Persian Cuisine, Fragrant and Rich With Symbolism By Melissa Clark | The New York Times
The scents of Nowruz hit me from the moment I walked in the door of Naz Deravian’s house in Inglewood, Calif. Wafts of floral hyacinth, pungent vinegar, earthy wheatgrass and perfumey rose water — it’s a particular mingling that comes together every spring during the Persian New Year. LOS ANGELES —
“Food is at the center of Persian culture; it’s integral to everything,” she said as she lifted the lid on a pot of rice fragrant with herbs. At the bottom of the rice pot were thin pieces of lavash that would, Ms. Deravian hoped, crisp into tahdig — the golden, crunchy and buttery crust prized at Persian meals. Getting a perfect tahdig, which can also be made from yogurt, thinly sliced onions or potatoes (or the rice itself), is one of the most challenging techniques in all of Persian cooking. Ms. Deravian was fretting over hers, worried that the flatbread would burn or the rice turn mushy. Persian cuisine is one of the world’s great gastronomies, flourishing for centuries across an area that, at the height of the ancient Persian Empire (circa 550 to 330 B.C.), included modern-day Iran, along with parts of Iraq, Macedonia, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. They are imbued with fresh flowers and herbs like rose petals, fenugreek and mint; spices like saffron, sumac and cardamom; fruits like pomegranate and barberry; all kinds of citrus; and nuts, including pistachios and almonds. If this roster of ingredients sounds familiar, it’s because Persian cooking influenced Middle Eastern, Moroccan, Northern Indian and Turkish cuisines yet itself remains somewhat below the radar.
The repertoire of dishes is fragrant, diverse and highly refined, based on complex culinary techniques.
“Persians are always looking for meaning in everything we eat,” Ms. Deravian said. “It’s never just food. There’s mythology and tradition that goes back thousands of years behind every bite.”
Part of the recognition problem in the United States, Ms. Deravian said, is that even with a robust Iranian-American population (estimated to be one million to two million), there’s a stunning lack of Persian restaurants. Southern California — home to the vast majority of Iranian-Americans and the groceries, bakeries and ice cream shops that cater to them — has a handful. But for the most part, they’re not making the exalted, intricate dishes for which the culture is famous.
“Even in Los Angeles, most people’s Persian food experience starts and ends with kebabs ,” she said. “The real Persian cooking happens in people’s houses .” Luckily, hospitality is another hallmark of Persian culture. In late March, Ms. Deravian invited me into her home for Nowruz, which signifies the beginning of the 13-day Persian New Year celebration. The holiday, with its menu of classic and symbolic Persian dishes, is an excellent lens through which to explore the rarefied cuisine. An ancient Zoroastrian festival of the spring equinox, Nowruz has been celebrated continuously for at least 3,000 years, more than a thousand years before the region’s Muslim conquest. It predates most of the holidays Americans celebrate today yet shares many of the same traditions. This is particularly the case with Easter and Passover, which fall around the same time in early spring. During Nowruz, a celebration of rebirth and renewal, people color eggs, scrub their houses from top to bottom and eat copious amounts of fresh herbs. Unlike Easter and Passover, though, Nowruz is not a religious holiday. Persian Muslims, Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians — in the global diaspora and in Iran — all celebrate it. Pouria Abbassi, a board member of Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, which has sponsored Nowruz celebrations on Capitol Hill, said that the ancient customs of Nowruz are an important link to Persian heritage.
“Since it is a nonreligious, nonpolitical
celebration, it is the single most important
event that brings all Iranians together with
great pride ,” he said. “In our culture , Nowruz
is the only powerful common denominator.”
Nilou Motamed, the editor of Food & Wine magazine, who is Iranian, described it as a time when families gather to feast and bond over an overabundant meal. “Nowruz is like Thanksgiving in that everyone celebrates it, and everyone cooks the same foods, though with their own family spin on it,” she said. “The traditions and meaning of Nowruz run deep in the Iranian psyche,” Ms. Motamed added.
“Iran has had a complicated political relationship with the West for the last 40 years,” she said. “For us émigrés, Nowruz is a great way for us to share some of the richness of our culture through food.” Like Thanksgiving, having too much food at a Nowruz meal is part of the deal. “We are a culture that likes to overfeed,” she said. “We would never have just one main course. Excess is essential to our DNA, it provides a sense of welcoming bounty and joy.” Evidence of such excess was certainly found in Ms. Deravian’s kitchen. There were the symbolic dishes crucial for any Nowruz dinner. There was the sabzi polo mahi, an herbed rice with smoked fish that represents life (fish), renewal and rebirth (fresh green herbs), and prosperity (rice).There was the kuku sabzi, a brilliant green, herb-stuffed frittata meant to represent fertility (eggs). Fresh spring herbs, which can also represent the earth, made another appearance with feta and a homemade paneer cheese, along with juicy radishes from the farmers’ market, and tart, fuzzy-skinned fresh green almonds that Ms. Deravian picked up at a Persian shop on Westwood Avenue the day before.
And for dessert, there was toot, rose-wa-
ter-flavored almond paste representing a life
full of sweetness and a heart full of love .
