Hi everyone! Before delving into our recipe post, I have to share the news that I cooked fesenjan for The New York Times as featured in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine cover story of “Diverse Holiday Feasts From Five New York Families.” It was a fun and exciting adventure and I’m going to write all about it in a future post. Meanwhile, to new readers finding your way from that article: Welcome! 

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Meigoo polo (shrimp rice) — a unique Persian rice dish made with shrimp, raisins, walnuts and caramelized onions — is a delicious example showcasing the fond emphasize on seafood in the culinary traditions of the southern provinces of Iran.

My parents first had meigoo polo at the home of my aunt – a vivacious Kermanshahi beauty who married a doting Shirazi gentleman, moved to Shiraz, and seamlessly adopted the accent and all the ways & wiles of that fabled region to praised perfection. My mom got the recipe from my aunt and this unusual and unusually tasty mixed rice thereafter became a standard albeit special treat at our family dinner table.

While meigoo polo looks suitably impressive and is a knockout when it comes to taste and culinary pleasure, it is actually a relatively easy dish to prepare if (and I know that’s a big “if”) you’ve already mastered making the Persian steamed white rice because all you’ll need to do is to either top or layer the rice (when serving) with the mixture of sauteed shrimp, walnuts, raisins and caramelized onions and give it a good dousing of butter. Amen, hallejlujah! Yum!  (If you need an intro for making Persian steamed rice, check out the detailed posts in the Persian Rice 101: How to Make the Perfect Persian Rice pictorial guide series.)

Now let’s not spend senseless time chit chatting when we could be making and digging into this tasty dish instead!

Hi everyone! My lovely friend Ahu (of Ahu Eats) and I want to break bread with you! You heard right! We want to meet you, gab, and go grab a hot bowl of ash ‘e reshteh or abghusht from the famed Taste of Persia kiosk at the Union Square Holiday Market, then gab some more, mix and mingle, and spread some Christmas and muli-denominational holiday cheer!

WHEN: 11 a.m – 1 p.m, Sunday December 21st (which happens to be the eve of the longest night in winter, which in Iran we call ‘Shab ‘e Yalda‘ & celebrate. Stay tuned!)

WHERE: Let’s meet in front of Abraham Lincoln’s statue in the park and bask in Honest Abe’s beautiful presence until everyone arrives. (Aside: Lincoln is my #1 most favorite U.S. President — albeit with some stiff competition by Thomas Jefferson & F.D.R. I have such a soft spot for Abraham Lincoln, I can’t even begin to tell you. Well, actually, I do want to tell you about it, and in the context of food, but some other time.)

WISH: I wish that all of you lived nearby or that there was a way to ‘beam you up Scotty‘ to Union Square Park in New York. (Technology: get with it!)  Those of you who are local, I hope you can make it. Come, bring your friends, and let’s party!  [Please RSVP in the Facebook invite here.]

Boos boos,

Your faithful blogger

Dr. Golbarg Bashi & Kids & pomegranates | Photo Source: New York Times Magazine

In this post about the Persian winter fete of Yalda, I thought it’d be fun to share some behind-the-scenes photos of the very recent time when I cooked up a batch of khoresh ‘eh fesenjan (using my mom’s awesome recipe) for a Shab-e-Yalda Persian celebration recipe that was featured in the article Diverse Holiday Feasts from Five New York Families in the New York Times.) Sometimes a blog is just a journal. A keepsake. And this event is certainly one that I want to keep for the sake of not just an amazing milestone for Fig & Quince, but the pleasure and fun of having shared it with an awesome family I am privileged to know and call friends. So I hope you’ll indulge me sharing some photos and tidbits and I hope you’ll enjoy it.

What is Yalda?

The long (there’s a pun here but you won’t know it till later, ha!) and the short of it is that the ancient Persians loved (and modern Iranians continue to love) to take any opportunity to make a ‘sofreh’ — an elaborate spread laden with edible yummies and symbolic objects that I like to dub by a highfalutin moniker of “tableau vivants” and also a less pompous nickname of “still lifes” —  and to make a big festive whoop out of greeting seasons with joyous celebrations.

There is Norooz: hello sweet young thing Spring! Mehregan: hello moody enigmatic Fall! And Yalda: why howdy dominatrix Winter! (Come on, don’t act shocked. You know that Winter whoops your you know what. And some of you like it.) What about summer, you ask? Well, Summer, bouncy lass as she might be, seems to have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to ancient Persian celebrations. Which is fine. Summer is widely worshiped across the world (and it does a popular kid good to see what it feels like being excluded) while winter always gets the short shift and the cold shoulder.

But not in Iran! On the eve of the longest night of the year (winter solstice or shab ‘e Yalda in Farsi), Iranian families gather together and stay up long after dinner — munching on ajeel & seeded pomegranates sprinkled with golpar (ground angelica) and whiling the time away by catching up with each other, telling stories, and consulting the poetry of the Persian lyric poet Hafez for glimpses into the future – a type of bibliomancy that is called fal-e-Hafez. Knowing Iranians, if it’s possible to have music; there will also be music, and if there’s even the slightest chance to get up and shake one’s groove thing, there will also be dancing. (Providing ample opportunities for beshkan zadan.)

Fal-e Hafez as recited & deciphered by Professor Dabashi. Now that’s good fortune!

This ancient Persian tradition of greeting winter not with gritted teeth but by spreading a festive spread of pomegranates, ajeel, candles, flowers, sacred texts and books of poetry and engaging in story telling, dancing and poetic divination is the celebration called Yalda and after Norooz, it is the most widely observed national, secular festival in Iran.

This year Yalda came a bit early for me! As I ended up celebrating it with the Doctor Golbarg Bashi and Professor Dabashi and cooking fesenjan for The New York Times!  Golbarg jan is an amazing woman and I admire her immensely. Among her many accomplishments, she’s an awesome mom, a professor, a cultural activist and role model, and she’s also the founder of Dr. Bashi Toys, multilingual educational toys. (That’d make great holiday gifts. Mmmkay?) And Hamid has an army of fans on Facebook, so I don’t need to tell you about him. “Never explain, never complain!” They both rock!

So this was all of us posing for the final scene near the tail end of the shoot. This was after the fesenjan was made and the pomegranate was seeded and both were shot and then we sat around the couch enjoying just your average ordinary traditional Persian Yalda after dinner time except that there were lights, camera, crew and ACTION!

Left to right: Professor Dabashi, and then there’s Golbarg jan, and then moi and the cute darling children: Chelgis and Golchin. There we were, sitting around, pretending not to care or know about the camera and crew, enjoying our mock Yalda! One of the reasons I look so goofy is that I was fake sipping my tea for the longest time. The only ones who were not hamming it up were Professor Dabashi who truly was engrossed in reading the poetry of Hafez, and Bashu, the adorable pishi cat, who was at the moment lounging entirely in earnest. He meant it! You do see the pishi cat, right? He is the sweetest feline and has the prettiest eyes! Here’s a better look:

This pishi cat’s full name is: Bashu Bashi Dabashi! Isn’t that the most awesome name? Perfect name for a character in a children’s book story. But don’t even think of using it because Bashu knows his rights of publicity!

Fesenjan by Azita, Polo & Zereshk polo by Professor Dabashi

This image ended up as one of the main photos used in the article. Full disclosure: I only made the fesenjan so that’s all I can take credit for in this spread of Persian bounty.

The beauty of this shot may be its simplicity but don’t go thinking that snapping this shot was a snap. Oh no! Hours were spent, people. Hours!

It took much time lighting, styling, and moving things a millimeter this way and that. All of us food bloggers totally relate!

Same amount of preparation went into taking a plate of quartered pomegranates and producing that gorgeous shot of the hands of Golbarg and children holding the pomegranate pieces that starts this post. (It’s my favorite shot!) The left panel shows the photographer (Hannah Whitaker who also shot that amazing What Kids Around the World Eat for Breakfast series) and her assistant working on the scene; and the panel to the right are Golbarg and Chelgis and Golchin posing expressively with their hands with the pomegranates.

The whole shoot, start to finish, took 6 hours. It started with action shots of us in the kitchen actually making the fesenjan (me) and zereshk polo (Professor Dabashi) and then styling and shooting the food and then taking the family scene with the yalda spread. It was kind of exhausting and exhillarating at the same time. I was somewhat nervous about cooking fesenjan for the New York Times. In Iran, there’s a joke when people are nervous about doing something that goes: “why are you making a fuss? have the reporters come?” (khabargozar omadeh?) And that day I kept joking to myself that yes, khabargozar (reporters) HAD come! And not just any reporters. I mean, it was THE New York Times! Thankfully, the crew could not have been any nicer or more gracious and I’m equally thankful to report that maman’s awesome recipe did its usual reliable magic and the color and texture and taste of the fesenjan was pretty awesome.

Fesenjan! Some like it sweet. Some like it on the tart side. Either way: Joon!

Everyone loved it. There were comments about its gorgeous lacquer and a couple of people said: “I could eat this every day!” (You can find the fesenjan aka fesenjoon recipe either as originally posted on Fig & Quince “Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Stew“, or as was published by the NYTimes.)

Retorting to my age old adage that if you did not tweet or Instagram it, it did not happen, to wit, Exhibit A! Sorry! Had to share! I know it’s more decorous to be humble but I can not help but gleam and gloat about this! Humor me?

That day started with me frantically prepping (with some emergency kitchen tool assistance provided by Susanne and Trish, both lovely neighbors) and it officially ended with me taking a selfie in the lobby of the building as a souvenir. Well, in reality it ended with me taking a LONG subway trip back into Brooklyn but you don’t want to hear about the C train, now do you? Thought not! Although I have tales to tell on that front!

And that was my pretend Yalda! And it was awesome. And memorable. May you spend the longest night of the year with those you love the best who love you the most back and may you have plenty of yummy things to eat and may Hafez divine a glowing future for you in the most poetic possible way. And may you spend some of that long night reading the other Persian food bloggers’ posts about Yalda. #PFBshabehyalda

Happy Yalda! Happy Hannukah! Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!

