AI-generated image
Tas kabab
تاس کباب (tas kabab): Persian layered stew of meat, onion, potato and quince cooked slowly in its own juices
Tas kabab is a quiet home dish from Iran, cooked in autumn and winter when quinces are in the bazaars and a pot can sit on a low flame through the afternoon. Thin slices of beef or lamb are layered with onion, potato, carrot, tomato and quince, seasoned with turmeric, cinnamon and saffron, then left covered with very little water so everything cooks in its own juices into a sweet-sour, tender stew. Serve with plain rice or bread and a bowl of yoghurt. The usual mistake is adding too much water: it boils instead of steaming and the layers turn into soup. Chef's tip: wrap the lid in a clean tea towel so the drops of steam don't fall back and dilute the juices.
- Total time
- 150 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 onionssliced into rings
- 1 ¾ lb beef chuck or boneless lamb shouldercut in thin 1 cm slices
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 potatoespeeled, sliced 1 cm thick
- 2 carrotssliced
- 2 quincescored, cut in 8 wedges (or 2 firm apples)
- 3 tomatoessliced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ¾ cup water
- 8 dried sour plums or prunes (optional)
- 1 pinch saffron threads, ground and steeped in 2 tbsp hot water (optional)
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix the 1 tsp ground turmeric, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper in a small bowl.
1 minStep 2: Pour the 3 tbsp vegetable oil into a heavy pot and spread half the 3 onions over the base. Add a layer of half the 1 ¾ lb beef chuck or boneless lamb shoulder and sprinkle with a third of the spice mix.
5 minStep 3: Layer on half the 3 potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 quinces and 3 tomatoes, then another third of the spice mix. Repeat with the rest of the onions, meat, vegetables and spices, ending with tomatoes. Tuck in the 8 dried sour plums or prunes if using.
10 minStep 4: Stir the 2 tbsp tomato paste into the ¾ cup water with the 1 pinch saffron threads, ground and steeped in 2 tbsp hot water if using and pour it over. Do not stir the pot.
2 minStep 5: Cover tightly, with a tea towel wrapped round the lid, and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes until you hear it bubbling.
10 minStep 6: Turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes, shaking the pot gently now and then. It is done when the meat and quince are soft enough to cut with a spoon and the juices are thick.
105 minStep 7: Serve straight from the pot, lifting out each layer so everyone gets some of everything.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tas kabab take?
- About 150 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 120 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Tteokgalbi
Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.
Korean
Char siu
Hanging in long glossy strips in the windows of Guangzhou's siu mei shops, char siu is the roast pork Cantonese families pick up on the way home to put on rice, noodles or into steamed buns. The outside is lacquered, sweet and a little charred at the edges; the inside stays juicy, savoury and faintly scented with five-spice. Shoulder (pork butt) is the cut to use, because its marbling keeps the strips moist through a hot oven. Marinate it overnight in the fridge, roast it the next day and eat it warm with steamed rice and blanched greens, or cold in fried rice and noodle soups. Chef's tip: save the honey for the last ten minutes; brushed on at the start it burns black long before the pork is cooked.
Chinese