Rhubarb Stew, A Healthy and Delicious Dish from Kurdistan

 Rhubarb stew is an authentic and popular dish from Kurdistan, sometimes served as a snack or appetizer. The main ingredient of this dish is rhubarb, a wild plant that mostly grows in mountainous regions. The mountains of Kurdistan are among the best areas for rhubarb growth, which is why rhubarb is used in Kurdish cuisine, especially in spring, when the plant is harvested and rhubarb stew is most commonly prepared.

For cooking Rhubarb Stew for four people, you will need:

• Rhubarb: 500 grams

• Stew meat (lamb or beef): 400 grams

• Fresh mint and parsley: 300 grams

• Onion: 1

• Tomato paste: 1 tablespoon

• Dried lime (limoo omani): 2

• Salt, black pepper, turmeric, and oil: as needed

To enhance the flavor of the dish, use a large onion. If your onions are medium-sized, you can use two onions instead.

Instead of tomato paste, you can use fresh tomatoes. In this case, peel and chop two medium tomatoes and add them to the dish at the stage where you would normally add the tomato paste.

Cut the stew meat into small cubes. The size of the meat pieces can be adjusted according to your preference.

You can also use chicken in Rhubarb Stew. In this case, you can either cut the chicken into small cubes or add whole pieces such as thighs or breasts to the dish. If cutting the chicken, use 600 grams; if adding whole pieces, use four pieces.

Rhubarb Stew Recipe

2. Next, add the tomato paste. Mix it with some turmeric and black pepper and add to the pot, continuing to sauté. After a few minutes, add the stew meat to the pot and sauté again. Once the meat changes color, pour in three cups of boiling water, cover the pot, and let the mixture cook thoroughly.

3. Cooking the mixture in the pot takes about one hour. During this time, you can chop the mint and parsley and lightly sauté them until they turn slightly golden.

Next, peel the rhubarb, cut it into 3–5 cm pieces, and sauté them for two minutes in a separate pan. Once the rhubarb changes color, stop sautéing and set it aside.

The reason for sautéing the rhubarb is to prevent it from breaking down when added to the stew, so it remains visible and intact in the final dish.

4. Once the mixture is cooked, add the sautéed mint and parsley along with salt to the stew. The mixture is done when the meat is tender enough to chew easily. At this stage, you can let the stew simmer for 20 to 30 minutes so that the flavors of the mint and parsley infuse throughout the dish.

Note that salt should be added after the meat is cooked, because adding salt before the meat is fully cooked prolongs the softening process and can alter the flavor of the meat.

5. In the final 15 minutes of cooking, halve the dried limes (limoo omani), remove the seeds, and add them to the stew. In the last five minutes, add the rhubarb to the stew.

After adding the rhubarb, do not stir the stew, because rhubarb cooks very quickly, and stirring will cause it to break apart.

You can serve Rhubarb Stew with rice. It is sometimes enjoyed as an appetizer or snack, and some people also like to eat it with bread.