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Hi everyone! Happy New Year!!! Can I tell you something? I had grand plans for a couple of very special posts to say fare well to 2014 and properly greet 2015. But I confess that I zonked out good and well for nearly a week and indulged in some luxurious and sorely needed off-the-grid time off and oh so sweet slumber instead and now I’m off to a family reunion in La La Land (aka the city of angels = Los Angeles) with no time to cobble together a meaningful post. What is a blogger to do? Luckily, I have a glorious ace up my sleeves. A fluffy and decadent guest blog post about a layered cake that is the stuff of dreams. The cake has rosewater, cardamom, pistachio and saffron, which more than qualifies it for the Persianizing round of things and it also has white chocolate mousse and butter cream. Pinch me please! A great way to kick start a food blog’s new year, wouldn’t you say? The recipe and photographs are the handiwork of the impressive culinary talent that is Helen, aka @caramelflahn, whose foodgasmic interview was featured earlier you may recall and whose Instagram account I recommend you all to follow if you’re even a little bit interested in culinary matters of tummy and heart and art. And now without further ado, let’s go read Helen’s delightful ruminations and superb directions on creating a flawless cake.

♣

Saffron Layer Cake with Rosewater-Cardamom White Chocolate Mousse and Pistachio Swiss Meringue Buttercream

A Guest post by Helen of @caramelflahn

One of my absolute favorite flavor combinations is rosewater paired with cardamom and pistachio.  It’s impossible for me to pass up anything that has those ingredients together.  The delicate yet redolent floral rosewater with the mysterious, almost sultry cardamom is absolutely intoxicating. Throw in the sweet, buttery flavor of pistachios, and you’ve basically described a dream come true to me.

Something else I absolutely love is cake.  Baking it, filling it, frosting it, eating it, imagining different flavors and textures of it.  Everything.  So why not combine cake with rosewater, cardamom, and pistachio?  I actually dreamt up this cake in my head years ago and filed it away in my list of “Things That I Think Would Be Good To Make,” but I never got around to creating it until now.  Why?  I have no idea.  Because this is obnoxiously good.

It’s a cottony soft yellow butter cake that I decided to gild the lily with saffron.  Because, hey, why not, this is my dream cake, after all.  It’s based off of cake guru Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “All-Occasion Yellow Butter Cake”, found in her cookbook classic, The Cake Bible.  It has a wonderfully tender, moist crumb that’s delicate, yet holds up well to stacking, filling, and frosting.  The yolks make it rich and moist, which is often lacking in white cake, and the butter gives it a delicious flavor.  The saffron is steeped in the milk, which is heated ever so slightly to break down the threads.  The result is a subtle yet pervasive saffron flavor and lovely golden hue.

The cake layers are split and filled with alternating layers of a creamy rosewater-cardamom white chocolate mousse and a silky pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream, then it’s frosted on the outside with the pistachio buttercream.  Seriously?  Seriously? Yeah, seriously.  Cake is supposed to taste good, so let’s make this taste good!  I think white chocolate partners beautifully with rosewater, cardamom, pistachio, and saffron; it’s the element that ties everything together.  Since the white chocolate is so rich and rosewater is delicate, I decided to pair them together in a light-textured mousse. The buttercream is a classic Swiss meringue buttercream:  super silky with some texture punctuated throughout from the ground pistachios, and not too sweet.  I despise the cloyingly sweet and gritty American “buttercream” made with powdered sugar and almost never ever make it.  Real buttercream, on the other hand, is an absolute treat to prepare and eat.  If you’ve never made it before, it might look a little intimidating, but I guarantee you it’s a snap to make and absolutely worth it.

I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I did!

Helen assembling her dreamy saffron layer cake!

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Wow, so that was a baking tour de force! Wasn’t it? Thank you dear Helen for this gorgeous and ambitious cake and truly wonderful guest post! I continue to be rendered speechless and somewhat slobbering while considering this cake. And dear readers, there’s one other guest post by Helen which I’m reserving for yet another special occasion and can’t wait to share with you down the road. Meanwhile, what are you doing here? Go get your saffron and cardamom and other ingredients together and let’s go bake this dreamy fluffy mousse buttercream of a cake!

The bee who has been hauling his gold all day finds a hexagon in which to rest. And the past and the future? Nothing but an only child with two different masks.”

– Billy Collins, “In the Evening” (via Anne Lamot’s “Small Victories”)

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This was a post I meant to write 5 weeks ago – in time to reflect on 2014 and resolve on how to start 2015 on the right foot and here we are in February! Huh – so much for that!

There’s an American saying that it’s the thought that counts, but on the other hand, there’s is another saying that goes: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. A phrase that took me some mulling over to comprehend and not just because English is my second language but because I just could not wrap my mind around how good intentions could ever possibly lead to hell. But now that I’m older and wiser, I get it. It’s not just the intentions, it’s the action. Like when Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) tells Bruce Wayne (aka Batman): “It’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you.” The gall of that gal!

In defense of my egregious procrastination, for one thing I was off on a family reunion trip to Los Angeles — where in addition to having fun and exploring some of the edible delights of Tehrangeles I also managed to (for one reason and another) whip myself into a stressful-enough state of frenzy that I actually got sick. For another thing, I’ve had a slew of things on my plate, so time has been tight. But frankly, I was also in a bit of a funk! Down in the dumps. Slipped down that rabbit hole, but good. Was this without any rhyme or reason? Nope. There were rhymes and there were reasons. But … the cause is almost always besides the point. The question is: how not to succumb, how to succor.  And one answer is … wait for it … Gratitude!

I’ll spare the platitudes but I think we all know by experience that being grateful – the conscious act of sincere appreciation for what IS and as IS – is wonderful and it does wonders for the soul.  Sometimes it works like magic. The hard part is doing it as a natural reflex. And that’s where creating a Gratitude Jar comes in – something that I first heard about recently on Facebook. Some people also call it Blessing Jars and some people call it Happy Jars. Whatever you call it, it’s a fun non-fussy way to start the healthy habit of building up those gratefulness muscles.

Directions:

Pick a big empty jar. (The bigger the better! You’re going to have lots of good notes to fill it with!) Every night before going to bed (ideally starting the first night of the new year, alas that ship has passed, but as we say in Farsi “whenever you stop damage you have profit” so it’s OK whenever day or month of the year you start it) jot down the good things that happened that day. Fold the note and throw it in the jar. On New Year’s Eve, empty the jar and read the notes and remember all the awesome stuff that happened every day of your life that year. Repeat every year!

Some days lots of good things happen and you will be spoiled for choice – you lucky beast you – and you can jot down the blessings for posterity, and beam. But let’s face it, there will be some soul-sucking days of wretched horridness in your path as well and it’s precisely those dreadful days that give you the opportunity to exercise the emotional intelligence to see (squinting as hard as needed) something to be grateful about amidst even the suckiest of times – an intelligence that hopefully leads to grace.

My little happy jar! Hope to keep this up!

Go forth and fill your Happy Jar everyday. It is something you can do to help unearth the awesome person you are underneath. At least, that’s the intention and idea!

ps: Happy New Year + one month & two days!

Awesome Persian dude! | Pomegranate Juice Vendor

It is a truth universally established by now that Persian food is yummy! No doubt! But what about Persian drinks?

I can tell you this: as much as I drooled over the bounty of yummy food during my epic trip to Iran, it was the discovery (and re-discovery) of alluring Persian beverages that constantly knocked me over. In a good way!

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised since Iran is after all the birthplace of sharbat (enchanting syrup-based drinks) and the Persian word for beverage — nooshidani – has its roots in the word ‘noosh’ which means ‘pleasure’ in Farsi. Believe it or not, pleasure aplenty is afoot when it comes to Iranian beverages. Drinking alcohol in Iran is now prohibited of course but a decadently pleasing time can be had by imbibing on a bevy of non-alcoholic drinks that make up for their sobriety with an intoxicating punch of taste, color, and at times charming novelty. Some of them even kick in demonstrable health benefits into the bargain as well!

In a back-to-back series of short and sweet posts I want to take you on a photo-essay journey of my odyssey of drinking in Iran – taking a look at some of the tasty drinks yours truly had to sip, gulp, swig, imbibe, taste, devour, knock back, taste, or merely gaze at covetously during my sentimental voyage.  Wouldn’t that be fun? I promise you it will be! It’ll also be a chance to share some stories with you and offer a glimpse of real life Iranian people in action! (Look at them smiling!)

To kick-off the series, let’s start with the nooshidani (beverage) that gave me unadulterated brimming with antioxidants noosh (joy!)  Pure  JOY I tell you! And that was:

Ob ‘eh Anar (Freshly Squeezed Pomegranate Juice)

Window display of pomegranate juice kiosk | Tehran, Iran

Persians have an ancient love affair with pomegranates. We eat it, juice it, ab lamboo squeeze it, and utilize it every which way in our cuisine (paste, molasses, seeds, juice, garnish.)

Not surprisingly pomegranates are a shorthand icon of Persian identity and a prevalent and revered motif and symbol in Iranian folklore, art and architecture.

Young Persian Woman purchasing ob ‘e anar | Tehran, Iran

Freshly squeezed pomegranate juice was available at any ol’ juice-stand — as prevalent as spotting a Starbucks in the U.S. — all across the country, but I was interested to discover the new (to me) trend of kiosk establishments in Tehran devoted exclusively to a pomegranate-based (daringly inventive) menu of awesome sweets and drinks.

It was at one of these stands that the awesome smiley dude (cover photo above) made me a pomegranate juice with lavashak (fruit-based roll ups) that was just … sublime.

The snapshot (above) of the lovely young Iranian woman was at another of these pomegranate kiosks (just off of the Vali Asr, formerly Pahlavi Avenue in Tehran.)

God, I miss those kiosks! I’m convinced if someone started a similar type of pomegranate-based stands in New York, they’d make out like bandits. I’d do it, except: who has the time? Feel free though to steal this idea! (Just give me a royalty of a lifetime supply of fresh pom juice!)

Adorable father & son | Juice & ice cream joint | Tehran

I may as well tell the story of this father and son as well. One of my friends and her husband invited me to check out a flea market (not the major Friday Flea Market, but a pop up Norooz holiday market put together adjacent to one of the art museums) in Tehran and while we were browsing, we came upon this refreshment stand, owned and operated by a jovial father and son, who humored us by laughing at our lame jokes and served the best ob ‘e anar I had during my entire trip.

In sum: I drooled and gorged on an enviable, ecstatic array of delicious Persian food during my trip but was at my most giddiest when gulping down freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. I did so every chance I got and every single time, it felt like an invigorating shot of happiness filling me with vitality and goodwill towards myself and mankind. If there ever was an elixir, surely this was (is) it?

As one of my school chums concurred on Facebook: pomegranate juice is magic!

And as Yvonne Joon said: pomegranate juice never tastes as good as it does in Iran.

ob ‘e anar – good to the last precious ruby colored drop

And thus concludes the first part of our “Drinking in Iran” series. I hope you found it even a fraction as invigorating as drinking ob ‘e anar and hope you’ll tag along for the next juicy installation in a few days.

ps If this post has given you a yen for enjoying a pomegranate, check out: How to Eat a Pomegranate, Persian Style!; or: how to ab lamboo squeeze a pomegranate Persian Style (it’s fun!), or, check out the Pomegranate Cliff notes!

