S.
o you like falafel and doner kebab wraps – I get it, I like them too. But did you know that Middle Eastern cuisine has so much more to offer and, being a Persian myself, I want to share some of my family recipes with you and introduce you to my traditional cuisine.
Persian cuisine mainly consists of various stews and grilled kebabs. Now these pot cooked dishes come in so many flavors and the kebabs are a far cry from the fast food we gobble up after a night out drunk. As a carbohydrate lover, these dishes are almost always served with an impressive selection of saffron rice or with a derivative of the humble potato.
The simple thing about Persian cuisine is that the dishes usually include chicken or lamb (although they can easily be made vegetarian). This means that once you know how to cook your meat you have your basics, so to speak, and then all you have to do is learn how to incorporate the rest of the stew ingredients.
A common misconception is that Persian food contains ingredients like halloumi; Another reason is that the food is spicy. While the cuisine shares some similarities with other Middle Eastern and even South Asian dishes, Iranian food focuses more on fragrant herbs and spices rather than something hot like chili.
Full of flavors and warming soul, it’s great cuisine to get on your radar. If you want to experiment in the kitchen or add a different recipe to your personal cookbook, scroll through my five favorite dishes below.
Ghormeh Sabzi
You can find this on the menu in your favorite Iranian restaurant
(Amira Arasteh)
Ghormeh Sabzi is a very popular dish and stew in Iran that traditionally consists of braised lamb and mixed herbs. It is a very well prepared dish – although you can of course find it on the menu of your favorite Iranian restaurant. If you ask an Iranian person what their favorite Persian dish is, they will likely answer with ghormeh sabzi. This dish is full of flavor and full of daily shades of green. It’s incredibly delicious. Served with white basmati rice, either cooked or cooked in a Persian rice cooker, forming tahdig. But that’s a completely different dish for another time.
Total cooking time: 1.5-2 hours
4 Limoo Amani (dried Persian limes)
½ tbsp advieh (Persian spice mix of turmeric, cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, pepper cloves, dried rose petals)
Mixture of dried Ghormeh Sabzi herbs (available online or in Iranian supermarkets) OR a mixture of 4 bunches of parsley, 1 bunch of coriander, 4 spring onions (only green parts), 1 tbsp dried fenugreek
3-4 tbsp sunflower / olive oil
Fry the onions in a little oil until translucent. Add the meat and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle some turmeric, advieh, salt and pepper on the meat. Add your tomato puree and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
Add water and bring to a boil. Add saffron and simmer for an hour. Halfway prick the dried limes with a fork and add to the meat. Put your kidney beans in the pot. Add your Sabzi mixture (all of the greens) and simmer for another half an hour.
Check the water in your stew (you want a balanced thickness). When done (your preferred thickness) take it off the heat and serve with white rice.
Khoresh Gheymeh
A pea stew with lamb as a focus – but with a lot less green
(Amira Arasteh)
Gheymeh is probably one of my favorite khoreshs. As a stew made from split peas, lamb also takes center stage – but there are far fewer greens involved. I love the mix of rich flavors and the sweetness of the tomato, the saffron base of the stew that is wonderfully balanced with the spiciness of the dried limes. The potatoes above are absolutely impossible to miss, as they provide a nice contrast to the stew with every crisp. The crispier the better, in my opinion, and there’s absolutely no shame in taking something out of the oven as it can guarantee crispy fries as you fry themselves and, in this case, crispy “from scratch” overwrites.
Total cooking time: 1.5-2 hours
Half a leg of lamb, diced
3-4 tbsp sunflower / olive oil
Fry the onions in a little oil until translucent. Add the meat and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle some turmeric, advieh, salt and pepper on the meat. Add your tomato puree and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil. Add saffron and simmer for an hour.
Halfway prick the dried limes with a fork and add to the meat. Then put your peas in the pot. While everything is cooking, chop your potatoes and fry them in a separate pan until crispy.
Check the water in your stew. When you’re done, transfer that to a platter and add the crispy potatoes. Serve with white rice.
