A slow-baked crock stew of lamb, chickpeas, and chestnuts scented with saffron and dried plum.

Where does Piti come from?

Piti is a Azerbaijani dish from Baku, Azerbaijan.

Can Piti be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Piti recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Piti take to make?

About 175 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 150 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Piti — a Baku, Azerbaijan recipe

Name: Piti
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 175 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Azerbaijani
Ingredients: 1.5 lb lamb, bone-in with tail fat; 1 cup chickpeas, soaked; 1 cup peeled chestnuts; 4 dried plums (or sour cherries); a pinch saffron; 1 onion; to taste salt

Asia → 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan → Baku

Piti

Azerbaijani · medium · serves 4

prep 25 min · cook 150 min

~634 cal · 52g protein · 34g carbs · 32g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Clay crock of lamb and chickpea stew with saffron

🇦🇿 Baku

Piti is a treasured Azerbaijani dish from the Sheki tradition, slow-cooked overnight in individual clay crocks (dopu). Lamb, chickpeas, and chestnuts stew in a saffron-tinted broth with dried plums, and it is eaten in two courses: first the broth poured over crumbled bread, then the tender meat and beans.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 4 —

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1.5 lb lamb, bone-in with tail fat

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1 cup chickpeas, soaked

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1 cup peeled chestnuts

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4 dried plums (or sour cherries)

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a pinch saffron

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1 onion

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to taste salt

Instructions

1

Layer the lamb (or chickpeas and mushrooms), chickpeas, chestnuts (or potato), onion, and dried plums in crocks or a heavy pot.

2

Cover with water, add the bloomed saffron, and seal.

3

Bake very low (300°F) for 2–2.5 hours until everything is meltingly tender.

4

Ladle the golden broth over crumbled flatbread as a first course.

5

Serve the meat, chickpeas, and chestnuts as the second course with sumac onions.

Baku / Sheki tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Baku. Caspian capital of saffron rice and thumbnail dumplings.

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Azerbaijan. A Caspian land of saffron rice and tiny dumplings.

🌍

Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →