Persian Food

Persian-style Spaghetti with Potato

Many of my friends are aware of my obsession with Persian food.  Allow me to explain my love for it and where it comes from.

There are many types of cuisine out there and even more restaurants serving absolutely amazing versions of those cuisines.  If you want a good Italian restaurant, there are dozens to choose from no matter where you live and most serve pretty good Italian food.  If you want French cuisine, there are a wide range of places and in most major cities, you can get Michelin quality food if you want to pay the price.  However, great Iranian food is made in one place only.  Homes.  And more specifically, Persian homes.  And even more specifically, Persian food in Persian homes cooked by Persian women.  I'm sure there are some men that make great Iranian food out there but I just haven't met any yet :)  There are very few true Persian restaurants around and even the best ones in Persian-heavy areas come nothing close to what you would ever find at a Persian dinner party.

What makes the food so good?  Well, the best word I can use to describe the flavors is.... Savory.  Their food is primarily comprised of three things.  Kabobs (cooked meats), Rice(cooked many incredible ways), and Stews (called khoresht, with a gutteral 'kh' sound).  I'm sure there are other forms of great Persian food but these three seem to be present at every feast I've attended and dominate the menu's at their restaurants.
Kabobs are extremely common throughout middle-eastern cooking.  This is the one part of Persian cooking that restaurants crank out in high volume and it tastes about as good as you are going to get in a Persian home.  This isn't a piece on kabobs as they are pretty much maintstream in our country at this point and served by a variety of cultural restaurants (Greek, Turkish and Afghani to name a couple).

Where things really get crazy-awesome is the rice.  I never knew how complex and difficult it is to make Persian rice.  Let alone the deliciousness if it is done right.  For starters, Persian rice is of the highest quality.  The love super long grains and they can appreciate rice that costs a lot.  They liberally use saffron in their cooking and especially with their rice.  Given the price of saffron, it's unlikely that most restaurants are using real saffron and not something else to give rice a yellow color.

Where Persian rice is unique from say Indian rice or Asian sticky rice is in what they call Tadig.  Tadig is a crunchy layer at the bottom of the pot or rice cooker.  Whereas with asian rice, it would be rude to serve rice with crunchy parts, in Iranian culture, they will have dinner table fights for the scraps of Tadig on the plate.  This is because it is extremely rich and has a fantastic texture.  The richness is normally because secret ingredients are used such as oil, butter, and even yogurt to create a fantastic outer layer.  Some Tadig's will even use potato or pita bread at the bottom to provide a really nice crispy crunch with some extra body.  If your host really loves you, they may add barberries to the rice to add a little sweet/sour taste and a nice texture.  I've only ever even heard of barberries in Persian cooking but they are similar to a dried cranberry.

My Tadig is getting better and better.  Check it out:

With Potato on the bottom

Persian stews (khoresht) are made in many very different ways and almost complemented by rice.   If you speak to a Persian mother, she will tell you that making khoresht is an extremely difficult way of cooking.  It requires a lot of time slaving away in a hot kitchen.  Or so they'd like you to believe  :)  But I will say that with every khoresht I've had, you could taste the love that went into that food.  And the cook will watch you as you eat it looking for validation if it is truly as incredible as she believes it to be (Persians are not short on confidence).

The most common khoresht's:

Ghormeh Sabzi

Ghormeh Sabzi - This is a Persian herb stew.  Some would say this is the Iranian national dish and I've seen it at every Persian restaurant I've been to, many times as a special on certain days.  It is far from the most appetizing dish to look at but oh let me tell you.  It is extremely complex in flavor and incredible over rice.  The recipe can be done many different ways and if you ask the cook what their way is, you can be guaranteed a halfway response or even a complete lie :)  But the primary ingredients are various stewed greens, kidney beans, persian limes and a protein, usually beef or lamb.

Gheimeh - This is possibly my favorite stew of any kind and pretty easy to find in restaurants.  It is essentially a tomato-spiced stew with split peas and a protein, usually lamb.  When done to impress, it includes some fried crispy strips of potato on top.  Again, super savory and delicious with Tadig.

Gheimeh with Tadig on the side.

Fesenjun - This is a pomegranate stew made with ground walnuts.  Pretty exotic and again, not a pretty sight to look at.  But it is really tasty and a favorite of some. 

Fesenjun in the blue bowl with a nice Tadig

Why have most of you never heard of Persian cooking or never had it?  Because Persian cooking is very closely tied to Persian women and passed down through them.  In their culture, hospitality and impressing one's guests is very important.  As a result, their recipes are very closely guarded.  While as a guest in a typical American house, you may think to yourself, "oh, this tastes really good.  I'm going to ask the host how she made it" and the host would probably not only tell you but probably write up the recipe for you and check in with you the next day to see if you needed some help in making it!  A Persian host might smile and change the subject or even tell you the wrong recipe to throw you off the scent of her secret ingredients.  I've even asked Persian women how to make the most basic things like rice and they'll give me the most vague answers or even just laugh right in my face and say "please.....no." True story.

While this might seem a little rude, I actually love that food is considered almost sacred in this culture.  When you really think about it, besides sex, does anything really make us consistently happier than good food?

Oh, and one cannot forget the tea.  Persian tea is darkish with an amber tint.  This is a culture where ceremonious tea servings can determine if a woman is a suitable bride for a man when he comes calling.  Ok, I'm not sure if this tradition still exists, but I do have friends that have actually performed the ritual.  There is an importance tied to the color of the tea and to perfectly nail down a person's strength preference, all tea in Persian culture is served in clear glass tea cups.  The strong tea is poured and then it is followed by the appropriate amount of hot water to dilute it to the right strength and color.  I'm still learning the art form myself but I'm a huge fan of the strong flavors of tea and cardamom.  If you go to a Persian restaurant, they will even serve special sugar cubes that dissolve slowly in your mouth that you can keep in your mouth while you drink!

I'm a big student of culture and as Bourdain says, there is no better way to learn about a culture and their history than through their food.  Persian food, the culture and the Persian people are extremely interesting as well as unique. Check it out, if you are lucky enough to have Persian friends!  Happy eating!