Tea rules & rituals (Iranian Style)
Posted: 17 December 2011 Filed under: Jams, Yogurt and fruit/veg based, Tea rules & ritual!, Uncategorized | Tags: bevarage, food_photography, Persian_tea, tea 6 CommentsTea is the national beverage in Iran! It is an essential part of the breakfast and any type of gathering. As such, there are certain nonnegotiable rules about the preparation and the drinking of tea.
Here are some: 1. Real tea is black tea. Green, white, yellow and oolong teas are to be experimented with, but must never replace black tea. 2. Preparing tea involves the steeping and simmering (dam kardan or steaming) of loose, processed tea leaves. Teabags are quick fixes, and good only when you are feeling too down to treat yourself properly, or when you are obligated to serve an unwanted visitor. 3. One should sip tea from small, delicate glasses called estekan that allow one to see its translucent mahogany color while relishing its flavor. Read the rest of this entry »
Massaged Kale Salad
Posted: 16 December 2011 Filed under: Massaged Kale Salad, Uncategorized | Tags: dairy free, food-photography, gluten free, Healthy_foods, kale, mango, salad 4 CommentsMassaged Kale Salad, a nutritious magical and delicious salad with many verity of recipes. Here is the one I prefer over the others.
Ingredients: (for a small bowl like the one shown in the picture) half a bunch of Kale, or about 6-7 leaves, washed, drained, and torn into small sized pieces. Yellow mango, 1 medium to large, skinned and diced. Sunflower seeds, 2 tbsp. Olive oil, 1 tbsp. Honey, 1 tbsp. Lime juice, 1 tbsp. Salt 1 tea spoon. Read the rest of this entry »
Homemade pizza
Posted: 6 December 2011 Filed under: Homemade pizza, KITCHEN, for recipes, Uncategorized | Tags: baked_food, booteh_recipes, bread_dough, food_photography, homemade_pizza, main_dish, thin_crust 2 CommentsI use the recipe for barbari bread to bake thin crust pizza at home, without having the professional equipment such as pizza stone. It turns pretty decent and does not take much time.
Ingredients for Pizza dough: Bread Flour: 3+1/4 cups. Water: 1.5 cups. Active Dry Yeast: 1 pouch or 2+1/4 tsp. Baking Powder: 1 tsp. Salt: 2 tsp. Sugar: a pinch. Whole wheat flour: 1/2 cup. Read the rest of this entry »
Hot whisky
Posted: 3 December 2011 Filed under: Hot whisky, KITCHEN, for recipes, Uncategorized | Tags: cold_remedy, food_photography, hot_whisky 6 CommentsHot whisky made as follows, does wonders relieving the symptoms of common cold , as it is a mixture of pain killing (from cloves), calming (from alcohol), soothing (hot water and honey) and a bit of vitamin C (from lemon) substances.
Ingredients: Any brand of whisky, ¼ cup. Hot water, ¼ cup. Lime or lemon, 1 slice. Cloves, 6-7. Sugar, or honey, 2 tea spoon. Read the rest of this entry »
ghormeh sabzi, mixed-herb stew
Posted: 1 December 2011 Filed under: Ghormeh sabzi, mixed herbs stew, KITCHEN, for recipes, Uncategorized | Tags: booteh_recipes, food_photography, ghormeh_sabzi, khoresh sabzi, main_dish, mixed-Herb_stew, Persian_cuisine 9 CommentsGhormeh sabzi, a mixed-herb stew or khoresh, is the signature dish of any Iranian’s kitchen. So much so there is even an anthropological article written entitled “Bastard chicken or Ghormeh Sabzi”, by Lynn Harbottle which I recommend if interested in the strategies Iranian women migrants in UK employ to keep their family healthy through good food and Persian cooking. Now, My recipe:
Ingredients: (serving 5-6) Read the rest of this entry »
Halva-aardi
Posted: 26 November 2011 Filed under: Halva-aardi, KITCHEN, for recipes, Uncategorized | Tags: dessert. Bushehr, food_photography, halva_aardi 5 CommentsHalva-aardi , a chocolate brown, sweet confection made of white flour, is typically served with dates and tea at most funeral services–passed on a plate with a fork or spoon placed at the side for people to help themselves. It is also served as a dessert—especially after ghalyeh or other types of seafood, and ideally with tea.
Halva is very easy to make in theory but could be tricky in practice. My mother used to make flawless halva each and every time she did it: chocolate brown, noticeably sweet and anghosht-pich (finger-rolled) so that it was just solid enough to roll around a finger without dripping. Ok let’s get to its theory here – right after the Persian text.
Dill/beans mixed-polow with fish
Posted: 18 November 2011 Filed under: Dill/beans mixed-rice with fish, KITCHEN, for recipes, Uncategorized | Tags: booteh_recipes, fish, food_photography, maahi, main_dish, mixed_polow, Persian_cuisine, shivid_polo, Southern_Iran 2 CommentsI can eat this mix-polow as a complete main dish, but it is very common to have it with fried fish in the southern part of Iran. It might also be served with large chunks of boiled or baked beef or even fried and steam-cooked chicken.
Ingredients (serving 3)
Oven baked fish & vegetables
Posted: 10 November 2011 Filed under: Oven baked fish & vegetables, Uncategorized | Tags: booteh_recipes, fish, food_photography, fried, haddock, oven, tilapia, vegetables 4 CommentsOk, some non Persian cuisine for a change, but colorful and gorgeous looking all the same!
Ingredients: Tilapia or Haddock, 4 fillets. Red onion, 1 medium sliced. Bell peppers, 2 different colours, sliced. Cherry tomatoes. Lime juice, salt, pepper, oil Read the rest of this entry »
Tasty Porcupine
Posted: 4 November 2011 Filed under: KITCHEN, for recipes, Tasty Porcupine, Uncategorized | Tags: appetizer, booteh_recipes, food_photography, grapefruit, mazeh, porcupine, snak 3 CommentsThis is my most recent “invention”, see what you think
Ingredients: A large plump grapefruit (or any citrus fruit larger than that). Cubed cheddar cheese (or any hard cheese of your choice). 300 gr. Pitted green and black olives; cherry tomatoes, large, table grapes (red, or green), one cup each. Wooden toothpick (about 40). Read the rest of this entry »
Barbari Bread
Posted: 30 October 2011 Filed under: Barbari Bread, KITCHEN, for recipes, Uncategorized | Tags: food_photography, naan_barbari, Persian_cuisine 85 CommentsMake me very tenderly, and stretch me very long… bake me to the end of love! Recipe In Persian
I took this recipe from a friend of mine who has in turn taken it from somewhere else but developed it over the years (yes, years!) to the point of perfection. When I first went through his well-organized and gorgeous pictures, I noticed he must be in love with barbari bread or with baking in general, or perhaps just in love! The instructions he gave for treating the dough with tenderness, and forming it with bare hands and fingers, and the evocative descriptions of the bread’s scents and sights were all indications of a very special type of bread and bread making. Well, I tried his recipes a couple of times, before I really came to the conclusion that yes, to bake this barbari in its perfectly original taste and texture, you must absolutely be gentle, caring and patient- you must be truly in love with it! Try it and you will know what I mean.
My Caldron 