Bushehri Gheimeh

The dish made in Bushehr is totally different from Gheimeh cuisine cooked throughout the country, not only in terms of its appearance but also it's taste. Gheimeh in Bushehr is crushed; its stewing meat should be mashed so that it makes shreds when you put it with a spoon. And to your surprise the dish is usually served with sweet rice, which contains sugar.
Recipe 1
Ingredients
Split peas, 500 g
Stewing meat, 250 g
Potato, 1 no
Onion, large, 1 no
Caraway, 2 tsp
Dried lime, as per taste
Tomato paste, 2 tbsp
Spices like, pepper and turmeric powder, plus salt
Directions
Fry the chopped onion inside a frying pan in drops of oil. Add in turmeric powder plus stewing meat, sautéing finely. In a small pot, put cleaned split peas along with enough water over the mild flame till cooked. Once the onion and meat are fried, pour in 1/2 glass water and add in cubed potato. Once they are cooked well and also the split peas are done, mix them together in a mixing bowl and crush with a masher. Now again put them inside a pot over the heat, and add in tomato paste, one glass of water and ground caraway. Let it settle. At the end of the process, put in pieces of dried limes, with the seeds removed to avoid a bitter taste.
Now the ingredients for Sweet Rice
Rice, 2 cups
Sugar, 1 cup
Rosewater, 1 cup
Saffron, 1/2 dessertspoon
Directions
Wash the rice. Put a proper pot over the burner and pour in some water as well as cleaned rice. Bring it to a boil till the rice is a little soft. Strain the rice. In a saucepan, bring to a boil the rosewater and then stir in the saffron. Once ready, stir in sugar and let it simmer. Then put the strained rice in a mixing bowl and mix all the ingredients. Transfer the sweet rice mixture into the pot again over the low flame. Put the lid wrapped in a clean piece of cloth. Don't forget to drizzle drops of oil inside the pot.
Recipe 2
Ingredients
Split peas, 250 g
Onion, medium, 1 no
Lamb shank, 500 g
Tomato paste, 2 tbsp
Potato, medium, 1 no
Cinnamon, 1/8 tsp
Turmeric powder, 1 tsp
Dried lime powder, 1 tbsp
Saffron, 1/2 dessertspoon
Salt, a pinch
Directions
Chop the onion and fry in a pot. Add in the stewing meat and sauté well. Sprinkle in cinnamon. Wash the split peas and add into the pot and pour in 4 glasses of water inside. Cover the pot and cook it for one hour. Peel the potato and put inside the pot in whole. And let it cook for another one hour. If the meat is thoroughly cooked and shredded, switch off the heat. Otherwise, give it another half an hour till the meat is cooked. You can pour in water if needed. Now put the ingredients inside a strainer and keep aside the gravy. Crush all the ingredients with a masher, if you apply an electric masher you will get better results.
Mix all the ingredients well with a spoon. Transfer it into the pot and pour in part of the gravy over the heat. Sauté tomato paste in a sauce pan and mix together with the remaining gravy, dried lime powder, salt and brewed saffron, stirring frequently so that you get an evenly paste.
The typical Gheimeh cuisine is sour, in contrast to sweet rice! A really unique and appetizing taste. Black caraway avoids flatulence of the dish. Bon Appetit!