Khoresh Karafs Recipe (Persian Celery and Beef Stew)

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Khoresh Karafs or sometimes called Khoresht Karafs is the Persian celery stew. Karafs in Persian means celery, and Khoresh or Khoresht means stew. You can find more delicious stews like Khoresh Fesenjoon in Cooking County.

Khoresh Karafs is made of fresh celery stalks, meat, and fresh herbs like mint and parsley. Khoresh Karafs is flavourful and has a sour and salty taste because of the verjuice. Celery stew is served with rice (Kateh). Stay with us to make this delicious food with this Khoresh Karafs Recipe.

Table of Contents

Khoresh Karafs Ingredient

Two main ingredients of Khoresht Karafs are celery and verjuice. Here are some tips to help you get started:

Celery

Celery is a vegetable known for its effect on weight loss. According to healthline.com, adding celery to your diet has five health benefits:

“It is a great source of important antioxidants,
It reduces inflammation,
Celery supports digestion,
It is rich in vitamins and minerals with a low glycemic index,
Celery has an alkalizing effect.”

Verjuice

Verjuice is the ripe grape juice and is called Abghoreh in Iran. It has a sour flavour. Verjuice is used in some Persian foods like Shirazi salad as a dressing and Khoresh Bademjan. You can find it in middle-eastern shops. If you can not find it, use dried lime (limoo Amani) or lemon juice in Khoresh Karafs.

Khoresh Karafs Recipe

For making one-pot Khoresh Karafs, chop one medium-sized onion into small pieces. Saute them in a pot with four tablespoons of vegetable oil till making them golden.
Then add 250 gr boneless beef or lamb with one teaspoon of turmeric to the onion. Saute them till making the meat brown.
Chop 100 gr parsley and 50 gr mint finely. Add chopped fresh herbs into the pot. Then heat and stir them for 5 minutes.
Chop 500 gr celery stalks into the size you prefer. Add pieces of celery into the pot, heat, and mix them for 5 minutes.
Add two cups of boiled water and one tablespoon of tomato paste into the pot. Cover the pot, and let them cook for 2 hours on low heat.

6. After 2 hours, the meat should be tender but hold its shape. If the meat is cooked, add 3/4 cup of verjuice and one tablespoon of salt. Stir gently, cover the pot, and let them cook for half an hour on low heat.

7. Taste the stew; if it needs, add verjuice or salt. If Khoresh Karafs is too watery, heat it till you want without a lid. Our delicious food is ready!

Vegetarian Khoresh Karafs Recipe

To make vegetarian khoresht karafs, you just need to remove the lamb or chicken you use in this stew. The recipe to make vegetarian karafs khoresht would be as follows:

Add onions to oil and fry until transparent.
Add the pepper, salt, cinnamon, and turmeric. Simmer for around 30 seconds.
Add the mint, parsley, and celery. Stir, cover, and cook over medium-high heat for 7 to 10 minutes. If extra oil is needed, add it.
Occasionally blending.
Tomato paste is added. Blend. Simmer for a further two minutes.
Add lemon juice or dried lemons.
Pour in enough water to just barely cover all of the ingredients, roughly 1 liter.
After bringing to a boil, simmer until the celery is soft.
To taste, add more salt and lemon. Present and savor!

How to Serve Khoresht Karafs

Khoresht Karafs, like other stews, is served with rice or kateh. Pour stew on the rice and enjoy your dish!

For garnishing the rice, use bloomed saffron, and make saffron rice. Shirazi salad is a fantastic side dish with Khoresh-e-Karafs.

Notes for Making Khoresh Karafs

Buy verjuice from middle-eastern shops. If you can not find it, use four dried limes. Pierce them with a fork, and add them to the stew. When the limes are soft, press them to release their juice. Also you can use 1/4 cup of lemon juice instead of verjuice.
You can use celery herbs as well. Chop the fresh ones nicely, and add them with fresh herbs to the stew.
You can freeze Persian celery stew.
To reheat the stew, add half a cup of water and put it on low heat.

Variations of Khoresh Karafs

While some people prepare their khoresh with dried limes (Limoo Amani), I personally like it without.
You may use beef, but be careful to pick the finest cut—such as skirt, chuck, or blade—for stewing or braising.
Red meat can also be substituted with chicken, so you will have khoresh karafs with chicken.

How to Store Khoresh Karafs

For up to three days, keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You can freeze Khoresh Karafs for a maximum of four months. Let it completely defrost before reheating. Reheat khoresh in a pot or microwave on low heat.

Did You Make Karafs Khoresh Recipe?

Please let me know how it was by leaving a comment!
You can ask me questions about Khoresh Karafs in the comments. I will answer your questions as soon as possible.
I would love to see your Khoresht Karafs! Please tag me with @cookingcounty on Facebook or Instagram and make me happy!

FAQs on Khoresht Karafs Recipe

Can I substitute chicken for lamb or beef?

Indeed, if you want something lighter, you may choose chicken. To prevent overcooking, adjust the simmering time accordingly as it will cook more quickly.

Can I prepare vegan or vegetarian Khoresh Karafs?

Of course! Instead of using water or meat broth, you can use vegetarian broth and leave out the meat. For more protein, you may also include more veggies like beans or mushrooms.

How about something other than fresh herbs?

If you can’t find fresh mint and parsley, you may use dried herbs. Because the flavor of dried herbs is more intense, use roughly one-third of the amount of fresh herbs.

Khoresh Karafs (Persian Celery Stew)

Recipe by FerdosCourse: Main coursesCuisine: Persian foodDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hours

minutes

Calories

270

kcal

Khoresh Karafs or Persian celery stew is a delicious Persian food made of celery, lamb, onion. parsley, mint, and verjuice or lemon juice.

Ingredients

1 medium-sized onion
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
250 gr boneless beef or lamb
1teaspoon turmeric
100 gr parsley
50 gr mint
500 gr celery
2 cups boiled water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon salt
3/4 cup verjuice or 4 dried limes or 1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions

Chop one medium-sized onion into small pieces.
Saute them in a pot with four tablespoons of oil till making them golden.
Then add 250 gr boneless beef or lamb with one teaspoon of turmeric to the onion.
Saute them till making the meat brown.
Chop 100 gr parsley and 50 gr mint finely. Add chopped fresh herbs into the pot.
Heat and stir them for 5 minutes.
Chop celery stalks into the size you prefer.
Add pieces of celery into the pot and heat, and mix them for 5 minutes.
Add two cups of boiled water and one tablespoon of tomato paste into the pot.
Cover the pot and let them cook for 2 hours on low heat.
After 2 hours, the meat should be tender but hold its shape. If the meat is cooked, add 3/4 cup of verjuice and one tablespoon of salt.
Stir gently, cover the pan and let them cook for half an hour on low heat.
Taste the stew; if it needs, add verjuice or salt.
If Khoresh Karafs is too watery, heat it till you want without a lid. Our delicious food is ready!
Serve
Khoresht Karafs, like other stews, is served with rice or kateh. Pour stew on the rice and enjoy your dish!
For garnishing the rice, use bloomed saffron and make saffron rice.
Shirazi salad is a fantastic side dish with Khoresh-e-Karafs.

Recipe Video

Notes

Buy verjuice from middle-eastern shops. If you can not find verjuice, use four dried limes. Pierce them with a fork and add them to the stew. When the limes are soft, press them to release their juice. Also you can use 1/4 cup of lemon juice instead of verjuice.
You can use celery herbs as well. Chop the fresh ones nicely and add them with fresh herbs to the stew.
You can freeze Persian celery stew.
To reheat the stew, add half a cup of water and put it on low heat.