♥

In honor of Valentines day, I have a Persianized Valentine’s Day ditty for you:

Pomegranates are red
Asseman is blue
Tut is sweet
and so are tu!

(That means YOU!)

♥

And also:

sparkly dainty pop-in-your-mouth tut for you and me

As my lovely friend Lena K says: “Celebrate love while you can, always.”

May as well celebrate love with sparkly dainty sugar-coated Persian marzipan mulberries. Ideally while whistling: Tut for two And tut for tea Just me for you And you for me …

And also:

Give love with heart shaped Persian halva!

As the revered Persian poet Hafiz put it so eloquently: “Go through this world giving love. Giving love.”

Happy Valentine’s Day !!!

Love, love, love!

Persian tea with almond cookies & Nabat (rock candy)

Let’s fire up that samovar and brew some fragrant tea (or chayee as we say in Farsi) for this second installment of “Drinking in Iran” — a photo-essay series that documents some of the tasty drinks aka nooshidani yours truly had to sip, gulp, swig, imbibe, devour, knock back, taste, or merely gaze at covetously during my sentimental, epic trip to Iran; and in the bargain, attempts to explore the people and culture of Iran and share some travel stories with you as well!

So grab some habe ‘ye ghand (sugar cubes) or something equally sweet, kick back, and let’s enjoy some good old fashioned chayee, Persian style!

Chayee (tea) چای

Samavar & tea brewing at “House of the Artists” | Tehran, Iran

Tea is the most common, ubiquitous drink in Iran. Whether in someone’s home, in a stall in the bazaar, or in the kitchen of the House of the Artists (aka khaneh ye Honarmandan), there’s always a kettle or samovar gently boiling and bubbling and dreamily humming; and there’s always a pot of tea either being made or a cup of tea being sipped. That’s just the way it goes.

Royal Kitchen’s Samovar and Tea Tray | Saaadabad Palace | Tehran Iran

This samavar and tea service are on display at what used to be the kitchen compound of the Pahlavi Dynasty’s summer palace (Sa’ad Abad Palace - in the northern part of Tehran) which has now been turned into a museum. Note the special type of glass tea cups – which we call ‘estekan’ — and the pair of sugar cubes next to the estekan.

Shirini shomali (sweets) & sugar cubes (habeh ye ghand) | Persian tea

Tea may be a global beverage – entirely commonplace – but drinking tea in Iran is made less ordinary because of the nicety of the associated rituals – such as the touches of sweets served alongside with this familiar beverage.

Sugar cubes are the most common and traditional way to sweeten tea. The old-fashioned way (but not chic, darling!) of having sugar cubes with tea is not to stir and dissolve it but to bite and suck the sugar cube between one’s teeth while taking sips of tea. It’s kind of fun to do but the sound effects and required facial mannerisms make it clear why the practice is frowned-upon-in-elegant-society. I like my tea with milk and no sugar (blashphemy, I know) but if I did like my tea sweet, I wouldn’t have minded occasionally practicing this method on the sly in private to my heart’s content. Elegance be damned!

Beautiful tea cup, antique silver spoon and tut – tea, Persian style!

As a guest in someone’s home, there are many dainty ways to sweeten the tea. Like this tea served with sparkly homemade ‘tut’ (Persian marzipaln mulberries) that I got to enjoy during a Persian new year ‘did va bazdid‘ visit with my lovely friend’s elegant family. (Note the beautiful antique silver spoon!)

Persian tea party! (Mehmooni)

Better grab that estekan ‘eh chayee while it’s nice and hot!

Tea Tray with sweets in Shiraz with a Qajar Gent

In a trendy café, chayee may be served on a cute tray with nabat and almond cookies.

In Shiraz, a festive meal in a garden with live music (while seating and eating cross-legged family style on a kilim-covered wooden platform) culminated – to my heart’s delight – with a tray laden with assorted sweets and an adorable ersatz tea pot adorned with the portrait of a grumpy mustachioed Qajar royal gent.

A typical sweet served with tea is nabat, aka rock candy. These days, nabat is served on a stick (much like a lollipop) that one dunks in the tea (a modern iteration of an old-fashioned idea) and stirs until it dissolves. A charming way to sweeten one’s tea.

This was at the lake front cafeteria of the very scenic Park ‘e Melat (formerly Park ‘e Shah ‘anshahee.)

Simi dunking nabat in tea | Tehran, Iran

Sometimes it was not the nabat (rock candy) but the charming sweetness of the company that made the tea special. Like meeting (for the first time in real life!) the lovely Simi, fellow Iranian food blogger and now dear friend in a trendy Tehrani café at (Bagh ‘eh Ferdows) Ferdows Garden. [The Full account of meeting Simi and another lovely Persian food blogger friend in Tehran coming up one of these days!]

Tea at Bagh ‘e Ferdows | Tehran, Iran

While I’m at it, may as well add this photo of yours truly (in the middle) sandwiched between gorgeous family friends. This was also at Bagh ‘eh Ferdows, but in the front garden.

tea bag with kooloocheh shomali on Caspian sea road trip

Sometimes it was the company, the kooloocheh and the scenery that made even a weak tea-bag-brew an unforgettable cuppa’ for the books!

This was on the way back to Tehran after a road trip to shomal  – the beautiful Caspian sea region.

Chasing kaleh pacheh with chai va limoo | Tehran, Iran

Sometimes, tea with lemon was just a utilitarian workhorse.

The only way to chase a rich breakfast of kaleh pacheh! (I may have mentioned this already, but kaleh pacheh was the very first thing – at the crack of dawn – I had to eat when I arrived in Iran. Whoa boy! )

Lemon tea & honeysuckles in a garden in Yazd, Iran

And sometimes tea with lemon with a friend in a garden blooming with fragrant honeysuckles in the ancient city of Yazd was nothing short of magical … a tangible ode to the dizzying perfection of a moment in life. Sip, sip, sip! I’ll drink to that!

Until we next meet, wishing you the perfectly brewed perfect-temperature tea with the au juste sweet pairing.

For now, khoda hafez!

♥

Haftseen – Persian New Year’s Pretty Spread for spring

Tomorrow, at precisely 3:45 pm PST (6:45 pm EST) winter ends (bye bye Winter dear, don’t let the door hit you on the way out) and spring begins. Oh joy!

Spring Equinox marks the beginning of Norooz, the Iranian New Year. I wish I could wax poetic about it with you! But these past month has been a relentless whirlwind of activity (hope to share details with you by and by) and I’ve written a few posts about the pretty customs of Norooz already anyhow (the meaning of haftseen, Norooz in Tehran, the sweets of Norooz, coloring eggs, sprouting sabzeh, Norooz ‘a Palooza!)

So for now, as I laze around in my friend’s house in Los Angeles (I’m in LA because of this and to see this in person and of course while here I’m also delighted to enjoy the goodness of Norooz in Tehrangeles!) I just want to catch my breath, listen to the birds singing prettily, and just gaze at this beautiful yard – a corner of paradise – with a dreamy view of trees and flowers and hills.

My friend’s lentil sabzeh & sarv trees in LA! Sight for sore eyes!

BUT, I do also want to chirp in to say:

Norooz ‘etoon Mobarak and Pirooz (for all y’all celebrating Norooz)

& Happy Spring! Also Happy Fall to our friends in the land under!

& May all of you have a ‘shirin’, pretty and rocking season ahead.

tokhmeh sharbat + khak ‘e shir = my first official drink in Tehran, Iran

In this latest installment of  “Drinking in Iran” — a photo-essay series documenting the tasty drinks (aka nooshidani) yours truly had to sip, gulp, swig, imbibe, taste, devour, knock back, taste, or merely gaze at covetously during my sentimental, epic trip to Iran — I thought I’d show you some of the more eccentric libations and beverages.

Eccentric by the way does not mean weird or bad, just different. I mean: take a look at our featured cover drink. What was this concoction pray tell? I can tell you that making my very first solo foray in Tehran, I ended up walking up from Park ‘e Sayee all the way uptown and by the time I got to Vanak Square, I stopped dead in my tracks at the mesmerizing sight of this refreshment kiosk (pic below) with its whirling liquids and twirling floating orange and black seeds, and I had to have some.

tokhmeh sharbat (chia seeds) & khak ‘e shir (literally dust of milk)

The right-hand sign with the orange seeds reads: Premium Khak ‘e shir  with rosewater. It is challenging to translate Khak e shir  (which literally means “dust of milk” and is harvested from an annual herb that grows along the hills and mountains.) I’ve seen it translated as “grains of teff” to mugworth seeds to the intimidating sounding sisymbrium irio whatever that may be!.

The left sign reads: Premium tokhmeh sharbat with rosewater. Thankfully, tokhme shrabat (literally: “seeds of sharbat”) is very easy to translate into English because the little black seeds have become super popular in the West and they are none other than, wait for it: chia! Ta da! (ps I love chia seeds!)

Both Khak ‘e shir & chia seeds have long been used by Iranians to make tasty, thirst quenching sharbats that are popular and boast of medicinal benefits as well, but are ones that I personally did not grow up drinking very often or at all. But on my adventure-seeking and extremely sentimental first urban hike through Tehran, the city of my birth and childhood, I had to try the sharbat concoction made with a combo of both (it is equally customary to drink each individually or to mixed together.)  Review: I greatly enjoyed nursing my vivacious drink (with its dancing seeds) while continuing on my path up north and got to amuse passersby as well by propping it hither and dither for close-up photo ops. Constructive crit: would have preferred it way less sweet & with less rosewater.

Tamarind juice (ab ‘e tambre hendi) | Tehran, Iran

Continuing with the tale of somewhat unusual drinks, this was a tamarind juice (sharbat tambreh hendi) that I got to partake at the popular vegetarian cafe of the truly lovely Khaneh ‘ye Honarmandan, aka House of The Artists, which is an art compound in a park in Tehran. Verdict? I had never had a tamarind sharbat before and was excited to try it and had big expectations, but honestly, except for the thrill of novelty and a hint of a pleasant tang, this drink didn’t really do much for me. At least, not this particular iteration. Even so, it was fun to experience.

Pomegranates, exotic juice and the honeysuckle! | Tehran, Iran

One of the most popular types of things to drink in Iran were none other than the good old ab ‘e miveh aka fruit juice.

At first glance there’s nothing unusual or eccentric about fruit juice but appearances can be deceiving.

