Home-cooked Persian Food

Once in a while, we cook Persian at home. My first lessons in cooking this middle-eastern cuisine was in London in 1977, when I was a young bride then. My Persian friend Sharife was a great teacher who taught me hands-on in her own kitchen in Highgate. She taught me the rudiments of getting the classic recipes right.

Then later while living in Iran, my mother-in-law continued Sharife's lessons. Our lunches were always the most delicious combinations of Chelow (rice) & Khoresh (stews) or Chelow & Kabab with side dishes of salads, yogurt and pickles. She showed me how to make the perfect Chelow with the best Tah dig of eggs and yogurt at the bottom of the pot. (Potatoes also make good Tah dig). Khoreshs were of lamb (e.g. Gusht-e bademjan/meat & aubergine, Qormeh sabzi/Vegetable, beans & meat, Khoresh-e Karafs/celery) or chicken (e.g. Qeymeh/chicken with chick peas, Fesenjan/pomegranate & walnut).

There was also the Polow or single-dish meals of Baqala polow (fava/broad bean & lamb rice), Adas polow (lentil & lamb rice), Zereshk polow (barberry & chicken rice), Kalam polow (Green cabbage & meat rice), and my favourite Estamboli or Lubia polow, a rice, meat & green/french bean combination. Dinners were much lighter - usually nan (breads) with Kababs and Kuku (omelettes of every kind - potato, tomato, vegetable, etc.). Our Now Ruz (New year) treat was Sabzi polow ba Mahi (a fresh herb rice dish with fried/smoked fish - fish being a rare item in Persian cuisine).

My food article in the Wanita magazine (CNB)

Back in Malaysia, I once wrote an article on Persian food, retitled by the Magazine Editor, "Orang Iran Pakar Menghidang Nasi Pelbagai Rasa" (Wanita, August 1986. ). I also tried to keep up my Persian 'culinary skill' (ahem, ahem! Who's coughing there?). I cooked Estamboli as our special Hari Raya treat. My father and siblings have especially enjoyed this. (P.S. Sorry, Bro AE, I could not do it during the recent Hari Raya. Insyaallah next time.)  Khoresh-e Gusht bademjan is another regular, also the Kababs and Kuku-s.

These days the Chemistry Professor (aka Dr M aka M) sometimes (note the operative word here!) cooks a fantastic Persian meal at home. As he always says, "Cooking is like Chemistry!" Okay, we get the drift; Professor of Chemistry, so Culinary Professor as well? Oh alright, we admit you do serve up some very yummy dishes. Please, conduct more chemistry, I mean culinary sessions in the kitchen ... I would be much obliged!

The Chemistry Professor's Chelow, potato Tah dig & Lamb
Kabab (CNB 2012)

... Khoresh-e Gusht bademjan (CNB 2012)

No Persian meal is complete without a Salad ... (CNB 2012)

... and Mast-o-khiar: diced cucumber in yogurt (CNB 2012)