Sheki Piti
Lamb, chickpeas, saffron, chestnuts and sour fruit spend hours together in the clay pot before Sheki piti reaches the table twice: broth first, solids second.
About this dish
Piti is a slow-cooked Azerbaijani lamb-and-chickpea dish especially associated with Sheki. Traditional Sheki versions are cooked in individual earthenware pots and may include lamb tail fat, chestnuts, dried plums and saffron. Serving is commonly a two-stage ritual: broth is poured over torn bread first, then the solids are mashed and eaten separately.
Why this dish matters
Azerbaijan’s official tourism material calls piti Sheki’s signature dish and describes it as a food still taught through local masterclasses and family traditions. Azerbaijani cuisine references specify lamb, chickpeas, tail fat, onion, chestnuts, dried plums and saffron for Sheki piti. The clay vessel and long, low cooking are not merely presentation—they create the soft chickpeas, yielding lamb and concentrated broth that define the dish.
Traditional cooks may simmer piti for much longer than a home oven schedule and use individual dopu clay pots. This adaptation uses small oven-safe clay pots or one Dutch oven while preserving the two-stage serving method.
Preparation notes
They need a head start to become creamy during the slow cook.
Hard boiling clouds the broth and can toughen meat.
Broth over bread first and mashed solids second are part of the Sheki eating method.
Ingredients & detailed method
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
- 2 lb lamb shoulder, cut into 4 large portions
- 2 tbsp lamb fat or butter, optional
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup cooked peeled chestnuts
- 8 dried sour plums or prunes
- 1/4 tsp saffron threads bloomed in 1/4 cup hot water
- 6 cups water, approximately
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Lavash or crusty bread and sumac, for serving
Method
- 1.Heat oven to 325°F. Divide soaked chickpeas among four small oven-safe pots or place them in one heavy Dutch oven.
- 2.Nestle lamb over the chickpeas and add onion, chestnuts, dried plums and lamb fat if using.
- 3.Pour in saffron water and enough plain water to cover the solids comfortably. Season with salt.
- 4.Cover tightly and bake 2 1/2 hours, checking once and adding hot water if the chickpeas rise above the liquid.
- 5.Continue 20–40 minutes until lamb yields to a spoon and chickpeas are creamy inside.
- 6.Checkpoint: broth should be clear to lightly cloudy and intensely lamb-scented, with intact but fully tender chickpeas and soft fruit.
- 7.For the first course, ladle broth over torn bread and dust with sumac.
- 8.For the second course, spoon out the lamb, chickpeas, chestnuts and plums, mash lightly together and serve with more sumac and onion if desired.
Worth finding before you cook
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