Halal-conscious recipe
Azerbaijani-style lamb with apricots and chestnuts
Diana Henry's Azerbaijani-style lamb stew with Halal lamb: browned shoulder braised with onions, tomatoes, cinnamon, allspice, saffron, dried apricots and chestnuts in Halal or vegetable stock, finished with lemon, sumac and coriander.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Photo: Ridouan Red · CC BY-SA 4.0
Why Halal checks matter here
The stew is 800 g of braising lamb, which is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, cooked in 250 ml of lamb or chicken stock, which is a meat product.
Lamb shoulder is browned, then braised slowly with golden onions, tomatoes, garlic, cinnamon, allspice and saffron water, with dried apricots and chestnuts added for the long simmer, and finished with lemon juice, sumac and coriander. The source gives its cuisine as Azerbaijan. Two things need a Halal source: the lamb, and the stock, for which a Halal-certified lamb or chicken stock or a vegetable stock works (see stock cubes).
It follows Diana Henry's Azerbaijani-style lamb with apricots and chestnuts for BBC Good Food, which serves four and is rated 'More effort'. The source suggests making it ahead: it freezes for up to three months before the lemon, sumac and coriander go in.
Add the lemon, sumac and coriander just before serving.
Halal-critical ingredients
- Braising lamb Lamb is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, and lamb without a Halal mark doesn't say how the animal was slaughtered. Buy the lamb from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Lamb.
- Lamb or chicken stock Bought lamb or chicken stock is a meat product, and the UK's mainstream stock cubes contain uncertified chicken or meat fat. Use a Halal-certified lamb or chicken stock or a vegan vegetable stock. See Stock cubes.
Safe substitutes
- Lamb of unknown slaughter → 800 g Halal braising lamb
- 250 ml lamb or chicken stock → 250 ml Halal-certified lamb or chicken stock, or vegetable stock
Allergens
chestnuts
Ingredients
Stew
- pinch saffron
- 2 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil
- 800 g Halal braising lamb (such as shoulder), trimmed of excess fat
- 2 large onions, roughly chopped
- 4 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp allspice
- 250 ml Halal-certified lamb or chicken stock, or vegetable stock
- 100 g dried apricots
- 125 g cooked chestnuts (canned or vacuum-packed)
To finish
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ½ tsp sumac
- 15 g coriander leaves, picked and roughly chopped
Method
- Steep the saffron. Put the saffron in a heatproof cup and pour over 75 ml boiling water. Leave for 30 minutes, or until the water is a deep yellow.
- Brown the lamb. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and brown the lamb all over in batches, lifting each batch into a bowl with a slotted spoon as you go.
- Build the sauce. Fry the onions in the fat left in the pan over a medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes until golden and soft. Add the tomatoes and garlic and fry until the tomatoes soften, then stir in the cinnamon and allspice and cook for a few minutes.
- Braise. Return the lamb to the pan with some seasoning, pour in the stock and the saffron water and bring to just under the boil. Add the apricots, chestnuts and a little more seasoning, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook over a very low heat for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until the lamb is tender. The stew can be frozen at this stage for up to three months; cool it completely first.
- Finish. Stir in the lemon juice, sumac and coriander, taste for seasoning and serve. If it was frozen, defrost it in the fridge overnight and heat it gently until piping hot before adding them.
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Azerbaijani-style lamb with apricots & chestnuts' by Diana Henry, which gives its cuisine as Azerbaijan (serves 4: a pinch of saffron steeped 30 minutes in 75 ml boiling water; 800 g braising lamb such as shoulder, trimmed, browned in batches in 2 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil; 2 large roughly chopped onions fried in the fat 10 to 12 minutes until golden and soft; 4 chopped plum tomatoes and 2 chopped garlic cloves fried until the tomatoes soften; ½ tsp each ground cinnamon and allspice cooked a few minutes; the lamb returned and seasoned, 250 ml lamb or chicken stock and the saffron water added and brought to just under the boil; 100 g dried apricots and 125 g cooked chestnuts added, covered and cooked over a very low heat 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until tender; finished with the juice of half a lemon, ½ tsp sumac and 15 g chopped coriander). We specified Halal lamb and a Halal-certified or vegetable stock; nothing else needed changing. The source rates it 'More effort'. The saffron steeps while the lamb browns, so it adds no time beyond the source's 25 minutes' prep. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Technique and ingredient sources
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Azerbaijani-style lamb with apricots & chestnuts — BBC Good Food
Retrieved:
By Diana Henry, cuisine given as Azerbaijan. Serves 4, prep 25 minutes, cook 1 hour 40 minutes, rated 'More effort': saffron steeped in boiling water; lamb browned in batches; onions, tomatoes, garlic, cinnamon and allspice; stock, saffron water, apricots and chestnuts, braised 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes; lemon, sumac and coriander. We specified Halal lamb and stock.
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Lamb analysis — isithalal.food
Retrieved:
What makes lamb Halal: the slaughter.