Abgoosht
‘Dizi’ is usually served with a masher so that you can combine all the ingredients yourself
(Amira Arasteh)
Another Iranian stew, abgoosht, is also known as “dizi” and refers to the stoneware pots you would eat this dish out of when dining in a restaurant. Made from lamb, chickpeas, potatoes, and tomatoes, it is a hearty stew popular with many Iranians. It is also a homemade meal, but I have fond memories of going to a certain restaurant in Tehran where your food is served in one of these pots together with a masher – so you can combine all the ingredients yourself at the table. A novelty idea but so fun.
Total cooking time: 1.5-2 hours
½ teaspoon saffron, ground and mixed with 1 cup of water
After previously soaking them overnight, cook your chickpeas over low heat for about 30 minutes.
Fry the onions in a little oil until translucent. Add the meat and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle some turmeric, advieh, salt and pepper on the meat. Add your tomato puree and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil. Add saffron and simmer for an hour.
Halfway prick the dried limes with a fork and add to the meat. Add previously cooked chickpeas to the pot and more water when you feel it is needed. Add tomatoes, potatoes, and green beans.
Put the lid on the saucepan and let it cook over medium heat for about an hour. Add more water if needed while you review the stew.
Serve in a large bowl and pour excess juice into soup bowls. Flatbread, or pita, known as “tilt,” is usually shredded and added to the soup to enjoy before the stew. Enjoy!
Fesenjan
You will either love or hate this Iranian stew
(Amira Arasteh)
Fesenjān is one of the Iranian stews that may have a more “marmitic” reaction to it. The sauce made from chicken or lamb is dark brown and consists exclusively of ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses. A deliciously sour dish that has so much flavor. Due to the availability of the poultry in the Iranian province of Gilan, from which the dish comes, it is traditionally cooked with ducks. Since then, chicken, lamb, or even eggplant (to make the dish vegetarian) have been used. Personally, I prefer it with chicken and that’s why I used it in my recipe, but it’s actually all about the deliciously sweet and sour flavors of the dish, not the type of meat or substitute used.
Preparation time: 10 minutes (longer if the meat needs to be thawed)
Total cooking time: 2.5-3 hours
200 ml pomegranate molasses
4-5 chicken legs / thighs
1 pomegranate, pitted (for garnish)
Salt and pepper to taste
Peel the walnuts and flash in the food processor until a paste forms, then add the water. Fry the chicken in a saucepan with the sliced onions and turmeric in oil. Put the walnut paste in the bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the pomegranate molasses. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Reduce the heat to medium, cover the saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, cover for about 1 hour or until the sauce has thickened (stir regularly to make sure the sauce does not stick to the saucepan).
Your fesenjān is now ready and can be garnished with the pomegranate seeds.
Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh
This is the best way to showcase Persian rice
(Amira Arasteh)
Persians are quite proud of their rice and there is no better way to demonstrate it than with zereshk polo. An impressive looking dish to serve as the main ingredient is the beautiful dried barberries (zereshk). Known as the memooni (party) dish, it is often viewed as the main event in the spread of food served at large gatherings. The barberries look so regal, interwoven with the golden rice with saffron. Another dish that serves sweet and sour flavors. You will soon be dependent on the tartness of these berries. Although it can be enjoyed on its own, zereshk polo is always served with chicken – this can be cooked as for one of your khoreshs, or simply roasted or grilled – whatever you like.
Preparation time: 10 minutes (longer if the meat needs to be thawed)
Total cooking time: 1.5 hours
4-5 chicken legs / breast
½ cup of zereshk (dried barberries)
A pinch of ground saffron
Salt and pepper to taste
Fry the chicken in a saucepan with the sliced onions and turmeric in oil. Add water and bring to a boil, then simmer the chicken for about an hour. You can add a small piece of saffron (less than a pinch) to the pot while cooking.
While the chicken is cooking, wash your rice and pour it into a Persian rice cooker along with four tablespoons of oil, four cups of water, and salt to taste. Adjust your Tahdig setting on the rice cooker and let it stand until the dial is back to where it started (about 40 minutes).
Dice the onion and place in a pan over low heat. Put your zereshk in the same pan and saute it over low heat for a few minutes.
Layer your zereshk / fried onion mixture in your cooked rice. Grind a few strands of saffron and mix them with water to drizzle and add color to your rice. Serve your zereshk polo with the chicken by the side.
