Khoresht Karafs | celery stew

by on January 11, 2011

So how do you cook Khoresht Karafs? Celery Stew is another delicious Persian dish that is the favorite of many Iranians and westerners. In the following videos KShar goes into the details of how to prepare and present Khorest Karafs (Celery Stew) like a pro. The first video will also show you how to cook Persian (white) rice in a rice cooker.

Lets get started…

And now, lets watch how he does the beautiful and creative presentation of Khoresht Karafs (Celery Stew) with rice

Here are some pictures for you

Ok thats it for today. Please leave a comment right here under this and let me know how you liked it and if you have any questions. As always… “Keep it Cooking…”

There are currently comments.

{ 19 comments }

Debra Ghanandan January 11, 2011 at 8:27 pm

K Shar,

I just wathced the koresht karafs video, this is one of my favorites to make. Just a few comments if you will accept.

You mentioned that it takes 1 medium onion per celery stalk, I think you meant to say celery bunch. Otherwise it would be more onion than celery:-)

Also, I have never used the sour grape water but I do have the sour grape dried powder, is this the same? Do I just add water to it like making saffron water? I normally use dried lemons in this recipe what do yo think, same or different taste?

The video looks like beef, I have used lamb which is used here?

Thanks for making this, I enjoyed it.

KShar January 11, 2011 at 11:36 pm: Hi Debra, here we go my friend.
l- Yes one medium onion for each bunch of celery.
2- Best substitue for sour grape water, is lemon juice or forozen grape,half a cup. they should have it at international markets. I dont use dried lemons, because it make s stew look darker and also has a different taste. we want celery stew to look green and ghormeh sabzi to look dark green.
3- I use beef and some times I add some lamb neck to give it the taste of lamb. lamb is rich in taste and too fatty, but if you dont mind it is fine.
enjoy, and keep me posted. keep it cooking

Zohreh Rogers January 11, 2011 at 11:22 pm

Have not made this dish before, but now I am going to. Kshar, I noticed you added parsly and celary leaves to the selary being satayed but not the mint. Do you add mint at the same time as parsly, cause the video did not show it? Many thanks, Looking forward to cooking this, thanks to you , making it look real easy again.

KShar January 11, 2011 at 11:42 pm

Hi Zohreh khanoom,
You are right. mint has a tendency to get bitter if you fry it for a long time, that is why i add it later and add water to the mix after that.
thank you , and keep it cooking

Zohreh Rogers January 12, 2011 at 12:31 am: Thanks Kshar, I will give it a go soon. cheers.

zizi January 12, 2011 at 4:46 pm

HI Mr. Keshar,
your recepie is totally different than mine. I made it with lemon juice instead of sour grape and usually I add a table spoon or two of tomato paste to give it different green color than ghormeh sabzi.
thank you so much,
Zizi

KShar January 14, 2011 at 1:09 am: salam, yes your are right. another way of cooking karafs is wtih tomato sauce. that will give a different collor of stew, when i make it with tomato sauce, i cut the celery in smaller pices, and dont add any greens. thanks ZiZi jon,

Goli February 2, 2011 at 2:24 pm

I made this last week and it was soooo yummy. It’s amazing how the subtle little tips you give such as adding the mint towards the end make a WORLD of a difference to the taste. You actually are able to taste every ingredient and it tastes so fresh. Thanks for the recipe and your subtle tips! By the way, did you use 1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint?

KShar February 2, 2011 at 11:56 pm: Thank you Goli jon, for your kind words, I am glad that you find my videos helpful. Mint fresh or dry, I use half a cup fresh for every stock of celery.
keep it cooking

Afsaneh February 20, 2011 at 6:46 am

Hi Mr. Keshar;

Thank you for everything you have taught us. I have two suggestions. When I cook my rice in a rice cooker, I add yogurt for white color, and a small piece of butter for smell. For stew I usually cut the celery in equal sizes and try to get the string out of each stalk. I usually cook my food with olive oil. Tell me your ideas.
Thanks a lot.
Afsaneh

Paradise September 8, 2011 at 3:58 am

Thank you for the wonderful video. I’m planning to make celery stew this weekend but I wanted to know what type of beef do you use for this stew (what particular cut).

Please keep on posting delicious videos

KShar September 8, 2011 at 11:54 pm: Hello, you can use meat for stew, can buy it already cut. or you can use any cut meat with or with out fat , what ever you like. Thank you, Keep it cooking

Carmen Benjamin August 22, 2012 at 5:12 pm

Hi Kshar,

I like your videos and enjoy watching you cook. Yet for khoresh Karafs you cut your karafs long and did not take the strings out. I usually peel it and cut it on diagonal, and really fry it. I fry my herbs too and I use fresh mint with fresh parsley and celery tops. I add Abeh Narenj instead of sour grape water. Let me know what do think? Thanks

KShar August 23, 2012 at 5:25 am: what you do is what you like and i admire you for that. I like my way, because i am also trying to show the younger generation who don’t want to be in kitchen all day, how to do it fast.

Tondkar Dario October 13, 2012 at 2:01 pm

Thanks Kshar, I will cook it toomarow.
Ba doroode faravan.

Tondkar Dario October 13, 2012 at 2:04 pm: Ops. tomorrow!!!
KShar October 18, 2012 at 1:55 am: I know what you ment Ops, meant . LOL can happen to any one.

Lien January 10, 2013 at 6:49 pm