In the first installment of this series, I waxed poetic about freshly squeezed pure pomegranate juice — the very elixir of life and joy! But of course, many other types of freshly squeezed or bottled fruit juices were abundant as well — everything from cantaloupe juice to juice of pear or apple or orange. Simple, humble, but never pedestrian. For example, what was cool at sundry fruit juice stands across the country was that even when it came to just getting an average ordinary fruit juice, like lets say apple juice. you’d still have the option of deciding between the juice of green apples, yellow apples or tart apples. A multiple choice pop quiz with only correct answers!

Plus there were some distinctly exotic options! Think: berberry juice (ab zereshk) or sour cherry juice (ab ‘e albaloo) or sweet lemon juice (ab limoo shirin.)

watermelon juice in trendy cafe of a garden in Tehran

And let’s not forget the simple yet profound pleasure of fresh watermelon juice! Like these. Just heaven … almost as good and popular as fresh pomegranate juice!

ob ‘e havij va bastani | carrot juice + ice cream (Persian treat)

But hands down the quirkiest drink I had in Iran (which I first detected while exploring the vast-hustling-bustling-stimulation-overload that was the Grand Bazaar of Tehran) was this totally unexpected kooky combo of fresh and frothy carrot juice with a big dollop of Persian ice cream.

Say what! The first glimpse of this drink actually made me gasp with surprise.

I could not conceive how this mixture could possibly be a good idea.

Lovely Iranian lady at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar humoring me & posing for a pic!

Before trying one for myself I asked this nice lady who had purchased one if it was any good. She informed me that: “Albateh! Khaily khobeh!” which roughly translates to: “Duh!” The nice lady then kindly and indulgently allowed me to snapshot her as she demonstrated enjoying her sweet treat. (She probably thought I was a harmless divooneh!)

Encouraged, I purchased and tried one of my own. And guess what? The wacky combo works! Freshly squeezed carrot juice with ice cream makes for an unexpected beverage that is delicious and indulgent, but what I liked most about it is that it’s a drink with a sense of humor, if that makes sense!

No wonder ob ‘e havij va bastani is popular in Iran. I want some now!

And with that, it’s a wrap for this installment. There are a few more posts left in the Drinking in Iran series that I’m looking forward to posting soon. Meanwhile, if you missed the earlier installments of the series, here are Drinking Fresh Pomegranate Juice in Iran; and Drinking Tea in Iran.)

♥

Beep beep, that’s all for now folks. Please come back!

This is tahchin, or upside down Persian rice. Tahchin is made with half-cooked rice that’s mixed with yogurt, saffron, and egg; layered with chicken or lamb; packed and molded (nice and snug) into a casserole dish; cooked in the oven; inverted into a serving dish; and garnished with barberries. Maybe also with slivered pistachios if available. Because: why not!

Tahchin is pretty yummy. One of my favorite Persian rice dishes. It used to be the treat I asked for on my birthdays.

Laya made tahchin for me when I was in Los Angeles. (Recipe: All the way at the end!)

This is my lovely friend Laya. In her kitchen. In the City of Angels. (Vicinity of Tehrangeles.) California. United States of America. Planet Earth. Universe. (What comes after the Universe?)

NOTE: The tahchin inverted in the serving dish.

NOTE: The plate of sabzi khordan – an eclectic mixture of radishes and herbs which is the ever faithful sidekick of all Persian meals.

NOTE: The green sticky tape over the camera on ye ol’ faithful laptop of mine. (Yup, still there!)

This is a closer look at the tahchin, and the aforementioned sabzi khordan (aka plate of fresh herbs and radishes.)

You know how you always find bottles of ketchup and mustard in a diner in the U.S.? Well, you would be hard pressed to find a mealtime Persian table without sabzi khordan. My father, for example, would not even conceive of such a travesty!

Yummy Tahchin! Up close and Personal!

THIS: Is an up close and personal shot of my plate of tahchin in action.

THIS: Makes my mouth drool every time I look at it.

THIS: Is torture! TORTURE!

Note the pool of yogurt to the side. As is the wont of most Iranians (and certainly the wont of yours truly) yogurt is nearly always served and enjoyed alongside with most types of Persian food. Like a sauce. It brightens and crackle pops all the flavors & textures.

Let’s backup a bit …

This is Laya’s kitchen-gloved-hand placing the fresh out of the oven casserole dish containing the yummy upside-down-Persian rice on the counter, allowing it to cool off before artfully inverting it onto a serving dish.

NOTE: The fruit bowl. Perhaps you might detect the presence of narenj mixed in with the orange and tangerines. What is narenj you ask? More on narenj later. (Hope your scrolling finger is in ship-shape!)

Laya’s kitchen faces her backyard with a glorious to-die-for-view. Even washing dishes in this kitchen feels tantamount to a transcendental experience.

NOTE: The tantalizing peek of Laya’s pool in her front yard. I MEAN! Come on!

Speaking of the pool, here’s the portrait of Snoopy, an Iranian American hapoo, lost in thoughtful reflections by the edge of it:  Upon arrival at Laya’s house I was warned that Snoopy, while friendly, required a period of getting-to-know-you before consenting to being petted. This protocol was duly noted and observed. (Canine & blogger forged a friendship by the end of the delightful visit, I might add.)

Snoopy, having come of age in an Iranian household, has a predilection for Persian food. According to family lore, Snoopy digs saffron flavoring and LOVES fesenjoon and ghormeh sabzi. (But I mean, who doesn’t?)  For his Norooz dinner, Snoopy got to eat sabzi polo and mahee! THE traditional dish that’s served for the Persian New Year!

Lucky dog!

It must be Norooz! Mahee, sabzeh & Narenj!

Here’s the mahee (fish) marinating in a marinade of saffron and freshly squeezed juice of narenj!

Mais, qu’est ce que c’est this narenj that I keep bringing up?

Laya and I did some narenj picking in an enchanting LA garden.

What is narenj? It is a citrus that tastes like a sour orange. But for Iranians, narenj is not just a citrus but the stuff of nostalgia, reverent appreciation (there’s a gorgeous palace complex in Shiraz called Narenjestan, named after the rows of beautiful narenj trees growing in its garden), fairy tales (I almost called this blog “narenj va toranj” after my most favorite Persian fairy tale), and its juice, peel and blossoms are all used to make dreamy culinary concoctions — from jam to sharbat to khoresht to āsh and marinade.

Pomegranate is the undisputed crown holder when it comes to being an iconic fruit and symbol of Iranian culture, but narenj is right there behind it, breathing down its back!

Come spring, the beautiful city of Shiraz and vast expanses of Shomal (the northern provinces of Iran) are fragrant with the scent of narenj blossoms … bahar narenj!

Speaking of the blossoms … ah yes! Let’s do speak of the bahar narenj blossoms! Just look at these beauties. Oh how I wish I could share their fragrance with you.

The heavenly scent of bahar narenj is indescribable. It is a witty, slightly mischievous, and soaring scent, if that makes any sense. It fills the lungs and the soul with a breezy smile! If that makes any sense! It smells like homecoming. If that makes any sense.

Speaking of things that are witty, slightly mischievous, entirely lovely and make you feel at home: here’s Laya again!  Posing with her tahchin handiwork and good humor for her food blogger friend.

Note the red blossoms in the tree behind her. Venture to guess what they might?

Pomegranate blossoms! Entirely adorable! Last time I saw these pretty blossoms was at a garden party in Shiraz a year ago during my hashtag “Epic Trip to Iran” in a garden lined on both sides with blossoming pomegranate trees. That was a dreamy party, and honestly, this scene in LA was nothing short of dreamy either. I finally understand why so many Iranians live in Los Angeles. There are cypress trees, pomegranate trees, narenj trees; the mountain and the climate is reminiscent of Tehran; and with all the Iranians now living in LA, you can find everything (from noon’ e sangak to noghl to kooloocheh; from شیر مرغ تا جون آدمیزاد ) in the many Persian markets and restaurants all over Los Angeles.

In some ways the hustle and bustle of welcoming Norooz in Tehrangeles was on par if not even more vivacious than celebrating the Persian New Year in Tehran itself! I’m so behind with my postings but oh boy, given time, I so would love to tell you all about my Persian New Year adventures in Tehrangeles at some point.

Sangak & Sabzeh! | Noroos in Tehrangeles

What I can tell you right now is that Laya whisked me straight from the airport to an awesome Persian bistro where they made their own Sangak bread! Check out the proud noonva and his delicious handiwork straight out of the tanoor! Do note the thriving green sabzeh (a staple of haft seen) as well.

Laya and I dined on mast ‘o musir (yogurt mixed with a special type of Persian shallot which has an awesome bite and heat and tang to it. You can enjoy mast ‘o musir as an appetizer dip with bread, and you can also enjoy it as a condiment/sauce with your main dish. We did it both ways! The mast ‘o musir went most excellently with our yummy cholo kabab. (Akh! Yadesh be khair!)

Meta Food Photography – Persian Style!

Needless to say, shots were taken before a bite was taken!

But then: it was time to munch and demolish and DEVOUR!

Oh my! Just look at this!

This is torture anew. And my mouth waters anew as well.

Kind of going back to our featured recipe (oh yeah, this is a recipe post after all, ha ha), here’s a still life composed of a bowl of barberries soaking in water – one of the prep steps of the tahchin. What else do we have? The travel section of Los Angeles Times; the Norooz sprouting green sabzeh; and a regal orchid.

The orchid was a token souvenir we swiped from the Film Festival Award night of the Farhang Foundation Nowruz Festival that was held at LaCMA.  Actually, going to the festival was the whole reason I was there in LA in March. Do you know why? I told you earlier about it earlier here. I hope to write a whole post about that and Farhang Foundation’s beautiful Persian New Year festival (they had created a gorgeous haft seen display for just one thing) and do it justice. But meanwhile, here’s a video from the first night of the event.

If you do watch the video, at the 0:14 mark you’ll catch a glimpse of me and Laya and then at 0:44 me and Mehdi (that is: Laya’s wonderful husband) and then at 1:45 mark I have a teeny tiny interview!

I liked and was impressed by all the 6 short film finalists but hands down The Role of Each Fret directed by Maryam Farahzadi was the most intriguing and powerful submission (I got goosebumps) and deserved the 1st prize win. I also loved, loved, loved Prelude (it was so clever and fun) directed by Arash Ashanti and produced by Ali Azimi.  Totally recommend you watch both.

Between the cypress and narenj trees and Persian markets and Laya (and her entire lovely family) and Snoopy and the awesome Farhang Foundation (and the wealth of brilliant events and programming they offer) I’m so tempted to move to Los Angeles!

