Stuffed whole chicken breast, Banoo style

When I was a teenager, I used to accompany one or more of my family members in our trip to Bushehr, an Iranian southern city on the northern coast of Persian Gulf and the birthplace of my parents. The six-hour drive from my city Shiraz was always very exciting to me as the road wound its way through long and deep valleys and green mountains. My fondest memories of those trips, however, relate to a remarkably delicious on-the-route food that we used to have at a very special location called Banoo Teahouse.

Banoo which in Persian means “lady” belonged and was run by a middle aged woman and there was nothing ordinary about it. Banoo lived with her children in two adjacent rooms at the end of a gravel courtyard (no adult male on the site, except for a couple of roosters freely chasing after hens) Across from Banoo’s living quarters and closer to the road stood one single stone building with high wooden roof. That was her teahouse, or more precisely her diner – open 24/7 serving tea and hooka plus a spicy type of stuffed chicken for lunch and dinner (In traditional Persian cuisine, stuffed chicken consists of raisin and semi-dried prune, and is on sweetish side, but I will get to it soon enough!) Read the rest of this entry »