Piti: Azerbaijani Lamb and Chickpea Stew

Piti comes from Azerbaijan, where it is traditionally cooked and served in individual clay pots. Lamb, chickpeas and dried fruit in a saffron broth — a dish built for cold weather.

It is usually eaten in two stages: the broth first, poured over torn bread, then the meat and chickpeas mashed together as a second course. Serve it whichever way you like, but it is worth trying once as intended.

Good with cacık and rice, though bulgur pilaf suits it better.

Serves 2
Soaking time: overnight

Ingredients

5 oz lamb shoulder or shank, cubed
3/4 cup dried chickpeas
1 small potato
1/2 onion
1/3 oz dried prunes or plums (about 4–5)
1 beef bouillon cube
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
Salt
Black pepper

Method

Soak the chickpeas in cold water overnight. They need the full soak — undersoaked chickpeas will still be hard when the lamb is falling apart.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and put them in a pot with the cubed lamb.

Add 6 to 8 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Skim off the foam that rises in the first few minutes; this is what keeps the broth clear.

Add the bouillon cube, cover, and cook on low heat for about 1 1/2 hours.

Finely dice the onion and add it to the pot.

Dice the potato and add it along with the washed prunes and salt. Cook for another 30 minutes, until the chickpeas are creamy and the lamb pulls apart easily.

Steep the saffron threads in 2 tablespoons of hot water for 10 minutes, then stir the liquid into the stew.

Saffron is measured in pinches, not spoonfuls. A quarter teaspoon of threads is plenty for this pot — more than that turns the dish medicinal and bitter, and it is the most expensive spice in the world to waste.

Add black pepper at the end and taste for salt.

Serve in bowls, with flatbread alongside.

Chef’s note

If you have small clay pots, divide everything between them at the start and cook in a 325°F oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. That is how it is done in Azerbaijan, and the slow enclosed cooking makes a noticeable difference.