Cooking in Iran: Regional Recipes and Kitchen Secrets

Najmieh Batmanglij

Description

Najmieh Batmanglij was exiled from Iran 40 years ago. She was living in France where she did not speak the language or have proper documents—and above all, she was pregnant. Out of a nostalgia and yearning to connect with her roots, she wrote her first cookbook, Food of Life, as a kind of love letter to her children. She wanted to share with them all the good things she had experienced growing up in a traditional family in Iran.
 
Over the years, Food of Life has been called “the definitive book on Persian cooking” by the Los Angeles Times and “the Persian cookbook Bible” by Iranians and others. Food of Life was followed by six more cookbooks including Silk Road Cooking, which according to the New York Times, read like “a good novel—once you start it’s hard to put down.” But as she worked on these books at home in America, a fantastical dream took hold—a craving to revisit Iran and celebrate the specialties and traditional dishes of each region.
 
The challenges that faced her—emotional, political, and logistical—were daunting, but she felt she had to do it. She knew from her Silk Road research trip to China twenty years earlier that, under the bulldozer of modernity, Iran too would soon lose many of its traditional ways, special cooking techniques, and small artisanal workshops. Najmieh was determined to capture and preserve them before that happened.
 
After five years of overcoming obstacles, meticulous planning, and ten thousand miles of traveling the length and breadth of Iran—cooking with local cooks, visiting workshops, and developing recipes—Najmieh’s dream has been realized with the creation of Cooking in Iran: Regional Recipes and Kitchen Secrets. This book is a distillation of those past five years. It is an authoritative exploration of a cuisine whose cultural roots are among the deepest of any in the world.
 
Najmieh takes us with her on an extraordinary culinary journey: from the daily fish market in Bushehr, on the Persian Gulf, where she and her host buy and cook a 14-pound grouper in a tamarind, cilantro, and garlic sauce, to the heart of historical Isfahan, in central Iran, where she prepares lamb necks in a yogurt, saffron, and candied orange peel sauce topped with caramelized barberries. Traveling north to the Caspian Sea, she introduces us to the authentic Gilaki version of slow-cooked duck in a pomegranate and walnut sauce, served over smoked rice; and the unique flavors of a duck-egg omelet with smoked eggplant and baby garlic. Lingering in the north, in tribal Kurdistan, she treats us to lamb-and-bulgur meatballs filled with caramelized onions and raisins in a saffron sauce. Dropping south, to Bandar Abbas on the coast, she teases our palate with rice cooked in date juice and served with spicy fish, while in Baluchistan she cooks spiced goat in a pit overnight and celebrates the age-old method of making bread in hot ashes.
 
At every village and off-the-beaten-track community, Najmieh unearths traditional recipes and makes surprising new discoveries, giving us a glimpse along the way of the places where many of the ingredients for the recipes are grown. She treks through the fields and orchards of Iran, showing us saffron being picked in Khorasan and pomegranates in Yazd, dates harvested by the Persian Gulf, pistachios in Kerman, and tea and rice by the Caspian.
 
With more than 250 recipes and 450 photographs,  this updated edition of Cooking in Iran is packed with inspiring ideas and practical tips—everything you’ll need for recreating these glorious dishes so that you can embark on a culinary journey of your own.

A Geography of Iran 11

Preface 13

Tehran 14

Arrival 17

Climate 18

A Little History 21

The Tajrish Bazaar 25

Downtown Tehran  33

Iranian Soups and the Kitchen 37

Ladies’ Lunch 40

Tehran in the 1900s 42

Darband 50

Darakeh 56

 

THE CASPIAN 68

A Little History 71

A Caspian Story 73

Cooking in Rasht 80

Masouleh 103

Harvesting Tea 166

 

AZARBAIJAN 172

A Little History 175

Ardabil 177

Tabriz 178

Cooking in Tabriz 183

The Story of Omaj 193

The National Dish:

Chelow Kabab 208

The Story of Minced Kabab 215

Wine in an Ancient Kitchen 227

 

QOM 228

A Little History 229

 

QAZVIN 232

A Little History 233

Dessert 241

 

HAMADAN 244

A Little History 245

Iranian Jews 253

 

ARAK 268

A Little History 269

 

BREAD 284

A Flat Bread Story 287

 

KURDISTAN AND THE TRIBAL REGION 312

A Little History 313

 

ISFAHAN 352

A Little History 354

Iranian Armenians 379

 

KASHAN 382

A Little History 383

Do Not Despair 385

 

KHORASAN 388

A Little History 391

Saffron 393

Barberries 417

 

YAZD 428

A Little History 431

The Cypress at Abarkuh 435

Iranian Zoroastrians 437

Pomegranates 443

A Pastry Workshop 452

 

KERMAN 461

A Little History 463

The Pistachio Journey 465

The Persian Garden 509

 

FARS / SHIRAZ 516

A Little History  518

Hafez 520

Sesame 555

Fill the Glass with Wine 559

 

KHUZESTAN 563

A Little History 565

 

THE PERSIAN GULF 574

A Little History 577

Bushehr 579

The Bounty of the Sea 581

The Date Palm 585

A Conversation Between a Date Palm and a Goat 593

 

SISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 680

A Little History 682

A Visual Glossary of an Iranian Pantry 702

Acknowledgements 704

Credits 706

 

RECIPE CONTENTS 708

Index 714

Sujets

• Cuisine
• Cuisine du monde
• Cuisine d'Asie
• La cuisine et son histoire
• Cuisine d'Europe
• Cuisine d'Europe
• National
• History
• General
• Cooking
• Middle East
• General officer
• Middle Eastern
• Regional cooking
• Ethnic Cooking

Informations

• Publié par: Mage Publishers Inc.
• Date de parution: 24 juin 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781949445350
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 595 Mo

Extrait

THE NEW YORK TIMES DECLARES
NAJMIEH IS ONE OF SEVEN IMMIGRANT WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WAY AMERICANS EAT.
I MADE CHELOW WITH TAH-DIG FOR THE FIRST TIME...THE RICE AND ITS
CRUST WERE SPECTACULAR....YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT IRAN AND ITS PEOPLE
HERE, AND YOU LL BE STUNNED BY THEIR FOOD. TO READ THE BOOK IS TO BE
IMMERSED IN ANOTHER CULTURE, REGION BY REGION. IT TOOK BATMANGLIJ
FIVE YEARS TO ACCOMPLISH IT ALL AND EVERY BIT OF LABOR SHOWS.
-SHERYL JULIAN, THE BOSTON GLOBE
NAJMIEH BATMANGLIJ IS THE GRANDE DAME OF IRANIAN COOKING.
-MAYUKH SEN, THE WASHINGTON POST
NAJMIEH BATMANGLIJ EXEMPLIFIES THE JOY TO BE FOUND IN TRADITION....THE
RECIPES WILL REWARD YOUR EFFORT WITH DEEP, INTENSE FLAVORS. BUT RECIPES
ARE ONLY PART OF THE EXPERIENCE. THE ESSAYS ON CULTURAL HISTORY, TALES OF
PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS AND 450 PHOTOS PROVIDE AS DEEP AN UNDERSTANDING
OF THIS ANCIENT, INTRIGUING AND WONDERFULLY DIVERSE COUNTRY AS YOU ARE
LIKELY TO FIND ANYWHERE. TO ME, THIS IS WHAT THE IDEAL FOOD GIFT BOOK
SHOULD BE-BEAUTIFUL, EXTRAVAGANT IN EVERY WAY, THOUGHT-PROVOKING
AND DELICIOUS. -JOHN DOC WILLOUGHBY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
MAGISTERIAL...ENGROSSING VISUAL FEAST OF MODERN IRAN, ITS FOOD AND
ITS PEOPLE...AN ESSENTIAL NEW BOOK. - JULIE MOSKIN, THE NEW YORK TIMES
STORIES OF INTIMATE FAMILY DINNERS SHARED ON HER JOURNEY AND
RECIPES SHE DISCOVERED TALKING WITH THE LOCALS ... LEND THE FEEL
OF FLIPPING THROUGH A SCRAPBOOK WITH A FRIEND. THIS IS A TERRIFIC,
REVERENTIAL, AND ACCESSIBLE COOKBOOK. -PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
NAJMIEH IS THE GODDESS OF IRANIAN COOKING
-YOTAM OTTOLENGHI , THE GUARDIAN









MAGE PUBLISHERS


COOKING in IRAN


REGIONAL RECIPES & KITCHEN SECRETS


NAJMIEH BATMANGLIJ



4


Copyright © 2018, 2020, 2022 Najmieh Batmanglij
Full credits on page 706
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.
mage publishers, inc.
chevy chase, maryland
www.mage.com
[e-mail]
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Available at the library
Second Edition, second printing
Hardcover ISBN 978-1-949445-07-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-949445-35-0
Kindle ISBN: 978-1-949445-36-7
Cooking lavash bread on a saj in tribal Iran.









For young Iranians
and the struggle for the soul of Iran



8




9


Contents


A Geography of Iran 11
Preface 13
Tehran 14
Arrival 17
Climate 18
A Little History 21
The Tajrish Bazaar 25
Downtown Tehran 33
Iranian Soups and the Kitchen 37
Ladies’ Lunch 40
Tehran in the 1900s 4 1
Darband 50
Darakeh 56
The Caspian 68
A Little History 71
A Caspian Story 73
Cooking in Rasht 80
Masouleh 103
A Little Philosophy 156
Harvesting Tea 166
Azarbaijan 172
A Little History 175
Ardabil 177
Tabriz 178
Cooking in Tabriz 183
The Story of Omaj 193
The National Dish: Chelow Kabab 208
The Story of Minced Kabab 215
Qom 228
A Little History 229
Qazvin 232
A Little History 233
The Story of Dessert 243
Hamadan 244
A Little History 245
Iranian Jews 253
Arak 268
A Little History 269
Bread 284
A Flat Bread Story 287
Kurdistan and the Tribal Region 312
A Little History 313
Isfahan 352
A Little History 354
Iranian Armenians 379
Kashan 382
A Little History 383
Do Not Despair 385
Khorasan 388
A Little History 391
Saffron 393
Barberries 417
Yazd 428
A Little History 431
The Cypress at Abarkuh 435
Iranian Zoroastrians 437
Pomegranates 443
A Pastry Workshop 452
Kerman 461
A Little History 463
The Pistachio Journey 465
The Persian Garden 509
Fars / Shiraz 516
A Little History 518
Hafez 520
Sesame 555
Fill the Glass with Wine 563
Khuzestan 563
A Little History 565
The Persian Gulf 574
A Little History 577
Bushehr 579
The Bounty of the Sea 581
The Date Palm 584
A Conversation Between a Date Palm and a Goat 593
Sistan + Baluchistan 680
A Little History 682
A Visual Glossary of an Iranian Pantry 702-703
Acknowledgment 704
Credits 706
Recipe Contents by Region 708
Recipes by Regional Persian Names 714
Index 7 21


