Los Angeles Persian Restaurants

The eggplant, aubergine, begun, or brinjal (Solanum melongena), is a plant of the family Solanaceae (also known as the nightshades) and genus Solanum. It bears a fruit of the same name, commonly used as a vegetable in cooking. As a nightshade, it is closely related to the tomato and potato and is native to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India.

The fruit is botanically classified as a berry, and contains numerous small, soft seeds, which are edible, but are bitter because they contain (an insignificant amount of) nicotinoid alkaloids, unsurprising as it is a close relative of tobacco.

The raw fruit can have a somewhat bitter taste, but becomes tender when cooked and develops a rich, complex flavor. Salting and then rinsing the sliced fruit (known as “degorging”) can soften and remove much of the bitterness though this is often unnecessary. Some modern varieties do not need this treatment, as they are far less bitter. The fruit is capable of absorbing large amounts of cooking fats and sauces, allowing for very rich dishes, but the salting process will reduce the amount of oil absorbed. The fruit flesh is smooth; as in the related tomato, the numerous seeds are soft and edible along with the rest of the fruit. The thin skin is also edible, so that peeling is not required.

The plant is used in cuisines from Japan to Spain. It is often stewed, as in the French ratatouille, the Italian melanzane alla parmigiana, the Arabian moussaka, and Middle-Eastern and South Asian dishes.

Eggplant is richer in nicotine than any other edible plant, with a concentration of 100 ng/g (or 0.01 mg/100g). However, the amount of nicotine from eggplant or any other food is negligible compared to passive smoking. On average, 20 lbs (9 kg) of eggplant contains about the same amount of nicotine as a cigarette.

Studies of the Institute of Biology of São Paulo State University, Brazil, have shown that eggplant is effective in the treatment of high blood cholesterol. It helps to block the formation of free radicals and is also a source of folic acid and potassium.

You can find authentic Persian Eggplant on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Shish kebab (in which “shish” is from Turkish şiş, pronounced /ʃiʃ/, meaning “skewer”) is a dish consisting of meat threaded on a skewer and grilled. Any kind of meat may be used; cubes of fruit or vegetables are often threaded on the skewer as well. Typical vegetables include eggplant, tomato, bell pepper, onions, and mushrooms.
In most dialects of North American English, the word “kebab” usually refers to shish kebab.

Cubes of chicken are skewered and grilled. Common marinades are based upon yogurt or a tomato puree, though there are many variations. Shish kebab is typically eaten with garlic paste toum.

The original Turkish version is served with rice and a garlic paste along with vegetables. The sandwich version comes in a flat bread or pita wrap seasoned with garlic paste, along with lettuce, tomatoes, and pickled turnips. It is widely eaten in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, either as a sandwich or on a platter with vegetables, sometimes with chips French fries.

You can find authentic Persian Shish Kebab on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Kebab (also occasionally transliterated as kebap, kabab, kebob, kabob, kibob, kebhav, kephav) refers to a variety of meat dishes in Arabic,Turkish, Persian, Cypriot, Iraqi, Pakistani, Central Asian, South Asian and some of the African cuisines. The best-known kebab dishes in the West consist of grilled or broiled meats wrapped in bread accompanied by lettuce and tomatoes with garlic sauce.

The word kabab (کباب) is ultimately from Persian and originally meant fried meat, not grilled meat on a stick. The Arabic word possibly derives from Aramaic כבבא kabbābā, which probably has its origins in Akkadian kabābu meaning “to burn, char”.[2] In the 14th century, kebab is defined to be synonymous with tabahajah, a Persian word for a dish of fried meat pieces. The Persian word was considered more high-toned in the medieval period. Kebab was used frequently in Persian books of that time to refer to meatballs made of ground or pounded chicken or lamb.

The most common kebabs include lamb and beef, although others use goat, squid, chicken, fish, or shellfish. Observant Muslims and Jews do not use pork for kebabs because of religious and cultural prohibitions, but pork kebabs can be found in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, United Kingdom and India, especially in the state of Goa. Like other ethnic foods brought by immigrants and travellers, the kebab has become part of everyday cuisine in multicultural countries around the globe.