If not for the sun and commuting (averse to both), I’d be high tailing it to LA for sure. At least for a temporary jaunt.

But let’s say I moved there. Where would I live? Silicon Valley techies are snapping up all the L.A. homes!

And on this non-sequitur note, it’s time to end your scrolling finger’s vigorous work out and get to Laya’s tahchin recipe! Finally!

Tahchin: Upside Down Persian Rice (Laya's Recipe)

• Servings: 4-6
• Difficulty: good bit of prep work but easy
• Print

Ingredients

• 2 cups of long grain rice (washed, soaked, rinsed in the Persian style)
• 2 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into big pieces
• 1 small onion, peeled and coarsely quartered
• 2-3 teaspoons ground saffron, dissolved in 1 cup of hot water
• 5 tablespoons yogurt (approximately a cup)
• one egg yolk
• 1/4 stick butter
• 1/2 cup barberries (soaked for 1/2  hour in cold water, rinsed and washed)
• tea spoon of sugar
• salt & pepper, cooking oil, and water
• Optional handful of slivered pistachios for garnish

Direction

• Wash and soak the rice per the usual Persian rice method: 1) Fill bowl of rice with cold water, gently scrub fistfuls between palms, rinse and drain. Repeat the process until the water runs clear. 2) Soak rice in lightly salted water for an hour and up to 24 hours. Rinse and drain when ready to use. Note: You could prep this step as early as a day before making tahchin. (Check out this post for a comprehensive guide and details of prepping and washing rice, Persian style.)
• Prepare the chicken: Cut 2 boneless chicken breasts into a few pieces. In a heavy-bottom pot add chicken, one cup of water, and one small onion coarsely quartered; sprinkle with salt; douse with 1/2 cup of saffron water; and cook over low heat for 3 hours till quite tender. Once cooked, remove and set aside the chicken pieces. Reserve 1/4 cup of the chicken broth for later use in a step below. (You can use the leftover broth and onions for another culinary adventure.)

  chicken cooked with onion and saffron till tender with broth

• Prepare the al-dente rice: Fill 3/4th of a large pot with water and bring to a brisk boil. Pour in rice and cook – stirring occasionally –  until the grains have lengthened and rice is al dente. Drain in a colander and set aside.
• Prepare the “mayeh” rice and yogurt mixture: In a big mixing bowl, whisk egg yolk lightly with a fork; add 5 tablespoons of yogurt and blend until mixture is smooth; season with salt and pepper, add the remaining saffron water (reserve just a teaspoon of it for the berberries for later though), mix well with the fork. Add 1/4 cup of the chicken broth (set aside earlier when preparing the chicken) to the mayeh at the end.  (Laya says this is a nice trick to add tons of flavor and moisture to the dish since tahchin rice doesn’t use a lot of oil.) Fold in the al-dente rice – one spatula at a time – mixing it gently with the yogurt mixture as you add it.

adding saffron water to whisked egg yolk

• Melt 1/4 stick of butter in a casserole Pyrex dish in 350 degree oven. Remove casserole dish from the oven; slightly agitate the dish (in up and down and left to right motions) making sure the entire surface is coated with melted butter. [Laya says the moshkel (problem) with tahchin that many people have is that at the end it doesn’t come out in one piece when turned upside down and the solution to this moshkel is to make sure the melted butter is spread evenly all over the Pyrex dish.]

layering casserole dish with melted butter for Tahchin prep

• Commence to fill the casserole dish in this manner: line bottom of the casserole dish with a one inch layer of the rice and yogurt “mayeh” mixture, then arrange a few chicken pieces over it. Continue layering in this fashion until you’ve used up all the ingredients. (Tip: Make sure the top layer is rice with the final chicken pieces nestled inside the rice to avoid burning the chicken.) Use the back of a wooden spoon or spatula to pack in and evenly flatten the surface. You can douse some melted butter over the rice at this point if you wish. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the middle of a 350 preheated oven for one hour or until a golden crust at the bottom of the dish is detected. Remove foil and cook in the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool off for a few minutes.
• Prepare the barberries garnish: While tahchin rice is cooling off, sautee barberry (that was soaked for 1/2 hour in cold water and rinsed) with a bit of melted butter and a bit of sugar for a few minutes on very low heat.
•  Once cooled off, tahchin is (tah dah!) ready to serve.

Serving: Tahchin in Farsi literally means: “arranged at the bottom.” It’s translated as upside down Persian rice in English because when serving tahchin, you turn the casserole dish over and serve the rice upside down:

• Place an inverted large serving dish over the casserole dish and turn it over. Tap the casserole dish to loosen the contents inside. Hopefully the butter-lining trick has done its job and nothing will stick to the dish and you’ll get a nice (and intact) upside down molded rice with a crunchy rice tahdig on top! YUM!
• Garnish with a sprinkling of the sauteed barberries and slivered pistachios just prior to serving.
• Tahchin is sometimes translated as “Persian rice cake”, which is not too far-fetched, since tahchin is a dish served like a cake, as in: slice pieces off to serve to your no-doubt-drooling-with-anticipation table mates.

Tahchin rice pairs fabulously with yogurt. A green salad and sabzi khordan (plate of herbs and radishes) would be lovely edible companions to have on hand as well.

[Laya’s tip for grinding saffron: To finely grind saffron threads in a mortar and pestle Laya adds a sugar cube to it. This is a trick Laya learned from her mother – Mrs. Lavassani – an accomplished lady who started a school called Honarestan in Tehran, where Roza Montazemi, a revered Persian cookbook author, was one of her students. Wow!]

Make it, enjoy it, and nooshe jaan!

Oh what a tangled web!

Let the record show that I enjoy writing. Always have (since I was a wee little thing) and probably always will (till I’m a cranky ol’ person.)

However, there’s nothing on this God’s green earth that I find more stressful than writing things like an “about” section, a bio blurb, cover letter, or worst … the juggernaut of dread: a resume. YIKES! The mere mention of the word itself is enough to make me break into profuse beads of sweat. (By that of course I mean, glowing perspiration, as we all know that refined ladies comme moi do not sweat. All evidence to the contrary not withstanding.)

It doesn’t help either that I’ve made zig zag explorations in my career choices – linear route it has not been I do confess – which makes unjambling it all a rather exquisite nightmare. Oh what a tangled resume we weave when we first practice to jump from this job to that job and that field to this …

Recently, I faced the uncomfortable fact that despite my valiant push-under-the-rug efforts it was high time to polish up and update ‘ye old resume. In the midst of ensuing panic attack angst, I had a light bulb moment to ask for help instead of tackling it myself. One of my Twitter friends has started her own company writing and editing resumes, so I reached out to her and got the help that I needed. Beehive Resumes took my tangled jumble of experience and skills and accomplishments and whipped it into a nifty. organized shape — and for that stellar accomplishment, I’m grateful.

So this here’s a shout out that if any of y’all need to teach that fool of your resume a lesson or two and turn it from a slouching tiger into a roaring dragon (oy vey w/these mixed metaphors), I highly recommend you consider the services of Beehive Resumes.

tangled jamble no more! A garden of bright points!

This is obviously not a recipe post but if this talk of beehives has put you in the mind of honey, do check out this old honeypot turnip chestnut of a recipe re the healing properties of turnip and honey and a nifty DIY cold remedy. Also, be on your tippy toes lookout for another installment in the Drinking in Iran series and a couple of nifty recipes and other goodie posts coming your way soon.

Until then! xoxo

The director and actors of Nahid | Source

Horray! It’s time for Part 3 of our Internet: Persian Style series! ( See here for the series’ mission statement.) Let’s get the ball rolling with this cheerful pic above:

“In this photo taken Sunday, May 17, 2015, from left, director Ida Panahandeh, actors , Pejman Bazeghi, Sareh Bayat and Navid Mohammadzadeh pose for photographers during a photo call for the film Nahid, at the 68th international film festival, Cannes, southern France. Panahandeh has made a splash with her film debut, landing in competition at the Cannes Film Festival for “Nahid,” a fraught portrait of the byzantine legal complications and social stigmas concerning divorce and remarriage in Iran.” Source

Can’t wait to see this film! And on a shallow note: what a good looking bunch of folks!

Speaking of looks, isn’t Pejman Bazeghi (second from the left, next to the director) a dead ringer for that country music star Blake Shelton? I mean, they could be clones!

Blake Shelton & Pejman Bazeghi – Separated at birth?

Things that make you think! But let’s gallop and move on …

What do we have here?

“Photos: Concours de Saut International held in Tehran

Like this one of a group of University of Tehran graduates. (Found it via the always amazing @Iran_Style.)

A Facebook friend @SamiraRahimee shared this other awesome pic of recent Tehran University graduates as well. Specifically, these are the graduates of University of Tehran’s Fine Art Faculty, Class of 1385!

Good luck dear graduates!  May the world treat you gently and nice.

University of Tehran Campus at night (Photographer: Behrooz Sangani) Tehran, Iran 2007

The jubilant Persian graduates were posing in front of the very well-known, rather iconic entrance of the University of Tehran campus.

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I’m happy to follow fellow Persian @SamiraRahimee on Twitter because she has some cool dreams!

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Speaking of dreams … oh my goodness.

Absolutely adore this scene! Artist painting at sunset along the edge of the Caspian sea in Iran. Source is the very cool Motelghoo Instagram account.

Underneath a pear tree with a cup of hot chai, a piece of barbari bread and a handful of khorma. #grateful http://t.co/LIv1uxAMKE—
Azita Mehran (@TurmericSaffron) July 19, 2014

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You know what else is dreamy?

This delightful tale of chai and barbari and khorma that Turmeric & Saffron (one of my favorite Persian food bloggers) spins of an idyllic time under a pear tree.

Just add butter, feta cheese and hot chai! Recipe!

Speaking of dreamy Persian breads, Barbari bread is awesome. Specially when it’s fresh out of tanoor. But lavash bread is no slouch either.

Let’s end this installment of our tour of the Persian Internet on this soft, succulent and lavish note of a stack of freshly baked Persian lavash bread as made by Rise of the Sourdough Preacher — one of my favorite food bloggers.

Khoda hafez, until we meet again!

Golpar (aka Persian Hogweed) Seed pods | A Persian Spice

Golpar (گلپر ‎) or Persian Hogweed (botanical name: Heracleum persicum) is a flowering spice plant, native to Iran, growing wild in its mountainous regions. (Linguistic fun: “gol” means “flower” in Farsi, and “par” can mean either “wing” or “feather” so theoretically golpar can be translated into flower-feather. For fun and giggles, I just did a domain search and shockingly, flowerfeather.com is available! Hurry and grab it!)

