Okra Stew and a whole lot about it
Posted: 16 October 2013 Filed under: Okra Stew (Baamieh), Uncategorized | Tags: baamieh, Healthy_foods, lady finger, okra Leave a commentWhat do you know about Okra, also known as lady finger? Well, before doing some search for this post, I only knew that in Iran, especially in Khoozestan, it is used to make “khoresh-e Baamieh” or Okra stew with. Let’s get into some of the things I learned about Okra, before sharing the recipe I already knew for it:
Okra is a flowering plant in the mallow family; an annual herb that is widely cultivated for its edible green seed pods in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate climates, and a hardy plant that can grow even with less water and in hot conditions. For full Botanical description check out wiki .
Beet, apple, carrot juice: Miracle drink, or is it!?
Posted: 26 September 2013 Filed under: Beet, apple, carrot juice, Uncategorized | Tags: apple carrot juice, apple juice, beet, beet juice, healthy-drinks, miracle drink 1 CommentEverybody’s posting and talking about this, so here I am with my own take and though on it:
The mixture of apple, beet and carrot juice is so full of good stuff – vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, that is referred to as “miracle juice”, good for maintaining and improving health and preventing common and nasty diseases such as cancer and heart attack. The way it should be prepared and taken varies slightly according to various sources, but the following instruction seems to be the most recommended: Read the rest of this entry »
Acanthus stew (khoresh-e kangar)
Posted: 5 August 2013 Filed under: Acanthus stew (Kangar), Uncategorized | Tags: Acanthus, kangar, khoresh, Persian cuisine 7 CommentsAmong the wide range of vegetables, herbs and plants used in Persian stews or khoresh, in combination with chopped lamp or veal and usual suspects for spice, kangar falls in to the category of a region-specific and less known type – even among Iranians inside the country.
Kangar or acanthus, according to English and Persian Wikipedia, is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in native to tropical and warm temperate regions, and originated in Mediterranean, Basin and Asia. It has thick, spiny leaves, stalks not dissimilar to celery and flower spikes bearing white or purplish flowers. Kangar grows in central and southern Iran in mountains and in dry climate for a short period in March-April.
Creamy, crusty French tomato soup
Posted: 17 July 2013 Filed under: Baked in Oven, Creamy, crusty French tomato soup, Uncategorized | Tags: creamy soup, crusty French soup, puff pastry, tomato soup Leave a commentHave you ever searched the words “Tomato soup” in the internet? The variation is amazing, isn’t it?
Well, I was looking for a particular type – the creamy type with a crust on top, and came up with California-based Bistro Jentil’s world’s famous tomato soup. Chef Jason Hill has been kind enough to explain the details of this recipe in a video. And I did as he (and the recipe) said, except for replacing butter, reducing cream and simplifying it a little bit. The result was absolutely amazing, both the look and the taste. And my pictures are the proof I hope! Making this VERY French soup is not complicated at all, although it does involves several steps over two days (in my experience) for the best result. Read the rest of this entry »
Ghooreh (sour grape) and its many modes
Posted: 10 July 2013 Filed under: Ghooreh (sour grape) and its many modes, Uncategorized | Tags: ghooreh, Iranian cuisin, Persian_ cuisine, sour grape, unripe grape, verjuice 2 CommentsIf you think all cooks and foodies in all cultures are looking forwards for grapes to ripe, think twice! We Iranians have many uses for ghooreh, “unripe, sour grape”, for the lack of a better translation, in our cuisine.
That’s right, next time you stroll through an Iranian grocery store in North America and come across ghooreh beware this is not a fruit to nibble at casually; the eye-watering and lip- sewing sour green grape is used in cooking, mainly as spice or seasoning whether it is in whole (fresh or frozen), pressed, dried and grounded, or processed and made into paste or torshi (a type of pickle). Here is a taste of the variety in forms and usages of ghooreh: Read the rest of this entry »
Introducing “Fizzy Sauce”
Posted: 2 July 2013 Filed under: Introducing "Fizzy Sauce", Introducing "Fizzy Sauce", Uncategorized | Tags: Fizzy Sauce, Kebab sauce, Strained yogurt Leave a commentOccasionally, I “e-meet” people – mostly my blog’s followers – who seem to love cooking even more than I do. Some are quite creative and inspirational and kind enough enough to share with me their recipes. Here is an example at hand. This sauce goes very well with Iranian Kabab koobideh, I know the traditional way of barbecuing and eating it is so hard to diverge from; but if you’re game for experiments and new joys, here is an easy way of going about it:
Ingredients: Strained yogurt (also called Greek yogurt) or Lebanese “Leban”, 5 tbsp. Powdered saffron, ¼ teaspoon dissolved in 1 teaspoon of lukewarm water. Salt, 1 teaspoon. Powdered black pepper, about ½ teaspoon. Dried mint, 1 teaspoon. Fresh mint, 2 leaves, finely chopped. Fresh lime juice, 2 teaspoon.
Marinate ideas for charcoal-grilling everything
Posted: 29 May 2013 Filed under: Marinate ideas for grilling, Uncategorized | Tags: charcoal_barbecue, grilled_vegetables, kebab_chenjeh, marinate_ideas, shrimp_grilled, wooden_sticks Leave a commentIn my blog entry, “joojeh kebab on charcoal barbecue”, I wrote about how we turned our old gas burning barbecue to into a wood-charcoal one, enjoying the marvelous taste of smell of this type of making “kebab”. Made in the same still are: hamburger, kebab koobideh, and kebad barg:
Well, summer is almost here and the hunger to fire the thing up is felt. Here are a few marinate ideas – whether grilled, or skewered and whether it is meat, or vegetables.
Granola with fresh fruit & yogurt
Posted: 26 May 2013 Filed under: Granola. fresh fruit & yogurt, Uncategorized | Tags: fresh fruit & yogurt, Granola Leave a commentThis is a wholesome, refreshing and pretty-looking breakfast or snack.
Ingredients (for a big plate serving 1-2): Your favorite granola, ½ cup. Plain yogurt. ½ cup. Fresh apple, pears, pitches and melon, thinly sliced, ½ cup each. Some fresh blueberries, raspberries and one ripe, medium size strawberry, cut like a “fan” (This video shows you how, if you do not know already) . Hot chocolate, or honey or maple syrup., 1 tbsp. Cinnamon, 1 teaspoon.
Kale Chips
Posted: 21 May 2013 Filed under: Kale Chips, Uncategorized | Tags: Kale Chips, vegan Leave a commentI was so excited when I first discovered the “massaged kale salad” and shred it here.
More excited still with my recent discovery of Kale chips. I followed Kate Eats Real Food’s recipe here and came up with an excellent – crispy and de-li-cious chips kale chips!!
Fresh Herbs (sabzi)
Posted: 16 May 2013 Filed under: Herbs (sabzi), Uncategorized | Tags: fresh herbs, sabzi 2 Comments
A plate full of seasonal herbs, fresh walnuts and cheese- an unbeatable Persian treat when accompanied with hot barbari bread and a large glass of tea!
My Caldron 