Şileya kolake — Pumpkin Stew

Name: Şileya kolake — Pumpkin Stew
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 125 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 500 g boneless lamb shoulder; 2 piece onions; 3 clove garlic; 3 tbsp neutral vegetable oil; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 700 ml hot water; 1 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp ground black pepper; 1 kg pumpkin (Hokkaido or butternut squash); 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (Turkish Nar ekşisi)

A Kurdish classic from Sulaimaniyya and Hawraman in northeastern Iraq: Şileya kolake is the autumn stew of Sorani cooking, in which pumpkin braises with cubes of lamb, onions and tomato paste until it half falls apart and the sauce is thick and golden red. Kolake is Sorani for pumpkin, and şile is the stew with plenty of sauce that is ladled over rice. Turmeric adds colour, and a spoonful of pomegranate molasses a delicate sweet-and-sour note that suits the mild pumpkin.

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Cook time

125 min

🍽️

Servings

🧂

Ingredients

View Original ↗

Nutrition

per serving

521 kcal

Calories

25 g

Protein

35 g

Fat

27 g

Carbs

Ingredients

For 4 servings

Estimated cost~€0.90 · ~€0.25/serving

Instructions

1
Pat the lamb dry, trim off any thick fat and cut into cubes of about 2.5 cm. Peel and finely dice the onions; peel and finely chop the garlic.
2
Heat the oil in a heavy pot and brown the lamb well on all sides, in two batches if space is tight.
3
Add the onions and fry, stirring, until soft and golden.
4
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and turmeric and toast, stirring, until the paste darkens and smells fragrant.
5
Add the hot water, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Braise covered over a low heat until the lamb is almost tender.
6
Meanwhile, wash the pumpkin, halve it and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Cut Hokkaido with the skin on, or butternut squash peeled, into cubes of about 3 cm.
7
Add the pumpkin cubes to the pot, stir them in and continue braising, covered, until they are soft and the lamb is tender and cooked through.
8
Stir in the pomegranate molasses and let the stew reduce uncovered until thick, stirring occasionally; some of the pumpkin will break down and thicken the sauce.
9
Season with salt, pepper and a little more pomegranate molasses to taste and serve hot.
10
Tip: White rice belongs with it, for example Birinc bi şehriye — White Rice with Toasted Vermicelli. Instead of lamb you can use beef shoulder, which braises for about 20 minutes longer, and instead of pomegranate molasses a squeeze of lemon. The stew is easy to make ahead and can be frozen for up to three months; leftover rice, on the other hand, should be cooled quickly, put in the fridge within two hours at the latest and used up within a day.