Golpar seedpods bear a unique smell one may call either pungent or aromatic depending on one’s point of view. For yours truly, a deep inhale takes me back to the deep recesses of spice enclaves in the Grand Bazaar of Tehran, and for that, I’m fond of the smell. Golpar seedpods contain seeds that are ground into a powder form and used as a spice. (Much like cardamom seeds inside the cardamom pods.)

Golpar koobideh (ground golpar)

In Persian cooking, golpar powder (golpar koobideh as it’s called)  is used in advieh (spice mixture) to flavor rice dishes. For those so inclined, a bit of golpar may also be added to soups – a little bit of it does go quite well with lentil soup.

One of the most popular uses of this particularly Persian spice is to sprinkle golpar over baghali pokhteh, or cooked fava beans. Serving a bowl of pomegranate arils with a dusting of golpar sprinkle is an equally charming and popular use of this aromatic spice.

Another charming use of golpar seed pods is that you can often find it mixed with esfand seeds (اسپند) in the ancient Persian tradition of burning esfand (اسپند دود دادن) to avert the evil eye.

And that my friends, is the tale of a Persian spice called golpar. (“A Persian spice that is often erroneously sold as ‘Angelica Seeds.’)

Simple plate of sabzi khordan: piyazcheh, torobcheh & na’nah

If you come from a Persian household or have had occasion to dine at one, you are privy to the fact that a Persian table at mealtime is considered naked without sabzi khordan (Persian: سبزی خوردن ).

Sabzi khordan literally translates to either “edible herbs” or “eating herbs” and refers to an assorted plate of fresh herbs and raw vegetables. An assortment that might include: basil (reyhan), green onions aka scallions (piyaz che), parsley (jaffari), chives (tareh), coriander (geshniz), cilantro, mint (na’nah), fenugreek (shanbalileh), radishes (torobche), savory (marzeh, origany or sweet fennel), tarragon (tarkhun), Persian watercress (shâhi) and maybe even sliced raw onions. (To see the vast potential variety of sabzi khordan, you might want to feast your eyes on this Google image search for سبزی خوردن.)

The choice of which fresh herbs and how much of them to use to assort the Persian herbs platter are entirely up to one’s whim and whimsy and provisions-at-hand; although typically, sabzi khordan is not really sabzi khordan without the presence of radishes which are crunchy, healthy, add a pop of color, and pack a nice bit of heat.

Radical Radishes (torobcheh)

Radiant Raihan (Fresh Basil) | King of herbs!

Scoundrel Scallions (Piyazcheh) for sabzi khordan

To make a meal out of sabzi khordan, it’s customary to add walnuts and feta cheese to the fresh herbs platter and make a logmeh (roll up sandwich) of it with some type of flat bread – ideally a delicious Persian bread like sangak or lavash or barbari. This combo of bread and cheese and walnuts with sabzi khordan‘s fresh herbs is known as noon va panir va sabzi (نون و پنیر و سبزی). A humble but nutritious and tasty repast that hits the spot, without any ado, on the spot.

As noted, sabzi khordan is pretty much served par for course with every Persian meal —  as constant a table setting as the salt and pepper. or a pitcher of water. But why exactly is sabzi khordan such a popular habit and ingrained fixture of Persian cuisine? How did it assume such an integral role?  Well, for one thing, sabzi khordan serves a multitude of purposes as: garnish, side dish, appetizer, and basically a condiment to compliment and enhance the pleasure of a meal.

Also, when leafing through a favorite & wonderful encyclopedic cookbook (by Ostad Najaf Daryabandari – which alas is only available in its original Farsi language, hopefully to be translated by an intrepid person soon) I learned that in the olden-days of Iran, it was customary to finish an elaborate feast with a few mouthfuls of bread and cheese and sabzi khodran. This custom was called dahaneh talayee or “golden mouth.” (Isn’t that a cool imagery?) Which I interpret as a gesture meant to cleanse and refresh the palette.This may explain the enduring popularity of sabzi khordan as a mealtime fixture – not just to enhance the flavor and pleasure of food, but also as a healthy and tasty palette cleanser.

The genesis of sabzi khordan might also trace its roots to the sardi garmi (the balancing of hot and cold) classification philosophy of Persian cuisine. This ancient Persian food philosophy is a rich and complex topic that I won’t deign or dare to address in this post.

What I will dare to address here, however, are a few pointers to make a very simple  sabzi khordan plate  of radishes, green onions and basil to call your own.

A simple plate of sabzi khordan: torobche, raihan & piyazche

wash, dry , trim radishes, and green onions (scallions) to make a simple sabzi khordan

wash, dry and trim radishes, fresh basil, and green onions (scallions) to make a simple plate of sabzi khordan

Make it. Enjoy it. And noosh’e joon!

غوره unripe grapes | an intriguing staple of Persian cuisine

This post is dedicated to the memory of Doctor پ . A wonderful physician, musician, family friend, and all around lovely gentleman whose presence was a boon to all who knew him and who will be dearly missed. May he rest in peace.

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Recently I made a short and sweet trip home for a visit with my folks when among other things my mom made this and this and also did this; and when I got to hang out with Azi2 and also got to go to a do’reh (a regular monthly-or-so Persian get-together among friends who take turns hosting) and have a fun visit with a host of dear and old family friends who I had not seen in a good while. Some of my favorite people in the world. Sight for sore eyes! A true pleasure!

My folks live in the DC Metropolitan area and while it is by no means the new Tehrangeles, there are a good number of establishments where one can grab a quality Persian chow, be it polo khorosh or kashk ‘e bademjan or bastani and reportedly even very good Armenian pirooshki. There are also several good Persian grocery stores scatterd in the area, including a smallish but quite good store near my parents where one does seem to find most everything required to run a respectable Persian household, from kashk to various types of Persian bread to halva ardeh to — as I was thrilled and squealed to find stashed in the fridge — stalks of perky unripe grape clusters!  Or what we Persians call ghoreh غوره. (Query: The wine aficionados amongst us may perhaps identify a better name for “unripe grapes”?)

Gentle reader: you may by now have a noticed a pattern with Iranians and their love of unripe fruit and: it’s true!  Be it unripe almonds (chaghaleh badoom چاقاله بادوم ), unripe green plums (gojeh sabz گوجه سبز), and now unripe grapes — which are usually picked halfway before maturity.

Are you familiar with that classic Aesop fable of the fox and sour grapes? The story was well known in Iran as well. But what the roobah didn’t know and Persians have known since times of ‘yore is that sour grapes can be quite wonderful!

A staple of the Persian pantry, unripe sour grapes (ghoreh: غوره) and verjuice (or abghoreh: the tart juice of unripe grapes) is used as a chashni (taste, flavor) to add a bright but gentle tartness and deepen flavors in khoresh (Persian stews) and abghusht and tas kabob and āsh (thick hearty Persian soups.)

Khoresh Ghoreh Badejman | Persian eggplant stew with sour grapes

Fresh sour grapes have a very fleeting season – a few weeks late in spring – so to preserve ghoreh’s goodness for use throughout the year, Persians had several tricks up their sleeves.

One that we’ve already touched upon is juicing the ghooreh to make abghoreh or verjuice. (Fun linguistic fact, the word verjuice comes from the French words verjus which literally means green juice!) Maman says in the olden days before the availability of store-bought verjuice there was a whole ritual where each family would purchase as much of sour grapes as was within their needs or means and then wash and crush the grapes and store the extracted abghureh in a cool dark place in a very specific type of glass bottle with a long narrow neck — that could then be used as chashni the whole of winter.

Another method was to dry out the ghureh and then grind it into a powder (gard ‘e ghoreh گرد غوره) form; or, they would pickle the unripe grapes (in verjuice, or in salty water); and of course now in modern times, ghoreh can be frozen for later use.

Ghureh is extremely beneficial for various health problems. Rheumatism and diabetes among them. Maman tells me a story that when she was growing up, there was a doctor named “Hakim Abghureh” (literally: Doctor Sour Grape Juice! Ha ha!) named thus because whoever went to him with ailments would be prescribed ash ‘e abghureh (a verison of Persian thick hearty soup made with plenty of verjuice) to clear and clean out the stomach and intestine as the good hakim believed that all diseases gather in the stomach and the intestines!

Unless you are a wiley fox not interested in sour grapes, below are directions for making your own: verjuice; ground sour grapes; pickled sour grapes; and the best method for freezing these tart fleeting gifts of summer.

Starting point applicable to all methods of preserving sour grapes: pick mushy, discolored bits and discard.

How to make your own homemade verjuice (abghoreh): First question what drives you to have this urge? Ha ha. Kidding, ’tis a labor of love and one’s inner Martha must be appeased from time to time. Be warned however that it takes nearly 10 pounds or more of sour grapes to make one mediums sized (if that) bottle of verjuice, and sour grapes, harvested here in the U.S. in California, do not come cheap. (Mom reported she got hers for $7 a pound.) In any event, if you’re determined to pursue this crafty course of action, try to to purchase the juicier looking of sour grapes that’s available to you. Remove grape from stalk, wash well, then juice sour grapes in a juicer. (It’s preferable not to make verjuice using a food processor or a blender since those machines will grind the grape seeds as well thus giving verjuice a bitter tang that is far from ideal.) Pass the pulpy juice through a sieve and use immediately.

To preserve verjuice for later use you, boil verjuice in a pot for a few minutes. Remove from heat, add a bit of salt, allow to cool, then store in dry sterilized bottles. Tip: If possible, it’s best to use one-serving-size small bottles when storing homemade verjuice.

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How to make your own homemade ghoreh preserve to use throughout the year: Remove the grapes from the stalk, wash, and allow to dry completely. Once bone dried, store in a dry sterilized jar and top with enough verjuice to cover plus a bit of salt.  This method, in vogue in Kermanshah and possibly other regions of Iran, is known as “ghoreh ghoreh.” Double unripe grapes that is! Cute, no?

You could also preserve ghureh in ab namak (salty water) instead of verjuice.

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How to make your own ground sour grapes (gard ‘e ghoreh): Wash sour grapes, remove from stalk, gently pat dry and spread over a tray lined with fabric or paper towels. Leave for a few days where it would get plenty of direct sunlight till it dried out. Grind in a processor into a powder. This becomes a tasty and tart chashni چاشنی (taste, flavor) that makes stews and soups quite lovely and delicious. You could also use it to marinate fish and fowl and BBQ meat. Because, pour quoi pas? If a hint of tart is your thing, ground sour grapes could be your best friend.

