Ingredients
1 no ingredients
Directions
1 lb stew meat -- (lamb or
: beef)
2 sm pumpkin -- or 1 med-small
: pumpk
1/2 c dried prunes
3 TB tomato paste
1 ts turmeric
1/8 ts cinnamon
1/2 md onion -- chopped
: salt and pepper to taste
1 pn saffron disolved in 1/4c.
: warm water -- optional
Brown the meat and add about 1 and 1/2 cups water. Add tomato paste,
turmeric, cinnamon, saffron and salt and pepper and sauteed onion.
Cook covered ata simmer for about 1 and 1/2 to two hours. Meat should
be tender and nearly falling apart stage. You may need to add water
during cooking but you shouldn't end up with more than the stated
amount. You don't want a watery stew. In the meantime, seed the
pumpkin and slice into 2X2 inch pieces and peel. Brown on both sides
in corn oil. The pumpkin should become brown in some places and
somewhat flexible but not totally cooked. Add to meat and cook
covered an additional 20-30 minutes until tender but not falling
apart. A fork should go into the pumpkin easily but not break it up.
Add the prunes the last 5 minutes of cooking. They shouldn't really
cook too much but should get warm. Serve over hot basmatic rice. Note
on pumpkin: ~--------------- Baking pumpkins are the best since they
are sweeter and less stringy. I have used jack o lantern pumpkins
when feeling frugal and the dish was still good. You want about twice
the volume of meat in peeled pumpkin slices.
Recipe By : The Persian cookbook, "Food of Life"
Servings: 1 servings
Persian Pumpkin Stew Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Pumpkin; Soup; Squash; Stew; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
We can read the history of meal recipes far back into the far past, at least as far into history as pharonic Egypt, and maybe even further. Interesting though that is, mostly, these ancient cookbooks were just very basic hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for food preparation.
In fact, the oldest recipe discovered, according to food historians is a series of tablets in Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel `wonderful`. Later on, in Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius created some documents detailing recipes cooked by the Romans. In his works, he recounts how the meals were separated into starters, main meal and dessert, a style of dining still practiced today. Additionally, he informs us how the ancient Romans made use of many spices and herbs, including a few that will be familiar to modern chefs such as basil, fennel and asafoetida. Later on, we find some recipe books which were published in the 1300s ; a book called `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, they have no connection with the indian food that is popular today, but rather descriptions of the types of food enjoyed by the upper classes of the time. Later on in the 1400s, people returning from the crusades brought back many foods and spices from the holy land, including spices such as parsley and basil. These new foods and tastes led to an explosion in recipe publications, many of which still exist in private collections. By the advent of the twentieth century, cookbooks are in great demand, as a result of better eduction, increased leisure time and having more money to spend. |
We hope you enjoy this Persian Pumpkin Stew recipe.