Recipe contents are on pages 708–719.




Three women weaving a carpet in a village in eastern Azarbaijan.



11


A Geography of Iran


Iran is divided into several plateaus separated by high mountain ranges running west to east and north to south, with the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf in the south. These regions have distinctly different climates, and until the advent of modern transportation, each had its own local ingredients and food culture. Many of Iran’s provinces, such as Tehran, Kerman, or Isfahan, have the same name as their main city. For this book, some provinces have been combined into regions based on cooking styles and ingredients preferences.




12




13


Preface
Every country expresses itself in food—the meals and casual delights created from what grows in its soil, swims in its seas, grazes on its fields. Food is so much more than sustenance. In ways both subtle and powerful, it maintains bonds of family, friends, communities, and entire societies.
Iran is the country of my birth, but I’ve lived away from it for much of my adult life. This book is about going back. For a long time, I have wanted to renew my ties directly: to wander in Iran’s amazing markets; to meet its cooks and restaurateurs; to share kitchens and tables and tastes and scents that convey the very essence of the place.
It is a big country, highly diverse in climate and terrain, with mountain ranges, grasslands, and deserts. Seas lie to the north and south. Here and there are great cities where many cultures mingle. All this variety is reflected in the cooking, as is Iran’s deep and fascinating past.
To capture the range of Iranian cuisine, I traveled for months, starting in the capital city of Tehran, where I spent my childhood, and then proceeding outward to regions that have their own distinctive culinary traditions. Accordingly, the book is organized as a journey. For each region that I visited, I have supplied recipes that highlight local tastes and techniques. In the pages that follow, you will also see some of the visual beauty of Iran, share some encounters that were especially meaningful to me, and even hear a few poetic voices of the past, for Iran has a great literary tradition that sometimes touched on the pleasures of food.
So come with me now and share my adventure of exploration. Here is Iran expressing itself in food and cooking, a diversity that is also one. Nush-e Joon! A traditional wish in Persian similar to bon appétit, meaning “may the food be nourishing.” 



14


Searching for recipes: Use the Contents on page 9 to find Iran’s various regions in the book. Use Recipe Contents on pages 708–719 to find recipe name and type in English and Persian. Go to the index on pages 721–734 to find ingredients and much more.
OIL AND BUTTER: I mostly cook with olive oil, even for making rice or baklava. Wherever I say “oil” it means olive oil unless otherwise specified (sesame or coconut oil, for example). Clarified unsalted butter (ghee) and sheep-tail fat have been traditionally used in Persian cooking. They give rice a wonderful, nutty flavor, but I also love the taste and lightness of rice cooked with olive oil, the least processed of all the oils that you can buy. "Butter" in the recipes means "salted butter" unless otherwise stated.
Salt: I generally cook with a fine-grain sea salt. If you are using coarse-grain salt, you may need to add more because there are fewer grains in a given measure. Regular Morton Iodized Salt tends to be saltier, so you will need less. Adding more or less salt is up to you, but rice dishes in particular need the minimum recommended amount for both taste and texture. For “finishing” a dish just before serving, or for adding texture (to kababs, for example), I recommend a good-quality coarse-grain sea salt such as fleur de sel or Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.
Pepper: Always use freshly ground pepper. I mostly use black pepper, though I also like the milder white pepper corns.
Saffron: It’s best to buy saffron threads and grind your own, rather than using ready-ground saffron. For cooking, dissolve the ground saffron in ice-cold or boiling water. But I prefer to dissolve it in rose or orange blossom water, as indicated in the recipe.
sugar: Sugar means granulated sugar, unless otherwise indicated (powdered/brown, for example).
eggs: Use large eggs for the recipes in this book.
MILK, YOGURT, AND KASHK : I always use plain whole milk and yogurt. I like to use a thick yogurt, preferably labneh , available in the cheese section of Whole Foods and in Iranian markets, and I use liquid kashk ( page 278 ) in glass jars, also available at Iranian markets.
Pistachios: For cooking, use unsalted raw green pistachio kernels. Slivered pistachios, used for garnishing, are available in Iranian markets.
Fresh and Dried Herbs: I suggest using fresh herbs in you