Kaleh Pacheh Recipe
Kaleh Pacheh is a Persian dish that divides people’s opinions – You either love it or hate it. It simply translates to head and feet, because sheep head and feet are the main ingredients.
You might be appalled by the thought of eating these parts of the animal, but the way I look at it is, that we are making the most of the animal and don’t just butcher it for the best cuts and let the rest go to waste.
Kaleh Pacheh is traditionally eaten for breakfast because it is quite heavy and shouldn’t ever be consumed in the evening if you value a good night’s sleep. If eaten for breakfast or lunch it energises you for the whole day.
The most enjoyable way to eat Kalah Pacheh is with family or a group of friends. Not only is eating together always more enjoyable, but it also makes the time-consuming preparation of this dish worthwhile. Alternatively, you could freeze it in smaller portions, if you plan on eating it over the next couple of weeks.
Cook the most popular Persian dishes at home with the help of my e-book.
Time
Prep: 30 to 45 min
Cook: 4 h
Total: 4 h 30 to 45 min
Ingredients (serving 6)
2 sheep heads
10 sheep tongues
10 sheep feet
4 carrots
2 large onions
1 large garlic bulb
3 cinnamon sticks
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt + extra to taste
Cinnamon powder to serve
Bread to serve
Method
Parboil the Kaleh Pacheh and drain the water
I use a large iron pot, but any large pot will work. If you don’t have a large enough pot and would still like to prepare 6 servings, you can divide the ingredients and prepare them in two pots.
Transfer the heads, feet and tongues to the pot. Cover them with water and bring them to a boil.
Once boiling, let it simmer for 5 minutes, then drain all the water.
If you see any foam in the pot or on the ingredients, you can rinse them off.
This step is essential for preparing a clean, more appetising and delicious Kaleh Pacheh, as it ensures that any excess fat and blood in the form of foam are flushed away.
Place the heads in the bottom of the pot, so that the more delicate feet don’t get squashed.
Prep the veg
Peel the carrots and onions. When peeling the onions, don’t cut off the base, so that they don’t fall apart during the cooking process.
Divide the garlic bulb into individual cloves and peel each of them. Just squish them using your hand or the flat side of a knife, so the skin comes off easily and the garlic flavour will be released into the broth more easily.
Transfer the whole onions and carrots, as well as the garlic cloves to the pot with the other ingredients.
Cook the Kaleh Pacheh
Add the cinnamon sticks to the pot and fill it with water until the ingredients are half covered. Season with turmeric, black pepper and salt.
Bring the water to a boil. If more foam or fat builds on the surface, skim it off with a spoon.
Put on the lid and reduce the temperature to low. Let the Kaleh Pacheh simmer for 2 hours.
Then remove the onions and carrots. Don’t worry about the garlic. It will have been cooked very soft by now and will melt into the broth.
Turn the sheep heads to make sure they cook evenly.
Put the lid back on and let the Kaleh Pacheh simmer for another 2 hours. After 1 hour you can taste the broth to see if it needs more salt.
Serve the Kaleh Pacheh
Remove feet, tongues and heads from the pot. Remove the meat, tongue, brain and eyes from the skulls. The eyes are known to be the best part, so keep them for yourself. This is your reward for all your efforts! 😉
The tongues need to be skinned off. If you hold them under cool water, the skin should come off easily. Serve all the meat on a serving plate.
The broth is usually served separately. Serve the Kaleh Pacheh and its broth with flatbread, like noon sangak, sir torshi (pickled garlic), other torshi (pickles), cinnamon powder and lemon juice. You can soak pieces of bread in the broth, as you can see below.
Enjoy!
I’d love to see your Kaleh Pacheh! Feel free to tag me with @igotitfrommymaman on Facebook or Insta so I can take a look and give you a thumbs up!
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