You can find authentic Persian Kebab on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Chelow kabab (Persian: چلوکباب) is the national dish of Iran. The meal is simple, consisting of steamed, saffroned basmati or Persian rice (chelow) and kabab, of which there are several distinct Persian varieties. This dish is served throughout Iran today, but was traditionally associated with the northern part of the country.

Chelow kabab is served with the basic Iranian meal accompaniments, in addition to grilled tomatoes on the side of the rice, and butter on top of the rice. Somagh (powdered sumac) is also made available, and can be sprinkled upon the rice. It is an old northern tradition (probably originating in Tehran) that a raw egg yolk should be placed on top of the rice, though this is strictly optional and no longer common. In fact, unless specifically requested, most restaurants will not serve the rice this way due to safety concerns surrounding the consumption of raw eggs.

In the old bazaar tradition, the rice (which is covered with a tin lid) and accompaniments are served first, immediately followed by the kababs, which are brought to the table by the waiter, who holds several skewers in his left hand, and a piece of flat bread (typically nan-e lavash) in his right. A skewer is placed directly on the rice and while holding the kabab down on the rice with the bread, the skewer is quickly pulled out. With the two most common kababs, barg and koobideh, two skewers are always served. In general, bazaar kabab restaurants only serve these two varieties, though there are exceptions.

The traditional beverage of choice to accompany chelow kabab is doogh, a Persian sour yogurt drink, flavored with salt and mint, and sometimes made with carbonated water.

You can find authentic Persian Chelow Kabab on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Ash (Persian: آش), is part of Iranian cuisine, similar to soup but thicker, which is usually served hot. Depending on the type of the ash, it could contain different types of grain, legumes (chick peas, black-eye beans, lentils), vegetables, herbs (parsley, spinach, dill, spring onion ends, coriander, dried mint), onions, oil, meat, garlic, reshteh (in Ash Reshteh) and spices, such as salt, pepper, turmeric, saffron, etc. Depending on the ingredients it can be considered a full meal.

Ash is a very popular dish among Iranians. In the good old days, Iranians were famous for the varieties of ashes they could prepare. There are many stories connected with the preparation of ash and the origin of this dish.

The varieties of ash depend on geographic location and the available ingredients. It can be a very simple meal, prepared inexpensively, or it can be a rich meal if one knows how to spice it properly. Iranians again use their own original spicing for this basically simple meal, but with a touch of true artistry they create a meal as simple yet as exotic as the poetry of Omar Khayyam and as colorful and rich as the miniature paintings of master painters like Behzad.

You can find authentic Persian Ash on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.

In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat — usually beef or lamb — mixed with spices and/or onions. The vegetarian variety like lauki kofta, shahi aloo kofta are popular in India.

The meat is often mixed with other ingredients such as rice, Bulgur, vegetables, or eggs to form a smooth paste. Koftas are sometimes made with fish or vegetables rather than meat, especially in India. They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked or marinated, and may be served with a rich spicy sauce. Variations occur in North Africa, the Mediterranean, Central Europe, Asia and India. According to a 2005 study done by a private food company, there were 291 different kinds of kofta in Turkey, where it is very popular. In Arab countries, kufta is usually shaped into cigar-shaped cylinders.

Early recipes (included in some of the earliest known Arabic cookbooks) generally concern seasoned lamb rolled into orange-sized balls, and glazed with egg yolk and sometimes saffron. This method was taken to the west and is referred to as gilding, or endoring. Many regional variations exist, notable among them the unusually large Iranian Kufteh Tabrizi, having an average diameter of 20cm (8″).

Koftas in South Asian cuisine are normally cooked in a spicy curry and sometimes with whole pre-boiled eggs. Sometimes the eggs are encased in a layer of the spicy kofta meat so that the final product resembles an Indian Scotch egg. These kofta dishes are very popular with South Asian families and are widely available from many Indian restaurants.

You can find authentic Persian Kofta on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Qormeh sabzi (Persian: قرمه سبزی) or xoresh-e-sabsi (Persian: خورش سبزی) is an Iranian herb stew. It is an important element of Persian cuisine, often said to be the Iranian “national dish”.

