Persian Cuisine

Apart from the culture and history of Iran, one of the most important attractions of Persian culture is Persian Cuisine! In this article, we’d like to introduce you to some of the most famous Iranian dishes.

Kebabs in Persian Cuisine

Chicken kebab

Chicken kebab is one of the traditional Iranian kebabs that has many fans. To prepare the kebab, you need to place the sliced chicken in lemon juice, saffron, yogurt, and salt for a few hours. After marinating the chicken, you should grill it, using a skewer. Chicken Kebab always comes with bread or rice.

Chicken Kebab is one of the most popular dishes that Iranians prepare when they go on a picnic or gather together.

Koobideh Kebab

The oldest evidence for this kebab in Iran dates back to the Qajar era, in the 19th century. The name of the kebab was derived from the fact that its meat was beaten in a mortar, and the people may have given this name to this kebab. But today, to prepare Koobideh Kebab, you have to grind lamb and marinate it with spices and grated onion. After a few hours, shape the minced meat around the skewer and then grill it.

Barg Kebab

To prepare this kebab, cut a thin layer of mutton fillet and beat both sides with a knife. Then add the grated onion, pepper, and salt to the meat, mix well and leave it for at least four hours. Now the meat is ready to grill.

From the past to the present, Iranians always use sumac with kebab. You should pour this spice on Kabab after cooking it. There are several reasons for using sumac.

First, sumac is antimicrobial and eliminates meat contamination. Second, having sumac with kebab reduces cholesterol and reduces the fat absorption of meat used to cook kebabs.

Stews in Persian Cuisine

Ghormeh Sabzi

Ghormeh Sabzi is one of the most popular stews among Iranians, which is served with rice or Chelo. To prepare this stew, vegetables such as fenugreek, spinach, leeks, parsley, and coriander are chopped and fried. Then add water, red beans, lemon juice, and minced meat and cook for a few hours.

Gheymeh Stew

Gheymeh means chopped meat. The oldest evidence of the existence of Gheymeh in Iran dates back to the Safavid era, because the French tourist Jean Chardin, who had traveled to Iran at that time, mentions this delicious stew in his travelogue.

To prepare this stew, first, fry the onion and then add salt, pepper, and tomato paste. Then add the split peas, chopped meat, and a few glasses of water and cook for a few hours. Finally, garnish the stew with French fries.

Gheymeh is one of the dishes that is given to the people as a vow on the day of Ashura, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the third Imam of the Shiites.

Fesenjan

Fesenjan stew is one of the original Iranian stews. In cooking this stew,  the chef uses walnut, sour or sweet pomegranate paste as desired, small pieces of chicken or red meat. It comes with rice as well. The originality of this food is for Gilan province.

Apart from walnut, which is the main ingredient in Fesenjan, other ingredients are selected according to the taste of the cook or the taste of the climate. For example, in the north of the country, and especially in Gilan, people use chicken in cooking Fesenjan but in central Iran, people use red meat.

To prepare Fesenjan, fry the chicken and then fry the onion and add salt and turmeric to it, then add 3 to 4 glasses of water and minced walnuts to it and put it on a gentle heat until the stew boils slowly. Then let it cook well and add pomegranate paste to the stew at the end.

Aash Reshteh or Persian Noodle broth

There are different types of soup in Iran, the most famous of which is Aash Reshteh. This food is heavier than soup and also it is a complete meal. It is more popular in cold seasons and during Ramadan.

To prepare the Aash, first cook the chickpeas, beans, and lentils with some salt and turmeric. Then add chopped vegetables such as spinach, coriander, leeks, and parsley and let it boil for about half an hour. In the last step, add the noodle to it. To make the Ash tastier, add some fried garlic or fried onion as well. This food is a very good option for vegetarians who travel to Iran!

Ash is very popular on cold winter nights and is also one of the votive foods in religious ceremonies.

Dizi

Another popular dish in Iran is Dizi, which is fatty and heavy and people usually eat it on weekends. To cook Dizi, it is usually better to use a clay or stone pot. The name of these special pots is dizi. First, put the lamb, fat, chickpeas, beans, tomatoes, and onions into the pot and add water to it. After an hour, add the potatoes and wait for the mixture to cook completely.

To eat this food, after cooking, pour the broth into a separate container and beat the remaining mixture well, and serve it with bread. Also, put small pieces of bread into the broth, mix well and eat.

Iranians usually have Dizi on weekends as lunch when the whole family gathers.  It is a heavy food and eating it is not suitable for dinner.

Eggplant Dish or Kashk-e Bademjan

Eggplant Dish is one of the most popular Iranian dishes among foreign tourists! To prepare this delicious dish, first grill the eggplants and then mash them. Add the mashed eggplants to the garlic and onion that we have already fried, then add some dried mint and curd to it and serve the dish with bread.

The curd or Kashk that is served with this dish, as well as Ash, is very useful for the body. The benefits of Kashk for the health and vitality of the skin and body are very significant. Kashk can be considered as a by-product of milk, which is obtained by boiling or drying the liquid that remains after buttering.

The raw material of curd is obtained from cow’s, sheep’s, goat’s milk, or a mixture of them. It is interesting to know that no food has as much protein as Kashk. Dried Kashk contains vitamins B1, B2, salt, calcium, and protein and you can use it as nutritious food to reduce hunger and take up little space in the stomach.

Shirazi Salad

Shirazi salad is one of the most popular types of salads in Persian Cuisine. To prepare this salad, chop tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions into small pieces, then add dried mint and fresh lemon juice and mix.

The ratio of Shirazi salad ingredients is important. Cucumber has the largest share in the composition of Shirazi salad. Then tomatoes and onions. For example, to prepare a large bowl of Shirazi salad, we need 3 large cucumbers, 2 medium tomatoes, and an onion.

Shole Zard

Shole Zard is one of the delicious and very popular Iranian desserts. Iranians serve it hot and cold.  Iranians know this traditional and old dessert as an occasional dessert that is distributed among the people on religious occasions as a vow. Shole Zard is a good option for the holy month of Ramadan.

To prepare a delicious Shole Zard, first put the rice into a pot and soak it with a little rose water and saffron without adding salt. Pouring saffron while soaking makes the rice more colorful. Add water and sugar to this mixture and cook the rice completely.

During your trip to Iran, you will experience a unique variety and quality of Persian Cuisine with Pasargad tours. Contact us!