Green Plum Stew

Today I have brought you another tasty Persian dish called "Green Plum Stew". To be honest, I just had heard the name of this stew a  few times before and had never made it. A few days ago, I came across green plums (not exactly as the ones that we have back home of course) at the market and I decided to make the stew for the first time. And guess what, I think I am a fan now and sure this dish will be a new regular  :).

Here is what you will need:

Serves 4

300g stew meat, chopped (I used veal here)

1 large onion, chopped

100g fresh parsley, washed, and chopped

100g fresh mint, washed, and chopped

10 -12 Green plums

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 -3 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt and pepper to taste

How to make it:

In a small pot sauté onions in half of the vegetable oil until slightly golden. Add turmeric and stir for 1 more minute. Add chopped stew meat of your choice, sprinkle some salt and pepper, and brown meat.

Cover the pot, lower the heat, and let the meat release its juices and cook slowly. Stir occasionally. After the juice evaporates, add 2.5 cups of boiling water or beef stock and let cook on medium-low heat until meat is almost done (depending on the type of meat used, this time varies. For veal it takes about 50-60 minutes).

Meanwhile, fry the chopped herbs with the rest of the oil in a skillet (about 5 minutes) and set aside.

Add fried herbs to the pot and stir. Note 1: If you want the stew to be more sour, add the plums at the same time as the fried vegetables. If you desire less sour stew, add only a few of the plums at the time at the remaining few minutes before stew is completely done.

Cover the pot and let simmer for another 25  minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Note 2: Add some sugar if your stew taste more sour than you prefer. Let cook for another 5 minutes.

Your stew is now ready. Serve with basmati rice and enjoy :).