Chelo means steamed white rice. Goosht means meat. Chelo goosht is exactly that: lamb, usually shoulder or shank, braised slowly in onion, tomato and saffron, and served with a plate of fluffy rice.
It is the kind of simple, generous dish served at Iranian family lunches and at many restaurants across Tehran.
At a glance: serves four. About three hours. Easy.
Ingredients
- 1kg lamb shoulder on the bone, cut into large pieces, or 4 lamb shanks
- 2 onions, 1 quartered and 1 sliced
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cinnamon stick
- A generous pinch of saffron, bloomed in 4 tbsp hot water
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 3 cups basmati rice, for chelo
- Vegetable oil, salt and black pepper
Method
- Brown the lamb in a little oil. Add the quartered onion, garlic, turmeric and cinnamon and fry for a minute.
- Stir in the tomato paste, then add water to just cover. Season, cover and simmer gently for two and a half hours.
- Add the saffron and lemon juice for the last 20 minutes. The sauce should be light and glossy.
- While the lamb cooks, make the rice: soak, parboil, drain and steam it for 45 minutes with a lid wrapped in a tea towel.
- Fry the sliced onion until golden and scatter it over the lamb to serve.
Low and slow. The lamb is ready when it pulls away from the bone with a spoon.
Serve it Tehran style. Add grilled tomatoes, raw onion and a plate of fresh herbs (sabzi khordan) on the side.
Leftover lamb and sauce make a good filling for flatbread the next day. The dish keeps for three days in the fridge.
