Pomegranate soup, Aash-e anar, for Yalda
Posted: 17 December 2018 Filed under: Aash-e anar, Pomegranate soup, Uncategorized | Tags: anaar, pomegranate molasses, Pomegranate soup, yalda 1 CommentOnce again Yalda, one of Iranian’s much loved and cherished celestial moments and rituals is round the corner. We celebrate Yalda on winter solstice on Dec. 20th as the longest and darkest night of the year by getting together, reciting poetry and feasting over a colorful spread of dried fruits and nuts, aajil, specific fruits namely pomegranate, persimmon and watermelon, cozy heartwarming dishes and lots of light, hope and energy to get through the long but increasingly brighter winter ahead. See my precious posts for Yalda night here and here.
The Persian “Pomegranate Soup” or ash-e anar آش انار, will forever resonate with me the excellent culinary fiction by the same name written by Marsha Mehran, an eloquent Iranian-Irish author who passed too soon but whose novels depicted Persian cuisine enchanting as a fairy-tale full of texture, fragrance and mystery always ready to haut, charm and welcome those unfamiliar with it. Read the rest of this entry »
7 healthy foods (Told you these foods were good for you!)
Posted: 3 February 2012 Filed under: 7 healthy foods, Told you these foods were good for you!, Uncategorized | Tags: adas, anaar, antioxidants, booteh_recipes, doogh, food_photography, Healthy_foods, huffingtonpost, kale, Kefir, Lentil, poegranate, quinoa 3 CommentsI recently came across a very interesting health food article in Hoffington Post entitled “7 of the Healthiest Foods You Should Be Eating But Aren’t” The article made it to Digg’s first page for a complete day. It focuses on “seven of the healthiest foods — the power-packed foods filled with good-for-you vitamins, minerals and disease-fighting phytochemicals – that [most people] aren’t eating: Kale, Pomegranate, Quinoa, Kefir, lentil, Sardines, and Oatmeal.
What made this article particularly interesting to me was the fact that over the past few months I had highlighted the goodness of these food items (5 out of the 7 of them) and provided at least one recipe for each! Well, proud as I am for my health conscious weblog, I am going to review all those recipes, while quoting some their benefits. Please read the rest of the entry at the end of the Persian text! Read the rest of this entry »
Pomegranate rediscovered
Posted: 25 January 2012 Filed under: COZY CORNER, Montreal related, Uncategorized | Tags: anaar, food_photography, pomegranate 1 CommentIn 2006, Marsha Mehran published her first culinary fiction called “Pomegranate Soup” – It is a charming, fairy tale like story of three Iranian sisters who settle in a remote village in Ireland; start their cozy restaurant and in no time conquer the heart of the initially-skeptical villagers through their unique Persian beauty, warm hospitality and most important of all the strain of mind-blowing and heavenly-smelling Persian foods, side dishes, soups and desserts.
The title of the book was cleverly selected to give an air of exoticism – which represented the essence of the book. That’s right, up until a few years ago not so many people in the western world were familiar with pomegranate as a fruit, let alone as a soup’s substance! Well, things have changed dramatically since then. …
My Caldron 