Khoresht_e Chaghaleh badam/ Fresh green Almonds stew

Almonds and green? yes you heard it right  fresh almonds are green and very yummy, most people think almonds come in hard wooden shells but the delicious fact is before they get to be hard  and brownish  they are green  and soft. In Iran  these fresh green almonds are known as " chaghaleh badam ".   Iranians look forward to eat chaghaleh badam to the start of the spring, chaghaleh badam  last only for a few weeks  and then they start to get hardened . we soak them in the water for about a few hours and rub any excess white fur from  their skin. Green almonds have  tartness and they are very crunchy.

ingredients:

(8 servings)

750 gr  lamb meet

500 gr chaghaleh badam  or green almonds

3 cups fine chopped  parsley and mint leaves

1 cup fried onions

salt and black pepper  to taste

 1/2 teaspoon turmeric ( optional)

 1/4 cup lime or lemon juice

 oil

water

Direction

cut the meat in  one inch  cubes,  fry meat cubes in  1 table spoon  vegtable oil in a  cooking pan until its color changes, add fried onions and 3 cups of water, cover the pan and cook  the meat,  meanwhile  remove the stem of fresh almonds  stir fry them for a few minute, add chopped  parsley and mint  to the frying  almonds, stir them for a short while  until vegetables lose water,  then remove from the heat and set it aside,

when the meat is half cooked  add the  vegetables  and raw green almonds  ( chaghaleh) to meat.. add a pinch of salt and pepper, cook for 1 hour or until the chaghaleh and meat both are done,  add lemon juice and remove from the heat,

we serve this khoresht with  rice .. nooshe jaan!!!

Chicken and Green string beans

Red, green, yellow, this Food is really colorful dish, simple easy and very tasty ,  you can find sour and hot tastes , both in one! I love string beans so I sometimes add them to the meat or chicken! In addition to  their lovely tastes, green beans  have a lot of benefits, they are an excellent source of protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates fiber and complex carbohydrates, Folic acid and molybdenum, the major health benefit of green beans   is their ability to lower the cholesterol  and consequently blood pressure  due to their  rich source of fiber, moreover  they prevents rapidly rising  sugar in blood after a meal!


I N G R E D I E N T S: 4 serving

500 gr  chicken fillet
750 gr  string green beans
500 gr  tomatoes
3 medium onions
cooking oil
salt and pepper
2 green chilies
 1/4 cup verijuice/ if you don't have verijuice  you can add one table spoon of fresh lime juice,

D I R E C T I O N:
Peel and thinly slice onions, then fry in oil until slightly golden.


Wash and cut chicken fillets  into small pieces and fry in onions until color changes, dice tomatoes and add them into the pan with  green chilies, let the tomatoes release their water , add verijuice ( if you  want to add lime juice  you better add it at the final stage of cooking before adding  the beans ) and a glass of water,  cover the pan and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender ,

While chicken is cooking, wash green beans, cut the ends and chop into 2-3 cm pieces, you can steam cook  green beans or boil them , I sometimes prefer to add one tsp of turmeric to the beans ,
Add beans, salt, pepper

drain the cooked beans and add them to the cooked chicken, cook for another 3 or 4 minutes,
The khoresht is ready!
Nooshe jaan!