MDeravian’s daughters, Luna, 9, and Soleil, 6, formed the almond paste into both the traditional white mulberry shapes and into cute little bunnies. “Persians are always looking for meaning in everything we eat,” Ms. Deravian said. “It’s never just food. There’s mythology and tradition that goes back thousands of years behind every bite.” She turned her attention back to the herbed rice, which was ready to serve. First, she scooped the green-flecked grains onto a platter. Next, she mixed saffron butter into a portion of the rice to stain it bright orange. Then, the moment of truth. It was time to lift the tahdig — that crispy bottom crust — out of the pan. (If it were a rice tahdig, they might have turned it out, but with a lavash tahdig, lifting is easier.) If it burned or stuck, not only would all the guests be disappointed, but it could also cast a symbolic pall over the year to come, whereas a perfect tahdig indicates good things ahead. Ms. Deravian nudged it nervously with her spoon to loosen it, then let out a whoop. The guests cheered as the burnished crust of tahdig slipped out of the pan and onto the rice; it was a perfect golden disk.
“There’s an art to making tahdig ,” Ms. Deravian said as she and her father hooked arms to do a little dance of joy.“But there’s also a little bit of magic .”
Top five Persian restaurants in London By Saeed Kamali Dehghan| The Guardian
London probably has more Persian restaurants than any other western city apart from Los Angeles, or Tehrangeles as it is called by expat Iranians. If you are fed up with the usual Persian kebabs, kubideh (minced meat), barg (fillets) or jujeh (grilled chicken chunks) and want to try an authentic Persian dish, I have compiled the list of my favourite dishes in my top five Persian restaurants in London.
If you still want to eat kebab, you can in all of the restaurants mentioned, and if for some strange reason you are curious to know how a “special hamburger” tastes in Iran, visit Caspian Sandwich bar on Ealing Broadway for a real Iranian fast food experience. If you want to taste the traditional kaleh pacheh, boiled cow or sheep’s feet and head, visit Azerbaijan Restaurant in Hammersmith at the weekend. You will either hate this last recommendation or love it, and if you are too sensitive to see a sheep’s head on your plate, complete with boiled eyes and tongues (I am), skip this suggestion right away. The other traditional dish one should try is abgoosht (or dizi) – mutton soup thickened with chickpeas. Try it at Mohsen restaurant in Kensington. You can find pretty much all Persian dishes in London but I’m afraid we are yet to have a Persian pizza place (a whole concept of its own) here. And lastly, if you want to try something at home and cook yourself, or want to explore vegetarian options, check out Maryam Sinaiee’s wonderful recipes in her blog The Persian Fusion (especially her veggie tahchin).
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Eat ghormeh sabzi at Hafez restaurant
It is the most favourite of Persian stews, and if it’s cooked in an apartment building, all neighbours would easily know you are having ghormeh sabzi for lunch. The smell is alluring and the taste is unique. It is a mixture of sautéed herbs, kidney beans and lamb or beef. The setting at Hafez is great – you are surrounded by antique cutlery and calligraphy paintings on the wall. If you order ghormeh sabzi, also ask for a bit of tahdig, the crispy rice crust. Try the saffron beer, even though it doesn’t live up to its name. Order some starters, too, if you have space: mirza ghasemi and kashk-e-bademjan (both variations of aubergine). Address: 5 Hereford Rd, London W2 (020 7221 3167).
Eat lubia polo at Tandis restaurant
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The moms’ version of this dish is always the best as different chefs have various approaches to making it. It is usually a plate of rice, green beans and tomato sauce. Some add meat (which I like), some don’t. The difference is often down to the spices used, whether it has cinnamon or other spices. But trust me, try it at least once. Some Iranian households cook a lubia polo at least once a week, that’s how popular it is. The best lubia polo you can find in a London restaurant is at Tandis. Address: 73 Haverstock Hill, London NW3 (020 7586 8079).
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Eat koofteh tabrizi at Azerbaijan restaurant
This is really special, and mostly a favourite of Iranian Azeris, but nevertheless it has become a national dish and people in Tehran enjoy it as much as people in Tabriz, north-west of Iran, where it comes from. It is a giant meatball stuffed with all sorts of herbs and spices, including peas, leeks, mint, parsley and onion. There is always a surprise hidden in the core of the koofteh (spoiler: it can be walnuts, dried apricot or dried plums). Azerbaijan specialises in Azeri food but also has great kebabs, so if you feel koofteh was not enough as a main course, try a skewer of kebab too. Address: 291-293 King St, London W6 (020 8563 8553).
Eat kabab torsh at K ateh restaurant
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This is a top-notch place and prices are higher than usual. Go there if you want somewhere fancy, but expect to spend more money. The upside is the quality is good. Torsh means sour or acidic. Iranians love anything torsh (people call me insane, but I used to drink a glass of abghoreh or verjuice – unripe grape juice – every day in Iran). Kabab torsh is chargrilled marinated breast end of lamb in pomegranate juice, crushed walnuts, young grapes and fresh mint served with saffron rice. Address: 5 Warwick Pl, London W9 (020 7289 3393).
Eat ghalieh mahi at Galleria restaurant
I have to confess, I’ve eaten more ghalieh mahi in London than I’ve eaten during my entire life in Iran. This is a fish stew from south Iran and is served with saffron rice. If you like fish – tilapia, in this case – and also want to try a spicy Persian stew, go for this meal. Galleria is in the heart of London and has a very nice atmosphere. The restaurant is called Galleria because it’s a mixture of a restaurant and gallery with nice paintings for sale on the wall. Address: 17 New Cavendish St, London W1G (020 7224 1692).
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