Los Angeles Persian Restaurants

Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name “onion” but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa. Allium cepa is also known as the “garden onion” or “bulb” onion. It is grown underground by the plant as a vertical shoot that is used for food storage, leading to the possibility of confusion with a tuber, which it is not. Onions work well with all types of foods.

Allium cepa is known only in cultivation, but related wild species occur in Central Asia. The most closely related species include Allium vavilovii (Popov & Vved.) and Allium asarense (R.M. Fritsch & Matin) from Iran.

Onions, one of the oldest vegetables, are found in a large number of recipes and preparations spanning almost the totality of the world’s cultures. They are now available in fresh, frozen, canned, caramelized, pickled, powdered, chopped, and dehydrated forms. Onions can be used, usually chopped or sliced, in almost every type of food, including cooked foods and fresh salads and as a spicy garnish. They are rarely eaten on their own, but usually act as accompaniment to the main course. Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy and pungent or mild and sweet.

Onions pickled in vinegar are eaten as a snack. Onions are widely used in Iran and India and Pakistan, and are fundamental in the local cuisine. They are commonly used as a base for curries or made into a paste and eaten as a main course or as a side dish.

You can find authentic Persian Food containing Onion on many Persian Restaurants in Los Angeles.

In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted. Sauces need a liquid component, but some sauces (for example, pico de gallo salsa or chutney) may contain more solid elements than liquid. Sauces are an essential element in cuisines all over the world.

Sauces may be ready made sauces, usually bought, such as soy sauce, or freshly prepared by the cook; such as Béchamel sauce, which is generally made just before serving. Sauces for salads are called salad dressing. Sauces made by deglazing a pan are called pan sauces. A cook who specializes in making sauces is a saucier.

There are many sauces based on tomato (such as tomato ketchup, tomato pancake sauce, and tomato sauce), other vegetables and various spices. Although the word ‘ketchup’ by itself usually refers to tomato ketchup, it may also be used to describe sauces from other vegetables or fruits.

Sauces can also be sweet, and used either hot or cold to accompany and garnish a dessert. Another kind of sauce is made from stewed fruit, usually strained to remove skin and fibers and often sweetened. Such sauces, including apple sauce and cranberry sauce, are often eaten with specific other foods or served as desserts.

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

A tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily out of tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish (rather than as a condiment). Tomato sauces are common for meat and vegetables, but they are perhaps best known as sauces for pasta dishes.

Tomatoes have a rich flavour, low liquid content, very soft flesh which breaks down easily, and the right composition to thicken up into a sauce when they are cooked. All of these qualities make them ideal for simple and appealing sauces. The simplest tomato sauces consist just of chopped tomato flesh (with the skins and seeds optionally removed), cooked in a little olive oil and simmered until it loses its raw flavour, and seasoned with salt.

Water (or another, more flavourful liquid such as stock or wine) is often added to keep it from drying out too much. Onion and garlic are almost always sweated or sautéed at the beginning before the tomato is added. Other seasonings typically include basil, oregano, parsley, and possibly some spicy red pepper or black pepper. Ground or chopped meat is also common.

In countries such as Australia, New Zealand and in Southern Africa the term ‘tomato sauce’ is used to describe the condiment known in the USA as ‘ketchup’.

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

A plum tomato, also known as a processing tomato or paste tomato, is a type of tomato bred for sauce and packing purposes. They are generally oval or cylindrical in shape, with significantly fewer seed compartments than standard round tomatoes (usually only two) and a generally higher solid content, making them more suitable for processing. Plum tomatoes are also sometimes favored by cooks for use during the tomato off-season, as they are generally considered more amenable to handling and are therefore available in a state closer to ripe than other supermarket tomatoes.

Varieties commonly available in markets include Roma VF and San Marzano (semi-determinate; a signature tomato of Italian cuisine), though there are many other varieties, such as the short-season Ropreco Paste and the larger Amish Paste and Big Mama. Five hybrid cultivars grown in California constitute over 60% of total production of processing tomatoes. Small plum tomatoes (similar in size to cherry tomatoes) are known as grape tomatoes.

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

A cherry tomato is a smaller garden variety of tomato. It is marketed at a premium to ordinary tomatoes, and is popular as a snack and in salads. Cherry tomatoes are generally considered to be similar but not identical to the wild precursor of the domestic tomato. They are often more sour than standard tomatoes.

Cherry tomatoes range in size from a thumbtip up to the size of a golf ball, and can range from being spherical to slightly oblong in shape. The more oblong ones often share characteristics with plum tomatoes, and are known as grape tomatoes. The cherry tomato has 24 chromosomes, and a short style.

The cherry tomato is regarded as a botanical variety of the cultivated tomato, Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme. It was widely cultivated in Central America when the Conquistadores arrived and is thought to be the ancestor of all cultivated tomatoes. The most popular varieties today were developed in the Rehovot Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

There are a number of cherry tomato varieties. Perhaps the most popular in US and British gardens are “Sweet 100″ and “Gardener’s Delight” respectively.

The Santorini cherry tomato originated in Santorini (Greece), and is known for its flavour and body.

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

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a herbaceous, usually sprawling plant in the nightshade family that is typically cultivated for its edible fruit. Savory in flavor (and accordingly termed a vegetable), the fruit of most varieties ripens to a distinctive red color. Tomato plants typically reach to 1–3 metres (3–10 ft) in height, and have a weak, woody stem that often vines over other plants.

The tomato is native to South America. Genetic evidence shows that the progenitors of tomatoes were herbaceous green plants with small green fruit with a center of diversity in the highlands of Peru. The tomato is grown worldwide for its edible fruits, with thousands of cultivars having been selected with varying fruit types, and for optimum growth in differing growing conditions.

There are many (around 7500) tomato varieties grown for various purposes. Heirloom tomatoes are becoming increasingly popular, particularly among home gardeners and organic producers, since they tend to produce more interesting and flavorful crops at the cost of disease resistance and productivity.

Tomatoes are now eaten freely throughout the world, and their consumption is believed to benefit the heart among other things. They contain lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants. In some studies lycopene, especially in cooked tomatoes, has been found to help prevent prostate cancer. Lycopene has also been shown to improve the skin’s ability to protect against harmful UV rays. Tomato consumption has been associated with decreased risk of breast cancer, head and neck cancers and might be strongly protective against neurodegenerative diseases.

Though it is botanically a berry, a subset of fruit, the tomato is nutritionally categorized as a vegetable.

Tomatoes are used extensively in Mediterranean cuisine, especially Italian and Middle Eastern cuisines.

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

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.