes until the lamb is tender.
- Scatter the mint, coriander and half of the pomegranate arils over the lamb and serve with the remaining pomegranate tossed with the cucumber in a separate dish.
