Los Angeles Persian Restaurants

Ash, 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 Reshteh is one of the most famous types of ash, made so commonly in Iran. The ingredients used in cooking Ash Reshteh are reshteh, kashk, herbs such as parsley, spinach, dill, spring onion ends and sometimes coriander, chick peas, black eye beans, lentils, onions, flour, dried mint, garlic, oil, salt and pepper.

Pomegranate soup is an Iranian and Iraqi ash made from pomegranate juice and seeds, yellow split peas, ground beef, mint leaves, spices, and other ingredients. It is called Ash-e anār in Iran and Shorbat Rumman in Iraq.

The Iranian American novelist Marsha Mehran wrote a 2006 novel entitled Pomegranate Soup. The book contains a recipe for ash-e anar.

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 flavor, 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. Gaz in flour is called “gaz-e-ardi”

In modern times and with the advent of automated machines capable of mixing, cutting and wrapping individual bite-sized pieces of gaz, production has increased to a commercial level and gaz is made in much the same way as any bite sized candy.

Ashrafi Gaz Company was a pioneer in the introduction and utilization of European machinery for the production of modern Persian nougat

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 everywhere throughout Iran today, but traditionally was most closely associated with the northern part of the country.

It 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 if desired, 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 as well, though this is strictly optional and no longer common, and most restaurants will not serve the rice this way unless it is specifically requested due to safety concerns surrounding the consumption of raw egg.

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 mineral water.

Persian rice recipes probably go back to the expansion of rice cultivation within the Persian Empire under Darius the Great. There is historical evidence that the cultivation of rice was introduced systematically into Mesopotamia and southwestern Iran on a large scale in the 5th century BCE, making rice available to the people of Central Asia and the Middle East on a scale that was not possible previously. In modern Persian, Pilaf is pronounced polo (پلو), with the first syllable short and the second long.

Persian culinary terms referring to rice preparations are numerous and have found their way into the neighboring languages: Polo (rice cooked in broth while the grains remain separate, straining the half cooked rice before adding the broth and then “brewing”), Chlo (white rice with separate grains), Kateh (sticky rice), Birdying, Machine (slow cooked rice, vegetables and meat cooked in a specially designed dish also called a ta chine).

There are four primary methods of cooking rice in Iran:

* Chelow: rice that is carefully prepared through soaking and parboiling, at which point the water is drained and the rice is steamed. This method results in an exceptionally fluffy rice with the grains separated and not sticky; it also results in a golden rice crust at the bottom of the pot called tah-digh (literally “bottom of the pot”). Chelow Recipe
* Polow: rice that is cooked exactly the same as chelow, with the exception that after draining the rice, other ingredients are layered with the rice, and they are then steamed together. Variety of Polow Recipes
* Kateh: rice that is boiled until the water is absorbed. This is the traditional dish of Northern Iran. Kateh Recipe
* Damy: cooked almost the same as kateh, except that the heat is reduced just before boiling and a towel is placed between the lid and the pot to prevent steam from escaping. Damy literally means “simmered.”

In Italian cuisine “pilaf” is a rice pre-cooking style that allows chefs in busy restaurants to cut down time in risotto preparation. Usually a large tray of Carnaroli or Arborio rice will be baked for seven minutes with a large onion and a carrot, in water. After that it will be placed on a marble slab to cool down. Once cooled it will be kept in the fridge and used ad hoc to prepare risotti in a shorter time, 7 to 10 minutes depend on the “al dente” texture that the chef wants to achieve, rather than the usual 16 to 20 minutes.

In Afghani cuisine, qabili Palau is made by cooking basmati in a brothy sauce. This dish may be made with lamb, chicken, or beef. Qabili Palau is baked in the oven and topped with fried sliced carrots and raisins. Chopped nuts like pistachios or almonds may be added as well. The meat is covered by the rice or buried in the middle of the dish.

Kabab koobideh or kūbide  is an Iranian minced meat kebab/kabab which is made from ground lamb or beef, often mixed with parsley and chopped onions.

Kabab Koubideh contains: ground meat, onion, salt, pepper, turmeric, and koobideh seasoning. These ingredients are then mixed well together until the mixture becomes smooth and sticky. One egg is added to help the mix stick together. The mixture is then pressed around a skewer. Koubideh Kabab is typically 7-8 inches long.

