AI-generated image
Shaki piti
Lamb, chickpea and chestnut stew
Piti: lamb, chickpea and chestnut stew baked in clay pots
Piti belongs to Shaki, the old silk-road town in the green foothills of northern Azerbaijan, where it is still cooked in individual clay pots and served in restaurants near the caravanserai. Each pot holds lamb on the bone, chickpeas, a chestnut or two, a little tail fat and saffron water. It is eaten in two stages: first you pour the broth over torn bread with sumac, then you mash the meat and chickpeas and eat that as a second course. Rushing it at a high heat is the error to avoid; the broth turns cloudy and the lamb tightens. Chef's tip: if you have no clay pots, a heavy casserole works, and you can ladle it into bowls to serve.
- Total time
- 235 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 lb lamb neck or shoulder on the bonein 4 large pieces
- 5 ½ oz dried chickpeassoaked overnight
- 2 ⅛ oz lamb tail fat or fatty lamb (optional)diced
- 6 ¾ cups water
- 2 onionschopped
- 4 small potatoespeeled
- 1 pinch saffron threadssteeped in 3 tbsp hot water
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried mint
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Rinse 2 lb lamb neck or shoulder on the bone and put it in a pot with drained 5 ½ oz dried chickpeas, 2 ⅛ oz lamb tail fat or fatty lamb if using, and 6 ¾ cups water. Bring to the boil and skim off the foam carefully until the surface is clear.
15 minStep 2: Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour 30 minutes, until the chickpeas are almost tender.
90 minStep 3: Heat the oven to 325°F. Share the lamb, chickpeas and broth between 4 clay pots or put it all in one casserole. Add 2 onions, 8 cooked peeled chestnuts, 4 small potatoes and 4 dried plums or prunes, then season with 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper.
10 minStep 4: Cover and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, until the lamb falls off the bone and the potatoes are soft.
90 minStep 5: Stir 1 pinch saffron threads and its water into each pot and add a pinch of 1 tsp dried mint. Bake uncovered for 5 more minutes.
5 minStep 6: To eat the traditional way, pour the broth into a bowl over 4 flatbread, sprinkle with 2 tsp sumac and eat it first. Then tip the meat, chickpeas and vegetables onto a plate, mash lightly with a fork and eat with 1 red onion. Cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate for up to 3 days; reheat until boiling.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 610 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fibre
- 10 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does shaki piti take?
- About 235 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 210 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of dried chickpeas?
- Cannellini or butter beans, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
Miso soup
Miso soup (味噌汁) is drunk every day in homes all over Japan, at breakfast as well as dinner, beside a bowl of rice. The base is dashi; this vegan version uses kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito, which gives it a deep, rounded flavour. Silken tofu and wakame seaweed are the classic fillings. It takes ten minutes; just remember not to boil the miso. Chef's tip: add the miso at the very end and never let it boil. Boiling kills the miso's fresh, fermented aroma; Japanese cooks say the soup should only 'smile', with the surface barely trembling.
Japanese