Bowl of Uzbek Beef with Long Beans
(click to enlarge)

Beef / Lamb & Long Beans


Central Asia - Uzbekistan   -   Guisht lovia
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 5 main
***
2 hrs
Yes		 A simple but flavorfully beefy stew with long beans - easy to make and suitable for buffet service. The Notes below include how I've made changes to the pattern recipe, and why.




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Beef / Lamb (1)  
Onions
Long Beans (2)
Garlic
-- Herbs
Basil
Cilantro
Parsley, flat
-- Spices (3)
Coriander Seed
Cumin Seed
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Ghee (4)
Tomato Sauce (5)
Beef Broth
Salt
Pepper, black
-- Garnish
Parsley
Prep   -   (37 min - exclusive of making Broth)
  1. Cut MEAT into about 1/2 inch cubes.
  2. Quarter ONIONS lengthwise and slice crosswise about 1/8 inch thick
  3. Cut LONG BEANS about 1-1/2 inches long.
  4. Crush GARLIC with the side of your prep knife.
  5. Chop HERBS small and mix. Chop extra Parsley for Garnish.
  6. Crush SPICES fairly fine.
Run   -   (1-1/4 hr)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan (3-1/2 quart) or similar coverable vessel, heat Ghee. Fry Onions, stirring until translucent.
  2. Stir in Meat and fry stirring often until liquid has boiled off and meat is lightly browned all over. If the fond adhering to the pan gets too dark, go to the next step immediately - chocolate is OK, black is not.
  3. Stir in Long Beans, Garlic, Herb mix and Tomato Sauce until well blended. Stir in Beef Broth and season with Salt and Pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until meat is tender, about 40 minutes.
  4. Correct Liquid if needed. The photo example has about the minimum amount of liquid.
  5. Serve hot, garnished with chopped Parsley.
NOTES:

  1. Beef / Lamb:

      Weight is for boneless meat trimmed of all excess fat. A day ahead, I buy meat with bones. I trim off the meat and use the bones, membranes and fat to make the broth. This I strain, discarding the solids, and use my gravy separator to remove all the fat. For details see our recipe Soup Stock / Broth - General Method .

  2. Long Beans:

      The pattern recipe calls for regular "String Beans", but for several reasons I strongly prefer Long Beans, now easily available here in Southern California. (1) Long beans are native to Asia, while String Beans are from the Americas. (2) Long Beans have a sweet dark flavor particularly complementary to Beef or Lamb. (3) They stand up much better to cooking and are more attractive on the plate. If I were using String Beans, I would par boil them in salted water until just tender, then add them to the stew near the end of cooking. The Long Beans held up well for the full cooking time, but would be even nicer added about half way through the simmering stage. For details, see our Long Beans page.

  3. Spices:

      This is my addition, but I'm calling it authentic until someone can prove to me that nobody in Uzbekistan has ever made this with the regions most popular spice combo.

  4. Ghee:

      The pattern recipe calls for 3 Tablespoons Butter, but in Central Asia most butter is made into Ghee. Ghee doesn't need refrigeration, important for nomadic people, and it can go to a much higher temperature than butter We're frying meat here, so that is a good thing. Ghee is available in markets serving an Indian community, but accept only Butter Ghee - Vegetable Ghee is often trans fats. Ghee is very easy to make per our recipe Ghee & Clarified Butter. The best substitute for Ghee is Avocado Oil, which has a lightly buttery flavor. For details see our Ghee page.

  5. Tomato Sauce:

      The pattern recipe calls for 3 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste. I prefer to add a convenient 8oz can of a very simple tomato sauce, which helps make up for deficient tomatoes. My favorite is Faraon Spanish Style, but other simple sauces will also work.

  6. Comments:

      The pattern recipe was titled Lamb and String Beans (Guisht lovia), but the ingredients list clearly calls for Beef. The recipe on the previous page, Lamb with Chickpeas (Guisht lovia), clearly calls for Lamb cut to the same size. Both recipes call for Beef Broth. The Internet knows the word Guisht only from a site that basically copied these two recipes from The Art of Uzbek Cooking, except adding a lot more tomato paste. I am presuming Guisht means a type of stew which may be either Lamb or Beef.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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