Mar
28
Recipe: Middle Eastern Tomato Lamb Stew
March 28, 2010 | 8 Comments
My friend, Shayma, from the Spice Spoon–which I highly encourage you to visit if you want to learn about Pakistani/Afghan/Persian food–asked me for more recipes from the Middle East. This recipe is one of my mama’s. When I need a comfort meal, especially when it’s gloomy or cold outside, this is one I crave.
In Arabic, this dish is called allayeh or quallayeh. The actual word means a frying pan. Maybe the original dish was made with a frying pan, but the one my mom makes, which is what her mom makes, is all I know.
If you have some tomatoes getting soft in your fridge, this dish is the perfect way to use them. You can always substitute with canned diced tomatoes, but there’s something about fresh tomatoes that makes this dish much better. The recipe calls for 8-10 tomatoes. Do I ever have extra 8 tomatoes getting soft in my fridge? No. When I make this recipe, it’s always by intention!
Ingredients:
- 8-10 soft plum or on the vine tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion (or two medium), diced 1/4-inch
- 1 lb boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1/2 tsp each salt, pepper, and all spice
- 1/4 tsp each ground cinnamon and turmeric
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
Directions:
Peel the tomatoes. I learned a trick from Iron Chef American on how to do that: with a sharp knife, make a cross in the base of the tomatoes. Drop in a pot with boiling water and remove after a minute. Allow to cool then peel.
Chop the tomatoes, about 1/2 inch cubes (this step gets messy but it won’t stain). Put in a bowl, reserving the juice.
In a pot (you can use the same one you used for boiling the water), heat the oil and saute the onions until soft. Add the lamb and all the spices, and saute for 15 minutes.
Spread the lamb and onion so they cover the bottom of the pot, then drop the tomatoes (the tomatoes will burn if on the bottom). Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and stir. Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes.
Serve with rice. Traditionally, white long-grain (or a mix of long- and medium-grain) rice goes it with. You can use other grains though, such as brown rice, quinoa, or bulgur. An out-of-the-box idea is to bake a potato and top it with this tomato-lamb stew.
Just playing with my camera flash 
I was in the mood for Middle Eastern-style olives and pickles.
Not only this dish is low in calories (just watch the rice portion), it’s also a source of cooked tomato products and lycopene. I wrote about the link between processed tomatoes and lower prostate cancer risk and shared a white bean stew recipe in a previous post.
Comments
8 Comments so far
Nour, this is such a wonderful dish- and something which you have recreated from your mama’s kitchen- it’s splendid! i love lamb, this is gorgeous, please keep posting these wonderful recipes from your part of the world. x shayma
Ooh, this looks great, Nour! Lamb is my weakness-so tender when cooked properly…
I just emailed this recipe to myself, it looks divine!!
This lamb stew sounds wonderful, I love the addition of cinnamon and turmeric!
You brought back fond memories with that yakhneh
I cant wait to cook some lamb again!
Take care, Joumana
That stew looks delicious. I bet it would taste great with barley too (which has become my alternative for rice).
Shayma: Thanks dear for the nice comment. I wasn’t a big fan of lamb when I lived overseas–they made it too much. Now that I eat less often, I get to enjoy it more
Stella: thanks! yes, you’re right. When cooked properly
Nicole: thanks for stopping by
5 star foodie: I use cinnamon with all my lamb, beef, and chicken cooking. We tend to think of cinnamon for dessert, but pair it with all spice on meat… so delicious. My mom doesn’t use turmeric, but I read/wrote on how healthy it is, so I’m trying to incorporate it in my kitchen
Joumana: thanks. Sa7tein
Hanaa: I’ve just had barely yesterday. You can always try it with barely or other grains. The problem with barely or brown rice with this type of meal is that they have their distinctive flavor, so sometimes it seems to clash with the spices of the meat/tomato stew. I have to have white rice with this type of dish–my nutritional shortcoming–but it’s one of my comfort and that’s how I like
Let me know how it goes if you try it
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