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.
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 »
Stuffed whole fish
Posted: 9 April 2012 Filed under: Stuffed whole fiish, Uncategorized | Tags: booteh_recipes, Bushehr, food_photography, Persian_cuisine, Sea bass, stuffed_fish 20 CommentsFried stuffed whole fish is another ‘region-specific’ type of Persian cuisine which I relate to so strongly because my parents were originally from that region – Bushehr.
Even as a child I used to love this dish and I remember so vividly each time we had it for lunch I had to bother somebody sitting next to me to rid my portion of fish bones for me before I could attack my plate. I still prepare and cook stuffed fish my mom used to. Replacing the pretty, slender, round-bodied raashgoo and shurideh (two types of Persian Gulf fishes) with Sea bass does not seem to matter anymore; I still enjoy this dish enormously. Hope you do too.
Orzo salad
Posted: 5 April 2012 Filed under: Orzo salad, Uncategorized | Tags: blanch_snow_pea, booteh_recipes, food_photography, Orzo_salad, pine_nuts 4 Comments
You will find lots of recipes for orzo in the internet. This one with pine nuts, snow beans and soft cheese is my favourite, with modifications of my own. The long list of ingredients should not scare you! It is not hard or even time consuming at all because everything, except three items is about mincing, chopping and mixing!
Ingredients (6 serving): Orzo, 1 + ½ cup. Snow peas, half a box or about 20. Pine nuts (also called pignoils), ¼ cup. Scallions, 2, chopped. Yellow bell pepper, ½, seeded and chopped (I used orange pepper and it looked like cabbage in my salad; definitely use YELLOW one!) English cucumber, one third of a big one, skinned and chopped. Mushroom, half a box or about 7, sliced. Baladi or Feta cheese, 1/2 cup. Salt, 1tbsp. Olive oil, 1 tbsp. Fore dressing: Balsamic or white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp. Garlic, 2 cloves, minced. Fresh tarragon, 2 stems, picked. Olive oil, 1 tbsp.
Miracle soup for the cold
Posted: 4 April 2012 Filed under: Aash and Soups, Miracle soup for the cold, Uncategorized | Tags: beans, booteh_recipes, coriander, food_photography, get-well_soup, Persian_cuisine, spinach, stock 2 Comments
This is my magic recipe for common cold, flu and general malady, although I do make this soup occasionally just for the fun of it. To the testimony of a host of my friends and relatives who had passed by when they had not been feeling well, this soup does wonders knocking off the cold, especially if you take it with another anti-cold remedy of mine Hot Whisky!
Ingredients: (5 serving). Half a chicken (bone in, skinless), cleaned and washed. Onion, 1 medium, thickly sliced lengthwise. Lentil and red beans ½ cup each. Split beans and rice, ¼ cup each (All washed and drained). Turnips, and pumpkins, skinned, seeded (for pumpkin), and cubed, two cups each. Fresh coriander and spinach, chopped, 2 cups each. Turmeric ¼ tbsp. Lime juice, 1 tbsp. Salt and black pepper to taste.
Mixed herb rice &smoked fish
Posted: 30 March 2012 Filed under: Mixed herb rice and smoke fish, Uncategorized | Tags: booteh_recipes, food_photography, herb_rice, Norooz, Persian_cuisine, sabzi_polow-mahi, smoked_fish Leave a commentI promised to post Iranian norooz-specific traditional dish, mixed herb rice and fish (sabzi polow mahi), since traditionally it is prepared and served on the first day of spring (often, along with kookoo sabzi). Well, better late than never! The good news is that the recipe I have here is the easiest AND the most delicious one – cross my heart! Special thanks to my sister, Atefeh the chef!
Ingredients (6 serving) Read the rest of this entry »
Fried breaded breast chicken and vegetables
Posted: 11 March 2012 Filed under: Fried breaded breast chicken and vegetables, Uncategorized | Tags: booteh_recipes, chicken, food_photography, fried, main_dish, vegetables Leave a comment
Ingredients (two servings): Skinless, boneless chicken breast, half, cut in a few large pieces, washed and patted dry. Potatoes, 2 medium (leave skin on). Tomatoes, 2 medium. Spinach, 3-4 leaves. Bread crumbs of your choice, 4 tbsp. Olive oil, 3 tbsp. For dressing : Onion, 1, cut in small cubes. Lime juice, 1 tbsp. Salt and pepper, a pinch each. Olive oil, 1 tbsp. Read the rest of this entry »
My Caldron 