Parcha bozbash (lamb soup with chestnuts quin
4 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | pounds | Boneless lean lamb |
| ; cut in 1\" cubes | ||
| Salt; to taste | ||
| Pepper, black; to taste | ||
| 3 | tablespoons | Butter |
| 1 | medium | Onion, finely chopped |
| 4 | cups | Beef broth |
| 1 | medium | Potato, peeled and cubed |
| 1 | small | Quince; peeled/cored/cubed |
| ½ | cup | Dried pitted prunes |
| OR 1 c fresh sour prunes | ||
| ¼ | pounds | Chestnuts, shelled & peeled |
| ⅔ | cup | Canned chick-peas* |
| ; drained & rinsed | ||
| 2 | tablespoons | Ghi |
Directions
Season the lamb with salt and pepper. In a heavy pot, melt the 3 tb.
butter over moderate heat. Add the lamb and onion; saute until browned, stirring frequently. Add the broth; season to taste with salt. Cover; simmer 30 minutes. Add the potato, quince, prunes, and chestnuts. Cover; simmer 20 minutes. Add the chick-peas and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until done. Stir in the clarified butter and allow to melt before serving soup.
Note: ¼ tsp. ginger or a pinch of powdered saffron dissolved in 2 tb. warm water may be added with the chick-peas, and the soup served sprinkled with 1 ts. crushed dried mint, accompanied by chopped onion and sumakh on the side. In the Caucasus, ground kyurdyuk is normally used instead of the clarified butter, and dried chick-peas* rather than canned ones. The dried chick-peas are soaked several hours, drained, and added at the beginning with the broth.
Personal note: I've found sumakh (labelled as sumac, a spice mixture) at Middle Eastern groceries.
The author describes this soup as an "outstanding" Azerbaidzhani soup.
From "Cooking from the Caucasus" by Sonia Uvezian. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978. Pp. 52-53. ISBN 0-15-622594-8. Posted by Cathy Harned. Submitted By SAM WARING <SAM.WARING@...> On WED, 01 NOV 1995 134731 GMT