At Persian restaurants, typically the combination of one Kabab Barg & one Kabab Koobideh is called Soltani, or Kabab-e Makhsoos, meaning ‘Special Kebab’

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry featured in many cuisines of the formerly-Ottoman, Arab, and Iranian countries. It is a pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.

The history of baklava is not well-documented; it has been claimed by many ethnic groups, the best evidence is that it is of Central Asian Turkic origin, with its current form being developed in the imperial kitchens of the Topkapı Palace.

Vryonis (1971) identified the ancient Greek gastris, kopte, kopton, or koptoplakous mentioned in the Deipnosophistae, as baklava, and calls it a “Byzantine favorite”. However, Perry (1994) shows that though gastris contained a filling of nuts and honey, it did not include any dough; instead, it involved a honey and ground sesame mixture similar to modern pasteli or halva.

Haleem is a thick Persian, Pakistani and North Indian high calorie dish. In Anatolia, Iran, the Caucasus region and northern Iraq, types of haleem are Keshkek and Harisa. Although the dish varies from region to region, it always includes wheat, lentils and meat. Haleem, and a variation called Khichra is very popular in India.

Haleem is made of wheat, meat (usually beef or mutton, but sometimes chicken or minced meat), lentils and spices. This dish is slow cooked for seven to eight hours which results in a pastelike consistency, with the taste of spices and meat blending with wheat.

Haleem is sold as snack food in Bazaars all year around. It is also a special dish prepared throughout the world during Ramadan and Moharram months of Muslim Hijri calendar, particularly amongst Pakistani and Indian Muslims. In India, Haleem prepared in Hyderabad, during the Ramadan month, is very famous and is distributed all over the country.

In Bangladesh, Haleem has attained a significant level of popularity in the urban centres. It is now a very popular food item in capital Dhaka during Ramadan. The preparation of haleem is complicated.

Persian cuisine or the cuisine of Iran is diverse, with each province featuring dishes, culinary traditions and styles distinct to their regions. It includes a wide variety of foods ranging from chelo kabab (barg, koobideh, joojeh, shishleek, soltani, chenjeh), khoresht (stew that is served with white Basmati or Iranian rice: ghormeh sabzi, gheimeh, and others), aash (a thick soup:as an example Ash-e anar), kookoo (vegetable Souffle), pollo (white rice alone or with addition of meat and/or vegetables and herbs, including loobia pollo, albaloo pollo, Sabzi pollo, zereshk pollo,Baghali Polo and others), and a diverse variety of salads, pastries, and drinks specific to different parts of Iran. The list of Persian recipes, appetizers and desserts is extensive.

Herbs are frequently used along with fruits such as plums, pomegranates, quince, prunes, apricots, and raisins. The main Persian cuisines are combination of rice with meat, lamb, chicken, or fish and some onion, vegetables, nuts, and herbs. To achieve a balanced taste, characteristic Persian flavorings such as saffron, dried limes, cinnamon, and parsley are mixed delicately and used in some special dishes.

Barbari Bread (Persian: Nan-e Barbari ) is a type of Persian flatbread in Iran.

Originally brought to Iran by the group of Mongols known as Barbars. They settled in northeastern Iran and northwestern Afghanistan. Barbari means “of or related to Barbars” in Persian. Barbars are a group of people living in Afghanistan near eastern borders of Iran. According to Dehkhoda Dictionary of Persian Language, this bread was baked by the Barbar people and was brought to Tehran, becoming popular during the Qajar period.

The term Barbari can also be used similarly in Persian for Berbers who live in and around Algeria in North Africa.

The bread is served in many restaurants with “tabriz cheese”, a type of feta cheese from ewe’s milk.

* Taftan_(bread), another Iranian bread
* Sangak, another Iranian bread
* Lavash, another Iranian bread

Coffee is a popular beverage, generally taken black and super-strong. In the summer you can find fruit or flower syrups, taken with plenty of ice. Doogh, a cold drink made from yogurt and mineral water, is also well worth trying. Alcohol free beer is available in Iran, and rumor has it that some Iranians take this stuff home and ferment it themselves at home to add alcohol. A strong liquor called arrack and tasting of aniseed is also drunk.

Unfortunately for the short term tourist, restaurateurs in Iran often seem unaware of the amazing variety of food their culture has to offer, and often do little beyond kebabs and rice.

Most of Iran’s excellent food is confined to the kitchen of the family home. If you are lucky enough to be invited to an Iranian home for dinner, you should without doubt accept. The meal may well be set on the floor, sometimes without utensils.