Shirazi Salad with everything
Posted: 25 July 2012 Filed under: Shirazi Salad with everything, Uncategorized | Tags: beat-the-heat, booteh_recipes, food_photography, Persian_cuisine, shiraz 2 CommentsWhat is renown among Iranians everywhere as “salad-e Shirazi” is, in fact, a common and popular green salad everywhere in Iran. It is simply considered more authentic when made by a Shirazi or consumed in Shiraz.
It is refreshing, tasty and goes with almost all types of Iranian dish, especially with mixed-rice verities, such as cabbage-mixed polow.
Ingredients: It only takes three vegetables to make it: Read the rest of this entry »
Cherry jam (whole fruit)
Posted: 18 July 2012 Filed under: Cherry jam (whole fruit), Uncategorized | Tags: cherry-jam, Daryabandari, food_photography, Persian_cuisine Leave a commentMy favorite type of jam, made from any type of fruit, is the ones made with whole or cut fruits, rather than crushed fruits with lots of jelly-like pectin in them. And cherry jam, or morabaay albaaloo as we call it Persian, is on the very top of my list followed by quince and carrot. My sister has a couple of happy cherry trees in her yard providing us all with our yearly consumption of home-made cherry jam. Here is how we make it, in traditional way, with N. Daryabandari’s useful tips and recipe:
Ingredients: Cherries, 1 kg, pitted and washed. Sugar 1kg.
Rigatoni & Broccoli
Posted: 10 July 2012 Filed under: Rigatoni & Broccoli, Uncategorized | Tags: food-photography, Pasta, pasta_rigatoni, vegetarian Leave a comment
I had an Italian friend who cooked me this delicious side dish once while she was staying with me in Montreal. I don’t usually make my guests cook for me but she insisted!
Ingredients (serving four): Broccoli, 1 crown. Rigatoni pasta, one pack (about 4 cups, or half a kilo) Garlic, 4 cloves, finely chopped. Olive oil, 3 tbsp. Salt and water. Parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp., grated (optional).
Fresh lime drink (sharbat)
Posted: 3 July 2012 Filed under: Beverages, Fresh lime drink (sharbat), Uncategorized | Tags: beat_the_heat, booteh_recipes, food_photography, Persian_cuisine, summer_drink Leave a commentIn Iran, a hugely popular summer drink is “sharbat” often made from extracts of aromatic flowers and herbs (called aragh) or fruit juice. Sharbat is usually slightly sweetened, sometimes diluted with water, and always mixed with ice cubes. In a hot summer day when you visit a friend or family the first thing they would do is hand you a refreshing nice glass of sharbat – one type of or another.
Fresh lime juice sharbat is among the most popular in Iran, because unlike flower extracts, lime is easily found throughout the country. It is popular also because lime has an amazing quality to quench your thirst in addition to having so many health benefits. Here is how you prepare it (quite similar to lemonade except you use lime instead of lemon):
Hamburger on charcoal barbecue
Posted: 27 June 2012 Filed under: Hamburger on charcoal barbecue, Uncategorized | Tags: booteh_recipes, charcoal Hamburger, food_photography, kebab koobideh, Persian_cuisine Leave a commentIranian style hamburger has grated onion mixed with the ground meat, which IMO makes it a whole lot tastier:)
Ingredients: (serving 2)
Iced cantaloupe & rosewater
Posted: 22 June 2012 Filed under: Iced cantaloupe & rosewater, Uncategorized | Tags: beat-the-heat, booteh_recipes, cantaloupe, dessert, faloodeh_taalebi, food_photography, Persian_cuisine Leave a commentFor the past couple of days, here in Montreal, we have had a record breaking heat wave, feeling like 40 C with humidex. The wave brought back the memory of a refreshing iced desert I used to have back home in Shiraz, Iran, called “faloodeh taalebi”. I made iced cantaloupe after so many years and God knows it was all I needed to beat the heat! See how quick and hassle free it is:
All you need is one plump sweet cantaloupe. Cut it in half and spoon out the seeds. Cut each half in two lengthwise slices, then with the sharp knife cut across the base to separate the hard skin. In a nice bowl, coarsely grate slices, and don’t mind the juice produced in the bowl! Add one tbsp. rose water (optional). Some people add half tbsp. sugar, especially if the cantaloupe was not sweet enough. I personally prefer the mild and natural sweet and do not add sugar. Mix and place the bowl in freezer for 1 hour (at least), or until it is fairly solid on he top. Spoon it as you would with ice cream. No cooking, no oven dessert in this heat! This is a perfect cool summer dessert and I have more beat-the-heat suggestions upcoming.