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How to freeze your sour grapes! Wash sour grapes thoroughly and then remove from stalk. Bring a pot of water to a brisk boil. Add sour grapes and boil for only 30 seconds.  Drain in a colander and immediately give it an ice bath. (A bowl filled with ice cubes, roomy enough.) to chill the sour grapes quickly. Then drain once again in colander, spread to completely dry on a piece of fabric or paper, and then fill freezer bags with sour grapes. Write the date on the bag ad freeze for up to a year. Note: another school of thought admonished that washing sour grapes prior to freezing allows discoloration (turning yellow instead of green) and suggests that you freeze unwashed sour grapes and when ready to use, thaw and wash grapes then.

Make it, enjoy it, and noosh ‘e joon!

Noghl and Tut (Persian Marzipan Mulberry) | Tehrangeles, California Norooz 2015

I got to make and taste and nibble on a host of yummy Persian goodies whilst I whiled away the time in the city of Angels (Los Angeles) a couple of months ago around Norooz time … when the sweet business of making and buying and eating Persian shirini was at hustling and bustling and fever pitch best. Persian shirini like these delightful mouthfuls pictured above called tut (also spelled toot) – named after and shaped like mulberries – that I made with my very own dainty little hands.

My lovely friends and hosts, Laya joon and Mehdi, also procured a whole host of Persian goodies from baghlava to gottab to bamiyeh and goosh ‘e fil and zaban. Persian sweets that are respectively named after okra and elephant ears and tongue!

It tickled your faithful scribbler’s fancy to notice that quite a few Persian shirini are named for and molded to resemble such disparate, and frankly, weird things from tongue to mulberries to okra to elephant ears … to window panes and spring blossoms! So I thought it’d be fun to take a quick tour of these sweet Persian avatars together and mull it over with each other. Ideally over tea! Let’s get started!

Persian marzipan mulberry & bahar narenj blossoms | Tehrangeles, California 2015

TUT (Persian Marzipan Mulberry)

Let’s start with tut! A Persian confection that is named for and shaped like a mulberry. I can very readily understand the need to pay homage to the pretty and delicious mulberry fruit by way of incarnating it in its candy form and making the Persian sweet known as tut.  (Tut may also be spelled as “toot” but for reasons obvious to the American audience I tend to shy away from that spelling.) Tut aka Persian marzipan mulberry is my very favorite Persian sweet to nibble on and to make. It has very few yet top-drawer ingredients (rosewater, almond flour, confectioners sugar and pistachio stems), it looks and smells and tastes ah-may-zing, and if you have not yet made a batch of your own, I’d like to nudge you and say: Hey what are you waiting for? Go forth and make a batch! (Recipe for Persian Marzipan Mulberry.)

Goosh ‘e Fil (Elephant Ears)

The cute little bow-shaped sweets (pictured below, to the right) are known as goosh ‘e fil which literally means “elephant ears” and yup, you got it, these sweets are supposed to resemble the ear of an elephant! These store bought goosh ‘e fill were delicious in a softly chewy mildly syrupy way but homemade elephant-ear pastries are sometimes coated with confectioners sugar and cardamom powder and on the crunchy as opposed to a chewy, squishy side. In other news: that must be some dainty فیل to have such petite ears!

Bamiyeh (Okra) is to the left; goosh ‘e feel (elephant ears) to the right

BAMIYEH (A Persian sweet named after okra)

The oblong cylindrical sweet featured in the pic above (to the right) is called bamiyeh which literally means okra! I do get why at some point it occurred to some ancient Persian to replicate a mulberry or a blossom as a candy but for the life of me I can’t understand the thought process that went into replicating okra into a sweet nibble. It doesn’t help my understanding that I happen to detest okra. I just can’t stomach it, that’s all. There’s a Persian okra stew (khoresh ‘e bamiyeh) that’s among my father’s favorite Persian stews, and it’s the one and only Persian food that I REFUSE to eat! (When I did my stint at that NGO in Kabul, the lovely Nasrin khanoom cooked lunch for us everyday and on the days she made her special okra dish, she was kind enough to make a little something else as substitute for yours truly because I tried, but could not eat that okra dish even when I was starving.) The bamiyeh pastry featured here was longer in shape than usual (I’m used to seeing bamiyeh half this size) but it did have that patented stretchy, chewy texture that I love. Paired with another Persian sweet named zulbia, the duo form a portmanteau of zulbiya va bamiyeh – a very popular, hot commodity purchase to get and give when breaking the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

zaban cookie & wheatgrass sabzeh | Tehrangeles Norooz 2015

ZABAN – A Persian pastry shaped and named after tongue!

The Persian cookies in the goblet are called zaban because they are supposed to resemble the shape of a tongue. Zaban is a type of flaky, puff pastry that’s a bit on the dry side. It’s a bit bland on its own, but it is simply marvelous with a hot cup of chai. Aside: Do note the sabze (wheatgrass sprout) in this pic. This was in Laya’s kitchen for Norooz and I must immodestly boast that Laya divulged she drew inspiration from this Fig & Quince post to grow her sabzeh in this glass container . it looks good, doesn’t it?

Noon ‘e Panjareh (Window Cookie)

The Persian window cookie is a very special type of sweet, in that it looks different than most anything else you may have seen. Alas, I have never made it myself and do not have a photo of it to post, but I’m more than happy to direct you to this wonderful post – with beautiful photos – of this special Persian cookie that is named after and shaped like a window.

And last but not least:

Mojdeh Bahar Persian Cookies | Norooz 2014, Tehran, Iran

Mojdeh ye bahar (Spring’s Good News)

These adorable and cute little puff cookies that are meant to resemble spring time flowers were featured earlier in the Traditional Persian Sweets for Norooz installment of my Greetings From Iran series. (This was Norooz 2014!) (NOTE TO SELF: make this cateogry) These first batch of cookies may be my most poetic gastronomic discovery yet as I valiantly eat my way through Iran. They are called mojde ‘ye bahar – or literally: “spring’s good news.” And they really are good news. Crunchy, fragrant, with just the perfect hint of sweetness. Sara tells me that to make these, her sisters in law store blanched almonds and hyacinth flowers together — starting in June and until just weeks before Norooz — so that the almonds absorb the fragrance of the hyacinths. They then use these almonds to make these pretty little crispy and sweet smelling puffs that are meant to resemble little blossoms. A truly wonderful treat. And let’s end our tour (of the Persian shirini and cookies that have an interesting name or shape) on this pretty and downright poetic note.

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ps. Did I miss anything? I’m certain thoughtful research will yield other examples of Persian sweets or food that belong in the category of this post. (That is food made to resemble a real life thing or being.) Gentle reader: if you can think of any that I missed, please do let me know in the comments.

pps. I’d love it if you would pin any of these images that tickle your fancy to your Pinterest boards. Just click on an image and “pin it. (Here’s my Pinterest.)

Happy Ramadan to all observant Moslems!

(Here’s a beautiful poem about the holy month of Ramadan by none other than Jalaluddin Rumi.)

And till next time, that’s it folks.

Coffee at Cafe Shemron, Tehran, Iran (2014)

This fourth installment of  “Drinking in Iran” — a photo-essay series documenting the tasty drinks (aka nooshidani) yours truly had to sip, gulp, swig, imbibe, taste, devour, knock back, or merely gaze at covetously during my sentimental and epic trip to Iran — brings us to covering that universally beloved beverage without which most of us would lose our ever loving mind. Namely: coffee! Cup of joe, java, or gahveh (قهوه) as we say in Farsi.

In other words: that without which life as we know it is surely not worth living! Hyperbole? I think not.

Coffee and cafe culture in Iran is well and alive and robustly kicking. There is a historic cultural precedent for coffee shops in Iran going a long way back to gahveh khaneh (literally “house of coffee”) where people – albeit mostly men – met to drink coffee or tea, play backgammon, smoke ghelyoon and basically gab and socialize and even do business; and onwards to more modern iterations of cafes and also hybrid coffee-shop-pastry-shops known as cafe ghanadi or cafe confectionaries. (Peruse this Iran Review article of Old Cafe Confectionaries of Tehran for an interesting read.)

Now let’s grab a cup of nice strong coffee (milk, no sugar please) and take a look at yours truly’s slightly jittery and entirely intoxicating caffeinated pictorial journey.

First stop:

Cafe Lord Confectionary. I was taken here by a friend who by a lucky stroke of fortune was also visiting Tehran in Norooz (a dear friend who, by the way, is the brains behind Rtister – a fashionable operation!)

After she left, I pored over the map of Tehran and tried to get familiar with this sprawling metropolis of my vatan.

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The writing at the bottom of this take-out coffee cup reads: “You will soon feel better.” Heh!

I imbibed this much-needed cup of coffee at the Tajrish branch of Lamiz Coffee Shop — a trendy chain of coffee shops in Tehran. (A business establishment that seems to cultivate, pride themselves on, and encourage a distinctly hipstersque aura and culture. To wit!) To which one may say: chera ke’h na? Why not indeed.

Hanging out at coffee shop in Tajrish

I ended up at this coffee shop thanks to another good friend who showed me around Tajrish. A very fun outing and venture.

(If you’ve been reading for awhile, you may recall that I wrote about the whole escapade here earlier: A Modern Coffee Shop & a Traditional Tea House Joint | A Stroll in Tajrish Square & through the Tajrish Bazaar.)

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Then I ended up at this other cafe off of Jordan Avenue with my cousin.

We toasted to her birthday with frothy foamy coffee and a slice of cake. It was a good place to people watch too!

The musician was very nice, but … exactly what kind of a fiddle is this?

At some point, a street musician walked in. He was warmly received and in turn he really warmed up the place with his cheerful music. Quite a lively scene!

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A Cafe at Bagh-e Ferdows | Tehran, Iran

Another day. Another #latteart coffee. Another outdoor garden Persian cafe. Tough life!

Note the calligraphy logo of the sugar packet. It’s striking, isn’t it?

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I distinctly remember nursing this coffee and keeping up with my blogging duties at the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran while I was waiting for my flight to Shiraz.

This coffee: Hit. The. Spot!

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But you know the coffee that really hit the spot when I was in Iran?

Nescafe instant coffee!

On a road trip with two friends — making our way from Tehran to the Caspian sea.

Prepared over the hood of Afooli’s SUV!

Road trip instant coffee! The best! Because … friends!

it didn’t hurt that we saw this view on our road trip either!

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Ah, Mount Damavand! How majestic and glorious and breathtaking are you? The pictures do not do you justice.