The main ingredients are a mixture of sauteed herbs, consisting mainly of parsley, leek, and a smaller amount of fenugreek leaves. The herb mixture has many variations; spinach and coriander are added in some regions, but do not form part of the original recipe. This mixture is cooked with kidney beans, green onions, chives, dried limes, and lamb or veal meat. Traditional Qormeh sabzi is almost always cooked with lamb and kidney beans, while in some northwestern regions of Iran, variations with black-eye beans exist. In recent times, some people replace beans with potatoes, which is also not part of the original recipe. Also, some prefer to leave out the fenugreek, while many consider it to be an essential ingredient. The dish is then served with polo (Persian rice).

It is best served with Basmati rice and plain or cucumber yogurt. Fresh or dried can be used for the herbs. The best is to buy the mix pre-made at an Iranian grocer.

You can find authentic Persian Qormeh Sabzi on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.

In Iran, this dish is made in Isfahan with baked mutton and lung that is stewed then minced separately and then grilled in special small round shallow pans in the oven or over the fire. The burgers are generally served, with powdered cinnamon, in a local bread, usually “nan-e taftoon” but also sometimes “nan-e sangak”.

In its more original form, the dish is known with the general name of “Dam Pukht/ Dan-pukhtak”. The compound in Persian means “steam-cooked”–a reference to the steamed rice that forms the basis of the dish. This name is still in common use in Iran besides “biryani”. In Southeast Asian countries such as Burma/Myanmar this older, general Persian term is in common use as “‘danpauk’

The beryani, a traditional dish from Isfahan, bears no resemblance to the rice-based biryani of India and Pakistan. The patty of chopped beef spiced with cinnamon and folded between lavash was much too dry. Choices are mostly variations of chicken or beef kabobs or a long, flattened cylinder of ground beef known as kubideh that tastes like mildly spiced sausage. They’re grilled to order and served with saffron-spiced rice or wrapped in a sheet of lavash flat bread.

You can find authentic Persian Biryani on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Biryani, biriani, or beriani is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat/chicken/vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā(n) which means “fried” or “roasted”.

Biryani was brought to the Indian Subcontinent by Muslim travelers and merchants. Local variants of this dish are not only popular in South Asia but also in the Middle East.

The spices and condiments used in biryani may include but are not limited to: ghee, peas, beans, cumin, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander and mint leaves, ginger, onions, and garlic. The premium varieties include saffron. For a non-vegetarian biryani, the main ingredient that accompanies the spices is the meat—beef, pork, chicken, goat, lamb, or shrimp. The dish may be served with dahi chutney or Raita, korma, curry, a sour dish of eggplant (brinjal) or a boiled egg.

The difference between biryani and pullao is that while pullao may be made by cooking the items together, biryani is used to denote a dish where the rice is cooked separately from the other ingredients.

You can find authentic Persian Biryani on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Gaz is the traditional name of Persian nougat originating from the city of Esfahan, located in the central plateau of Iran.

The name gaz is associated with gaz-angebin which translates to “sap of angebin”; a desert plant member of the Tamarisk family and native to the Zagros mountain range located to the west of the city.

The sweet, milky sap of the angebin plant is associated with manna, a food mentioned in the religious texts of the Abrahamic religions. This sap is collected annually and is combined with other ingredients including pistachio or almond kernels, rosewater and egg white. This combination of ingredients give gaz its distinctive flavour, rendering it unique when compared to European nougats.

Once collected from the mountains, the juice and sap of gaz-angebin are brought into town and placed into very large copper vessels which contain the remaining ingredients of egg white, pistachio or almond kernels, and rose water. The raw mixture is then beaten over heat until it reaches the desired consistency.

Traditionally (and still today) gaz-nougat is hand made and fashioned into individual round piece of about 2-3 inches in diameter and half an inch in thickness- packed into a box and covered with plain flour to keep the pieces from sticking to one another. They may be cut into bite-sized pieces, but are more often sold in larger sizes.

You can find authentic Persian Gaz on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.