Piti | Azerbaijani Lamb and Chickpea Clay-Pot Stew

Cut the meat into 4–5 cm pieces and divide it evenly among four individual clay pots. Add a handful of drained chickpeas, a quartered onion, 20 g tail fat, and three dried sour plums to each pot. Score and peel the chestnuts, then add them.

Add enough cold water to each pot to cover the ingredients by about two finger-widths, along with the salt and black pepper. Use cold, not hot, water; slow heating draws gelatin from the meat gradually and helps keep the broth clear.

Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F. Cover the pots with lids or foil, arrange them on a baking sheet, and cook for several hours, until the meat pulls away from the bone and the chickpeas can be crushed between your fingers. Check occasionally and top up any evaporated liquid with boiling water.

During the final 25 minutes, add halved potatoes and a spoonful of bloomed saffron water to each pot. Adding the potatoes at the beginning would make them fall apart and cloud the broth. After removing the pots from the oven, let them rest, covered, for 10 minutes.

Cut the bread into cubes and place them in deep bowls. Strain only the broth from the clay pots over the bread. Transfer the solids to another flat dish and mash the tail fat and meat with a wooden mortar or fork. Serve both dishes at once: drink the broth first, then eat the mashed solids with sumac, dried mint, and finely chopped raw onion.