Persian Dried Limes

[helenas]

Got a bag of persian dired limes from Kalustyan's.

So far tried them in black peas and spinach curry with dill from Jaffrey's pink book - the flavor came quite interesting especially in combination with dill.

Would like to try more ideas, please share.

[FoodMan]

Toss them with some braised lamb shanks or in a beef stew. That's how I've usually had them in Persian restaurants.

Elie

[Behemoth]

The place I first came across Basra limes was in an Iraqi lamb stew. The limes are cooked with the meat before the other ingredients are added. It probably removes some of the less pleasant meat smells.

I have also had it as tea -- just break up a lime and steep it in hot water. Oddly enough, I had a similar thing at a Vietnamese restaurant once. I ordered something called "salty lemonde" and it turned out to taste exactly like cold dried-lime tea.

[endless autumn]

Try them with lamb, green lentils, aubergine and roasted cumin.

Everything is cooked together with some onion, garlic and stock and is very good indeed.

[Rien]

I've never bought them - I've just let some limes sit on my furnace until they sound hollow. The dill aroma and flavor was a big surprise. Can anyone comment on the difference between the store bought and the "homemade"? The ones from the store definitely look more uniform ... home dried look rather wrinkled and mottled in a way that some find unappealing. My friends, which are used to discovering oddites sitting around my kitchen - a bowl with an octopus in it, a three foot long chunk of taro shoot, etc - have commented on how gross they look, assuming that I had just forgot about them and they were rotting over on the radiator.

Rather fascinating that they don't mold. Does this have something to do with the acids? Why doesn't the same thing happen to lemons?

I've whacked them with a hammer to crack them a bit and then poured near boiling water over them to form an infusion of sorts. Also good with a few lightly mashed juniper berries thrown in. I sweeten it a bit and drink it warm or cold. Sometimes I splash in a hint of orange flower water.

I believe they're used in "lime rice." I believe they're just dropped in the water with the rice as it cooks.

Best,

rien

[NimaCooks]

I like to use them in ghormeh sabsi. Just be sure to crack them open before dropping them in the pot.

[helenas]

Inspired by today's article in sfgate about food blogs i made Ghormeh Sabzi, or Persian Green Herb Stew: used couple of small lamb shanks and some meaty neck pieces and increased the amount of herbs substantially - excellent dish.

[Sackville]

Inspired by today's article in sfgate about food blogs i made Ghormeh Sabzi, or Persian Green Herb Stew: used couple of small lamb shanks and some meaty neck pieces and increased the amount of herbs substantially - excellent dish.

That looks great! I think you've inspired me for the weekend :-)