Stews in Iran

In addition to the kebab and rarely in place of it, we would be offered special stews. These were the items on the menu that I treasured the most.

Pomegranate stew (Fesenjan) is made with chicken or little meatballs. This one in Tehran has meatballs. If there is a national dish, it is this. The second photo is my version of Chicken with Pomegranate Sauce (Khoreshe Fesenjan). If you click on the recipe title, you'll go to the post on this blog.

Yellow split pea stew with lamb often decorated with French fries, in Tehran. In Yazd, the chef added a bit of cinnamon which added a nice touch.

Here is my version of this wonderful dish, shown above, called Lamb Khoresht with Split Peas and Fried Potatoes.

Herb stew with red beans and lamb, in Yazd, slightly off kilter and not because I had been drinking. The round shapes are dried limes.

Here's my recipe for the above called Fresh Herb Stew (Khoresh-e Qormeh Sabzi).

Lamb with sliced almonds, dried limes, and barberries, in Kermanshah. You can tell I had already been piling this onto my plate of rice. The round shape is a dried lime, used for flavoring, which is usually not eaten. I ate this one and it was delicious.

Tabrizi meatball the size of a baseball with a plum inside, at a restaurant in Tabriz. I couldn't eat all of it, obviously, but I got to the plum.

Eggplant stew with kashk drizzled on top, in Zanjan at the caravanserai restaurant.  Kashk is a yogurt product. You can find it in jars at a Persian deli.

Here is my recipe for Eggplant with Traditional Whey. I made a double recipe for a recent dinner party. It was the favorite dish of the meal.

Madskillz Starts Friday, June 24

Both Chris and I will be performing and teaching workshops.  See you there!

Drinks in Iran

Alcohol of any sort is not legally available in Iran and consequently we didn’t drink a drop of it the entire time we were in the country. Drinks of choice around our group’s table were Coke, Coke Zero, Coke Lite, Fanta, ZumZum (an Iranian cola), non-alcoholic beer which came in various flavors, like hibiscus, and of course bottled water. I chose water and after the meal hot tea if it was offered.

Desserts in Iran

Three desserts were customarily offered: gelatin of various flavors including of all things banana and one that looked like blue Scope, crème caramel, and ice cream. Some were tastier than others. After a couple of not so tasty crème caramels, I was able to decline most desserts, except for the occasional saffron ice cream which was heavenly.

Baklava and dates were a treat after one lunch in Tehran.

Saffron rice pudding and halva in Esfahan, a departure from the usual, along with a cup of tea.

Two Special Lunches

Abgusht in Jolfa
After visiting an Armenian Christian Church north of Jolfa, very close to the border of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, we went to a special tea house for lunch. They specialize in a soup which is very easy to prepare in their tiny kitchen and just delicious. It is call abgusht.

First thing in the morning, the owner fills mug-sized metal containers with lids with a combination of lamb, a potato, a tomato, garbanzo beans, and onions, some water, and I assume some salt.

The containers are set in a metal box with a lid over a low flame and cook for 4 or 5 hours until the ingredients are soft, the broth is tasty and it’s time for lunch.

Containers with metal bowls, bread, a pounding device, fresh onions and chiles are brought to the table.

To eat it, you pour the broth into the bowl and add bread and fresh onions, if you'd like. That’s the first course.

Next you pour the vegetables and meat into your metal bowl and pound it with the plunger-like thing until everything is all mushed together.

You eat that mixture with more fresh onions and green chiles. I realize it doesn't look all that appetizing but believe me it is totally splendid and so fun to eat.






Visit to a Restaurant Kitchen

After visiting the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth imam of Shi'a Muslims, in Mashhad, we took the bus out into the countryside for lunch at a place that specialized in lamb chop kebabs. They were just delicious. I asked Reza, our guide, if I might visit the kitchen. We had to wait until lunch service was over—the restaurant had been packed with customers—to venture down into the basement kitchens. The head chef showed me around as Reza translated. Just look at that face.

The cooks marinating the lamb and threading them onto flat skewers for the dinner service.

The chef who makes all the salads.

The pastry chef. Why are so many pastry chefs women? Michelle, do you have an answer? (Michelle is my daughter-in-law who is the pastry chef at Range in San Francisco.)

The giant pots for cooking rice and the area behind the pots where the grilling takes place.

A dish sterilizing device of which the head chef seemed particularly proud. Once washed, the dishes move on to a conveyor belt which takes them through the sterilizing process involving a high temperature.





I don't know why I get such a kick out of seeing restaurant kitchens around the world. But I do. Thanks to Reza, I got to see one in Iran.