Dopiazeh Aloo

A while back, I received a comment on my blog from a reader asking about an Iranian potato recipe. She wrote that she had just returned from a trip to Iran, where she had enjoyed a wonderful potato dish in Shiraz. After cooking and eating Persian food for over twenty years, she said she had never come across this dish before; it wasn't a kookoo sibzamini (potato kookoo) or a cutlet. This dish had been served at both breakfast and lunch, and when she asked about it, a server told her it was a local specialty. Curious,  I asked one of my Shirazi friends about it. Without hesitation, she said, "Oh, that must be Dopiazeh Aloo!" 

Dopiazeh is a traditional dish from Shiraz, made with an abundance of onions ("do piaz", literally means "two onions") and either cubed or ground lamb/beef, chicken, shrimp, and potatoes. In Shiraz, the word aloo, which usually means "plum" in Persian, is also used to mean "potato." Here's the link for my ground beef Dopiazeh (Two Onions).

Dopiazeh Aloo - Shirazi Style - دوپیازه آلو شیرازی

Ingredients
Serves 2

-1 pound small potatoes, boiled, peeled, and cubed
-2 large onions, sliced
-1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
-1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
-A pinch of dried fenugreek leaves
-A pinch of red pepper
-Salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
-1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (optional)


Method

1. Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until tender and not falling apart. Set aside to cool.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the sliced onions and sauté over medium-high heat until they are soft. Stir in the turmeric and cook for another minute. 
4. Mix in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes. 
5. Add the cubed potatoes, salt, black pepper, red pepper, and a pinch of fenugreek. Stir gently to coat the potatoes without mashing them.
6. Cover and cook for 7-10 minutes until everything is well blended. Drizzle with fresh lime juice and serve.

Serve warm with bread, pickles, salad shirazi, and mast o khiar.

Enjoy!

Dopiazeh

I learned to cook this recipe several years ago from one of the mothers at my daughter's Persian school. We were there to pick up our children and our conversation turned to what we were going to make for dinner that night. I said something like "I don't have much time and I don't know what to make." That's when she introduced me to this simple and delicious Shirazi food and gave me the recipe. Luckily, I had all the necessary ingredients for making the dish at home. Ever since that day I added دوپیازه dopiazeh to my list of monthly menus. "Piaz" is a Persian word for onion and "do" means two. The name of this dish means two onions which refers to the fact that this recipe calls for two large onions added at two different times during the cooking process.

Dopiazeh (Dopiaza) - دوپیازه

Ingredients:
Serves 4

1 pound ground beef, lamb or turkey
2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 medium-sized potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Red pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil
Water

Method:

1. In non-stick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil on medium heat, add the chopped onions, saute until golden brown. Take half of the the fried onions and set aside.
2. Add turmeric, stir, add the garlic and fry for two minutes.
3. Add the ground beef, cook until brown. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes, add salt, pepper and a pinch of red pepper. Add 1/2 cup of water. Stir.
4. Add the cubed potatoes and the remaining fried onions to the beef and potato mixture. Stir well, cover and cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve warm with rice or warm bread and salad shirazi.

Enjoy!