1-1 ¼ cup thinly sliced spring onions/scallions and/or green garlic (base only)
½ tsp turmeric, ground
1 pound stewing meat (beef, lamb, chicken thighs)
2 ½-3 cups water or stock (vegetable, beef or chicken)
1 ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 pound rhubarb (Approximately 2 cups), cut into ¾-1 inch chunks
Sabzi (Herbs)
4 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup finely chopped fresh mint
Instructions
In a medium-large pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes.
Add the turmeric and stir to combine before adding the beef pieces. Add the beef and sauté until the beef starts to brown a bit, stirring periodically to make sure the onions do not get too brown.
Add 2 ½ cups of water or stock, bring to a rapid simmer, cover and simmer over low heat for about 40-60 minutes or until the meat is just starting to get tender. The cooking time for this step will vary depending on the cut of meat you use.
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, add 4 Tbsp olive oil and sauté the chopped fresh parsley and mint over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. You may need to add another ½ cup of liquid at this step if the amount of liquid in your stew has reduced greatly.
Lower the heat towards the end to prevent the herbs from burning. Remove from the heat and set aside.
After the meat has cooked for 40-60 minutes, add the salt, pepper and sauteed herbs. Cover and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes over medium-low heat. At this point, the stew should be very fragrant with the herbs and meat fork tender. The consistency of the stew should be dense and not at all watery. In the next step you will add the rhubarb which will release some liquid, so if you feel like it needs more liquid hold off until the rhubarb has cooked down a bit.
Add the rhubarb pieces to the stew, gently mix, cover, and cook until the rhubarb has softened, about 8-10 minutes. You want the rhubarb to be tender, but to still hold its shape. Thus, take care not to overcook it (and if you do, it will still be delicious it will just have less chunkiness).
Serve the stew with steamed basmati rice and, if you wish, a side of plain yogurt.
