The main ingredients are a mixture of sauteed herbs, consisting mainly of parsley, leeks or green onions, and coriander, seasoned with the key spice of dried fenugreek leaves. The herb mixture has many variations. Any dark bitter greens can be used, such as kale, mustard greens, or turnip greens, although none are part of the original recipe.[5]

This mixture is cooked with kidney beans or yellow split peas, yellow or red onions, black lime (pierced dried limu-Amani Persian lime), and turmeric-seasoned lamb or beef. The dish is then served with chelow (Persian parboiled and steamed rice) or over tahdig.[6] Vegetarian ghormeh sabzi may substitute whole walnut pieces or mushrooms for the meat.[7]

The Financial Times noted that it’s important to find “ghormeh sabzi” at restaurants the way Iranian mothers (especially your own if applicable) would make it, emphasizing that the dish reaches perfection via fine-tuning in the home setting