Sabrina Ghayour’s Persian lamb meatballs

Method

1. Put a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and pour in 1 litre freshly boiled water from a kettle. Season with salt, then add the rice and boil for 7 minutes. Drain the rice and set aside to cool.
2. Repeat the same process, cooking the yellow split peas in 1.7 litres boiling water in the same pan. Season with salt, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 25 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled rice and split peas, minced meat, herbs, flour, 2 tsp of the turmeric, the finely chopped onion, barberries/cranberries, eggs and a generous amount of salt and pepper, mixing well. Shape the mixture into about 12 large rugby ball-shaped meatballs.
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4. Drizzle in enough oil to coat the base of a very large, deep saucepan with a lid (or a large casserole) and fry the sliced onions over a medium-low heat for 8 minutes or until beginning to colour slightly. Add the remaining 1 tsp turmeric and the garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes more. Add the tomato purée and stir well. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper to the mixture and stir.
5. Pour 1 litre water into the pan, add the chopped tomatoes and bring up to the boil. One by one place each koofteh (meatball) carefully into the pan and cook gently over a low-medium heat for 1¼ -1½ hours. Partially cover the pan with the lid – leave it slightly ajar. Once the cooking time has elapsed, taste and adjust the seasoning. Bring the pan to the table and serve sprinkled with fresh herbs, natural yogurt and some warmed flatbread, if you like.