Blueberries are good for you
Posted: 16 June 2012 Filed under: Blueberries, Uncategorized | Tags: blueberry, food_photography, Healthy_foods Leave a commentWhile blueberries are still in season, I thought I would make a post to remind us of its health benefits. They are said to:
Improve short term memory loss; Ameliorate age-related declines in neural and cognitive function; Protect against degeneration of the retina; Promote urinary tract health; Act as a potent anti-inflammatory agent and COX-2 inhibitor; Improve glucose metabolism through the activity of chologenic acid; Reduce the risk of some cancers (source and here). Read the rest of this entry »
Soybeans: wholesome, whole green delights
Posted: 4 June 2012 Filed under: Soybeans: wholesome, whole greens, Uncategorized | Tags: booteh_recipes, food_photography, Healthy_foods, Soybeans Leave a commentI am sure everybody has heard a lot about health benefits of Soya – reduction in LDL cholesterol, preventing cancer, even reduction in risk of coronary artery disease.
The good news is that Soya products are so diverse, from flour, to candy & biscuits, to soy milk, to Tofu, to my favorite: Whole green soybeans. Boiled or steamed soybean in pods make wonderful snack, especially if you’re with friends talking, watching something while sucking the beans into your mouth. Here is how I prepare it in 5 minutes– by boiling, or in my case steam-cooking, also known as Edamame.
Macaroni mix, Iranian Style
Posted: 25 May 2012 Filed under: Macaroni mix, Iranian Style, Uncategorized | Tags: booteh_recipes, food_photogaphy, macaroni, Persian cuisine 2 CommentsIn Iran the most common type of pasta dish is made by steam-cooking macaroni, mixed with a thick meaty sauce. The method is basically the same as cooking mixed rice, or polow. Back in Shiraz, my mom, my sisters, and later myself used to make “macaroni” at least once a week for dinner, and I used to love it.
For some reason, thought, I quite cooking it once I learned to cook pasta varieties served with sauce on the side. Just a couple of nights ago, I made a nostalgic “trip” and cooked Iranian style macaroni after what seems like ages! It turned so good that I thought it is worth sharing. Read the rest of this entry »
Jeweled yogurt mix
Posted: 15 May 2012 Filed under: Appetizers, Sides and Salads, Jeweled yogurt mix, Uncategorized | Tags: beat-the-heat, booteh_recipes, easy and fast, food-photography, persion_cuisine, Yogurt Leave a commentA few years ago, sometime in June-July, I was hosting my oldest buddy girlfriend for a month, seeing her after some ten years! That was the happiest reunion ever as we both felt we still had SO much in common!
Catching up with each other’s lives, plus doing stuff together (from gardening to shopping, to driving around) would not leave us too much time to cook elaborate foods every single day, although we did constantly feel hungry and eat! This nutritious, delicious yogurt-based cold soup was my friend’s solution (and ‘invention’, mind you) for the evenings that we felt too worn out to cook and too creative and energetic to go with a canned, delivered or fast food – a quick and refreshing fix indeed!
Ingredients (for 2): Plain yogurt (2% fat) 400 grams. Flat water, half a cup or about 150 ml. Cucumbers, 2 medium, peeled and grated. Onion (optional), ½ small, peeled and grated. Dried seedless raisin, rinsed, 3 tbsp. Dried walnuts, rinsed and chopped, 3 tbsp. (always good to soak walnuts, change water a few times before using them for this or any other recipe). Powdered dried mint, ½ tbsp. Fresh tarragon (or if you don’t have access to it, any scented herb of your choice), washed and coarsely chopped, a fistful. A few fresh mint and basil leaves. Dried rose flower, a pinch. Salt and black pepper, to taste. For variations you would need: one large Pitta bread, cut in small pieces and mildly toasted. A few ice cubes. Read the rest of this entry »
My Caldron 