When asked to come up with a theme, Editor Elizabeth tasked the Blog Staff with writing food and drink-themed posts. She said of food, “Everybody needs it, so everybody eats it.” When pressed for her favorite food, she said, “Sushi.” Our bloggers share what brings them to the table.
By Sara Habibipour
If you’re a foodie and haven’t had a taste of Persian cuisine, you are missing out! To be fair, there aren’t really any authentic Persian restaurants here in the Coachella Valley, but if you’re ever in LA or Anaheim, be sure to “Yelp” the nearest Persian restaurant. Or, just come to my house!
Here are my personal favorite Persian dishes:
Salad Shirazi and Mast O Khiar:
These two appetizers can be eaten separately or with the main meal, but I prefer to eat them together with lavash bread–a thin flat bread.
Salad Shirazi is a simple combination of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions–seasoned with dry mint and lemon juice.
The Mast o Khiar is plain yogurt, chopped cucumbers, and dry mint mixed together. I suppose you could say it’s similar to Greek Tzatziki, but it’s also very distinct in consistency and flavor.
These dishes are extremely refreshing!
Tahdig:
Tahdig is one of the most popular Persian foods.
Persian rice is cooked with a lot of butter and oil so it isn’t sticky as other rices may be. This allows for the rice at the bottom of the pan to become golden and crunchy, as seen in the picture above. It’s the best.
Ghormeh Sabzi:
Aside from kabobs, stews are a staple of Persian cuisine.
This stew in particular consists of various greens, kidney beans, and lamb (although, if you’re vegetarian, the meat is optional). The unique flavor of this stew comes from the limoo amani, or dried limes. You don’t eat them; you just put them in the pot with the stew while it cooks. It gives the stew a bit of a tang and a spike of flavor.
Fesenjan:
Fesenjan is a stew made of pomegranate paste and walnuts, seasoned with turmeric and cinnamon. This may not sound like the best-tasting dish, but it’s the perfect combination!
At a restaurant, one time, I tried the fesenjoon on top of tahdig, and it was glorious.
Fesenjan is a very rich-tasting dish. So, if you aren’t afraid of flavor, I highly recommend that you try this.
***
You can see, Persian cuisine is very colorful, fresh, and flavorful. There are, of course, many other dishes, but these are a few of my favorites! If you ever feel like trying to make these dishes for yourself, there’s several Youtube videos that can help you out!
Image Sources:
https://www.thedeliciouscrescent.com/tomato-cucumber-salad-with-fresh-herbs/
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/saffron-rice-with-tahdig-5609026
https://www.thedeliciouscrescent.com/persian-fresh-herb-stew-with-meat-and-kidney-beans/
Food & Drink Editor: Elizabeth Shay