Ghormeh nesar, Qazvin royal lamb rice

Ghormeh nesar, Qazvin royal lamb rice

Main dishes

A festive dish from Qazvin: finely chopped lamb, saffron-infused rice molded into a crown, cranberries, almonds, pistachios, and candied orange zest, for …

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Ghormeh nesar is a specialty dish from Qazvin, traditionally served at weddings. It consists of a lamb stew with almonds, presented in the center of a saffron-infused rice crown, decorated with berries, pistachios, and candied oranges.

Ingredients and directions

  • Prep time40 min
  • Cook time2 hr
  • Resting2 hr
  • Total4 hr 40 min
  • DifficultyHard
  • CostBudget
  • Cooking methodnibbling
  • Estimated cost$16.49 $2.06 / serving Estimated price; varies by store. Converted from euros at the ECB rate of October 15, 2026.

Ingredients

8 people
  • $10.08
  • $3.49
  • $0.01
  • $0.74
  • $0.16
  • $0.05
  • $0.14
  • $0.23
  • $0.92
  • $0.06
  • $0.53
  • $0.08

Prices from US supermarkets for 9 of 12 ingredients; Belgian prices for the rest.

Directions

  1. Soak the rice beforehand, then cook it using the steaming method.
  2. Cut the lamb into small pieces and brown it with the fried onions, tomato paste, black pepper, turmeric, and a little oil. ≈ 8 min
  3. Pour the with 480 ml of water and let simmer for about 1 hour. Then add half of the pre-soaked almonds and continue cooking until the meat is very tender.
  4. Sauté the remaining soaked almonds in a little butter.
  5. Soak the pistachios in rosewater, then sauté them in a little butter.
  6. Rinse and soak the cranberries, then sauté them in a little butter, sprinkle with sugar, and remove from the heat.
  7. Mix a portion of the cooked rice with the saffron to prepare the saffron-infused rice. ≈ 4 min
  8. Spoon the hot rice into a ring mold (a mold for making jelly), so that it takes its shape. ≈ 3 min
  9. Then, place it on a serving dish. ≈ 2 min
  10. Pour servir, pour each portion, place the lamb and almond ragout in the center of the plate. Garnish with saffron-infused rice ribbons, berries, pistachios, almonds, and candied orange zest. Sprinkle with the spice mixture and serve immediately. ≈ 2 min

The bill

Ghormeh nesar, Qazvin royal lamb rice

  • 500 g of lamb (leg of lamb)$10.08
  • 1.2 kg of rice$3.49
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar$0.01
  • 2 tablespoons of fried onions$0.74
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato paste$0.16
  • 1 tablespoon of candied orange zest$0.05
  • 1 tablespoon of slivered almonds$0.14
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped pistachios$0.23
  • 100 g of butter$0.92
  • salt$0.06
  • pepper$0.53
  • turmeric$0.08

Total$16.49

that's $2.06 per person

Estimated price; varies by store.

Before you start

Ingredients

  • 500 g of lamb (leg of lamb)
  • 1.2 kg of rice
  • 2 tablespoons of berberis
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of fried onions
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon of candied orange zest
  • 1 tablespoon of slivered almonds
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped pistachios
  • 1 tablespoon of rose water
  • 1 tablespoon of spice blend (cinnamon, cardamom, cumin)
  • 100 g of butter
  • 1 tablespoon of concentrated saffron infusion
  • salt
  • pepper
  • turmeric

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