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Persian Rice 101: Rake, Wash, Pray
“Persian rice is hands down the best rice in the world. For me it was a revelation, tender, each grain separate, and saffron makes it over the top delicious.” Suzanne PROLOGUE By now I’ve waxed poetic...
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Persian Rice 101: How to Make the Perfect Persian Rice
“There is a definite art to making Persian rice & I think it’s the best rice ever.“ Suzanne “If Minute Rice is a lifestyle choice, then Persian rice is a religion.” The Washington Post PROLOGUE...
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Sweet Basil, Muffins, Moosh &… Weiner!
I had a different post planned for today but it’ll just have to wait, because, I mean, look at this bunch of glorious sweet basil, thyme and mint! I don’t know whether to look at it or eat it and I...
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Honeypot Turnip – Shalgham va Assal (A Homemade Cure)
With a spell of a scratchy throat afflicting yours truly, I was prompted to avail myself of the goodness of shalgham va assal, or “honeypot turnip” as I’ve come to dub it, and it motivated me to...
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Kookoo ‘ye Sibzamini | Persian Potato Kookoo |+ Candied Turnips
I tend to go on and on – don’t protest you know it’s true – but sometimes you just have to get to the point already. A culinary version of jumping straight to the bottom line is kookoo ‘ye sib zamini...
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Bodbezan | Persian Handheld Fan
Some like it hot. I definitely and resolutely do not. People sometimes are surprised that I don’t like the heat. “But aren’t you from Iran? Didn’t you grow up in the desert? Isn’t it really hot...
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Laboo va Mast | Beet & Yogurt Borani
Some people are immune to the allure of beets. I do not count myself amongst them. I like beets cooked, roasted, raw, pickled, diced, sliced, grated, or whole. I like them in a house, I like them...
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Khoresh ‘eh Karafs – Persian Celery Stew
Plain Persian rice or polo is almost always paired with a type of khoresh, thus forming a formidable entity known as polo-khoresh. Just think of the pair as the Brangelina A-list power couple of...
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Aroosi | Persian Weddings
A Persian wedding with all its intriguing conventions and mores is a festive topic replete with stunning visuals; delicious food; and cultural and historical notes of interest. I’ve long pined to...
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Torshi ‘ye Bademjoon | Persian Eggplant Pickle
You may remember that shirin (as in shirin polo ) is an adjective meaning “sweet” in Persian. Perhaps you even recall that Shirin is also a popular name for girls in Iran. Torsh, in turn, is an...
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What’s in the bag? … Guess!
I’ll give you a few hints about what’s in the bag … First hint: it’s not a sheep that will eat baobab tree shrubs. Another hint: it’s edible. At least, it’s supposed to be. Third and final hint: it’s...
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Pretty Things. Things That Grow. | New York & Brooklyn
The other day in Manhattan (in the Washington Heights neighborhood to be precise) I saw this nice guy with a cart filled with colorful bottles that stopped me in my tracks. He said they were...
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Torshi ‘ye Zoghal Akhteh | Foraged & Pickled Cornelian Cherry
Left to Right: Sharbat, torshi, moraba, marmalade. Made with foraged zoghal akhteh. Recently, a dear and too-long-no-see cousin (my pessar amoo to be exact) came for a visit to New York and after a day...
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Somewhere in Iran …
Doves in front of a blue domed mosque are fed dooneh. (Tabriz | Iran) Saffron is harvested. (Khorasan | Iran) Someone weaves a carpet. (Isfahan | Iran) Photo Credit: The Atlantic Someone watches the...
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Cornelian Cherry 3 ways | Sharbat + Moraba + Marmalade
Making jam & syrup & marmalade with cornelian cherry The other day I shared the foraging tale of Cornelian cherry (zoghal akhteh) — a cranberry-lookalike savored in many countries but left to...
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The Poetics of Persian Food
Persian Serving Tray Recently, the wonderful editors of Mashallah News — an online publication devoted to shaking up Middle Eastern stereotypes — asked me to contribute to their “food” theme series. I...
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Persian Rice: Plain to POWABUNGA!!
Plain Persian Rice with saffron Va Va Voom Persian rice with berberis & candied orange peels I hope you’ve been practicing the art of making Persian rice, because it is time to amp up the volume...
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How to Groom a Persian Cat!
“From No. 37″ a documentary by Mohsen Shahrnazdar and Sam Kalantari Sadegh Hedayat was an iconic Iranian writer famous for his modern and dolorous prose. His demeanor, deportment, and the somber shroud...
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Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Muffins – Persianized!
Awhile ago, I was invited to a potluck. My game plan was to make a bottle of sharbat and a batch of shami. Sharbat, I’ve introduced to you before, and shami is a minced beef & chickpea-flour...
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Children of Persia | Sunday in Maryland! Come Say Hi!
This Sunday (September 22, from 11 a.m to 4 p.m) the 9th Annual Walk for Children — an event with a lot of fun activities for kids (face painting, magicians, balloon making, etc.) and plenty of amusing...
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