Can’t leave a post about coffee in Iran, without mentioning the social party custom of fal ‘eh gahveh: fortune telling with Turkish coffee in Iran. Here’s how it unfolds:

So you drink the Turkish coffee (thick bitter black without sugar of course) until only a little bit of it is left behind. You then make a niyat (solemn wish or query) and turn the cup bottoms-up over the saucer. The designated fortune teller then tells you what the future holds by “reading” and deciphering the significance and meaning of the the trail of the coffee – looking at the marks and ridges and shapes it has left behind. After that initial reading, you make another silent “niyat” (a thing you hope for or are curious about) and make an imprint with your index finger in the center of the cup. The fortune teller then “reads” that and makes remarks meant to answer your niyat. And that’s it.

Fal ‘eh gahveh (fortune telling with Turkish coffee) in Iran is a plausible possibility to take place at a social gathering. Usually, every family has at least a couple of people (men or women) who claim to possess this coffee-fortune-telling gift and skill. Sure enough, at a family luncheon at my aunt’s Fuzzy’s home (more on my lovely aunt later when I share her famous torshi recipe), one of my cousins said, “let’s have Turkish coffee and I’ll read everyone’s fortune.” Of course she didn’t have to make that offer twice. Turkish coffee was promptly brewed, we all drank our coffee, and we all eagerly and solemnly lined up for our ‘fal ‘e gahveh.” It was a lot of fun!

This ritual is mostly meant to be an entertaining parlor game, an old cultural custom which is not really meant to be taken seriously at all —  although sometimes, astonishingly and bewilderingly, the prophecies land right on the money.

And with that, let’s end on this buzzed note of caffeine and occult.

Wishing you much good fortune and very many mugs of delicious coffee (if that’s your poison of choice) until we meet again. Believe it or not, there are still 3 more pending Drinking in Iran installments. Who knew there were so very many things to be said on the subject? And believe me, this has only been a perfunctory coverage, merely scratching the surface. Ah, that scratch feels good! ;)

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(For now that is!)

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In Iran, it’s customary to celebrate one’s good news with “shirini dadan” (offering sweets and pastries) to pleasure and delight the sense and palette of others in recognition of one’s own sweet turn of events. And in turn, friends and family present the person with the happy news some flowers by way of congratulations. And of course as I’ve mentioned, people snap their fingers and “beshkan mizanand” ha ha, just like George Clooney, when feeling particularly exuberant and filled with joy! So let’s put on a cheerful Persian song, shake our groove thing, and let’s snap our fingers. And oh, here, I have some sweets and flowers for us all as well. Dahanemoon ro shirin konim!

But first I want to address the naysayers; hatemongers; warmongers; always-complainers; those who only see the clouds and never the silver lining; those who never notice the rainbow but only the downfall of the rain; and say: Here … Here are some flowers, and please also have some shirini and sweeten your palette!

Because this.THIS. Is a buzz you can’t kill. Because this is a way towards peace and better understanding and cultural exchange and because “hope is a thing with feathers” and it’s a beautiful thing when it takes wing. And that’s the way the cookie crumbles for yours truly. #IranDeal #HAPPY!

Now let’s all go and have lots of yummy Persian shirini!

My friends, here’s to realizing dreams for peace, love and harmony.

Kumbaya, my friends! KUMBAYA!!!!

♥

ترشی مخلوط | Persian Mixed Vegetable Pickles

Some of my fond memories of my epic trip to Iran include sprints over to my Aunt Fuzzy’s house and spending a bunch of fun quality times there with a few of my favorite relatives.

Aunt Fuzzy (isn’t that the cutest nickname?) is known for her refined elegance, wit and kind nature.

Lovely Khaleh Fuzzy | Tehran, Iran

Khaleh Fuzzy is also famous for her fabulous torshi — Persian pickles, that is!

Would you like the recipe and to see more pix? Sure you do!

Torshi (you may recall from earlier Torshi Persian pickle posts ) can be made with fruits and vegetables (raw and/or cooked) and fragrant herbs (fresh and/or dried) jazzed up with spices and preserved in vinegar and salt. Some types of torshi are ready to eat shortly after being prepared, while some require being aged (from as little as a few days to a pretty awesome type of garlic pickle ‘sir torshi‘ that’s supposed to age for exactly seven years) before they are prime for consumption.

A good torshi is a tangy, tasty, textured condiment that enhances the pleasure of the main dish. Iranians can’t get enough of torshi and Persian pickles belong to that category of classic accoutrements of a Persian meal – like yogurt and sabzi khordan — that one fondly expects to find when sitting down to a Persian meal, or alternatively, to be sad and sour to find a dinner table bereft of its presence.

Speaking of good torshi, Khaleh Fuzzy makes many different kinds of excellent torshi, one better than the next, and each time, she makes a huge batch, as she’s in the habit of giving away numerous jars (sometimes big buckets) of it away to friends and family who count their blessing to be on the receiving list of this tasty bounty. When I was in Tehran last year I got to taste Khaleh Fuzzy’s torshi on a few delicious occasions. In particular, I greatly enjoyed kahelh Fuzzy’s famous mixed-vegetable torshi (with the eggplant being the star ingredient) and the good news is this: I have its recipe for you, as directly narrated to me by my very own lovely khaleh.

I’ll get to the recipe in a jiffy but first, let me show you some behind the scenes pix:

Khaleh Fuzzy w a big bowl of her famous torshi | Tehran, Iran 2014

Super cool, super doost dashtani duo! <3

Veggies

• seedless eggplants
• celery
• Jerusalem artichokes (sib zamini ye torshi)
• carrots
• cauliflower (gol kalam گول کلم)
• white cabbage (kalam picheh کلم پیچه)
• jalapeno pepper (felfel sabz فلفل سبز) sweet or hot
• optional, that is if you can find it: tiny cucumbers, called cornichons or gherkins here

herbs

• taragon (tarkhoun ترخن)
• cilantro (geshniz گشنیز)
• parsley (jafari جعفری)

Use even amounts of the above.

Advieh (mixed spices)

• ground green cumin (zireh sabz زیره سبز))
• ground black cumin (zireh siyah زیره سیاه)
• ground coriander seeds (tokhm geshniz تخم گشنیز)
• nigella seeds (siyah dooneh سیاه دونه)
• golpar (ground golpar as well as golpar seeds)

Optional as may be impossible to find outside of Iran

• If you can find it (musir موسیر) which is a cross between shallots and garlic
• special advieh mix for torshi from Bazar ‘e Tajrish(optional and if at all possible!)

You will also need:

• vinegar
• salt
• turmeric

Note: Precise measurements not given as (per Khaleh Fuzzy) the proportions are flexible and a matter of personal taste. Do bear in mind that eggplants are the main attraction and ingredient, so if using a pound of eggplants, use just enough of the rest of the veggie ingredients to serve as an accentuating texture, color and flavor.

Start with the eggplant
Peel and slice (halgeh halgeh) eggplants then put in a big pot and add enough vinegar to cover. Also add a good bit of salt and turmeric. Bring this to a boil. Once boiling – continuing on medium to high heat – stir well until eggplant turns into a porridge texture. If there are some eggplant chunks remaining, that’s actually fine and good as it adds a nice bit of texture to the torshi. Remove from heat, cool and set aside till later.

Next, you prep plenty of fresh vegetables (sabzijat mofassal)
Cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, celery and Jersusalem artichokes (but not the Jalapeño peppers): these you (khord khord) chop into pieces.  How small to chop? It’s up to you. Khaleh Fuzzy says she doesn’t like it either too big (doroosht) nor too fine. After chopping the veggies, you spread them on trays lined with paper towels and leave to dry completely. (Using a salad spinner beforehand may be a good idea. Khaleh Fuzzy herself uses the “chador shab” method, the closest translated approximation of which is spreading vegetables on a cheesecloth type of fabric overnight to insure the vegetables are bone dry.)

For our fragrant herbs we have: even amounts of tarragon, cilantro and parsley, a mixture that is called “sabzi ‘ye hafteh bijar”. Gently wash, trim, dry and chop these as well.

For the advieh (mixed spice): Khaleh Fuzzy likes to layer green and black cumin, coriander seeds, nigella seeds, golpar and moosir (aka Persian shallots) plus a special type of advieh sold in Tajrish bazar called “advieh ‘ye torshi” which obviously you will be hard pressed to find here but do look out for it if you ever get to the wonderful bazar of Tajrish in Tehran! (Note: Moosir or what is called Persian shallots and which is a hybrid of shallot and garlic is often sold dried, so you soak it overnight in cold water and then drain and dry moosir as much as possible before adding it to the torhsi.)

Khaleh Fuzzy says that the main spice (asl’e kari) in her torshi is golpar which she uses both the seed and ground powder. (If you’re unfamiliar with this very Persian spice, here’s the recent post on golpar.)

Assembly

When your veggies and herbs and spices are all prepared and ready to go, it’s time to layer and assemble the torshi. In your container of choice (Kahleh Fuzzy uses a lidded bucket because she makes a huge amount, pick one that’s the best fit for the amount you’re preparing) commence by adding the eggplant porridge with plenty of salt and turmeric and pepper. Next add the chopped vegetables, then the fragrant herbs, and then the advieh (mixture of spices). Add enough vinegar to cover and plenty of salt and shake the container to make sure vinegar reaches the bottom of the jar and that the advieh is mixed well in the jar. Store in a cold place and every day (for 3 days) stir with a wooden spoon so that the fresh herbs that may have sunk to the bottom come back to the top. [Torshi needs plenty of salt (namak ‘e faravoon) because “vinegar eats the salt” Khaleh Fuzzy says.]

Khaleh Fuzzy likes her torshi on the raw, crunchy side – so she likes to make the pickle and eat it by day 3. When stored longer than that, this torshi becomes softer and mealy in texture, which Khaleh Fuzzy doesn’t like at all but some people prefer. It’s a matter of choice.

Fill a couple of small serving bowls with the torshi and enjoy as a wonderful condiment with most types of Persian food, and it goes rather wonderfully with rich meaty dishes as well.

Re Jalapeno pepper: they can be done without but Khaleh Fuzzy really likes them b/c they add heat and spice to torshi. Sometimes she uses hot jalapenos and sometimes she likes to use the sweet ones.

A bunch of us on Khaleh Fuzzy’s scenic rooftop terrace | Tehran, Iran 2014

And thus concludes this sweet and definitely not sour post about my aunt’s famous mixed veggie Persian pickles.

Thank you lovely Khaleh Fuzzy for your lovely recipe!

Gentle reader: make this; eat this with some yummy Persian food; and may it be:

noosh ‘e jaan!