Spotlight on Persian Food
Written By: Ayeh Darissavi
Edited By: Emily C
Designed By: Ayeh Darissavi & Samantha Porte
Published By: Samantha Porte
With a mild, warm, and welcoming flavour, Persian food is honestly one of my favourites. Of course, I may be biased since I grew up eating it, but I truly believe that Persian cuisine is one of the best in the world! With spices like saffron, turmeric, sumac, cinnamon, and more, Persian food is a great, non-spicy option for people looking to make a hearty meal with accessible ingredients. Let’s take a look at my top 5 Persian dishes!
#5: Zereshk Polo ba Morgh
Coming in at number five, we have probably one of the most filling and addictive meals, zereshk polo ba morgh; literally translated to “barberry pilaf with chicken” in English. At the core of any good zereshk polo you have perfectly cooked rice, tender and succulent chicken, and dried barberries, though I prefer it without the barberries.
Zereshk polo ba morgh is a dish where saffron and turmeric take the spotlight. Two very subtle and distinct flavours work in harmony to give not only great colour and bestow good health, but also insane aromas that grip you by the nose and absolutely don’t let go.
#4: Ash-e Resheth
At number four we have another hearty meal, ash-e reshteh. Ash-e reshteh is a great comfort food on cold or rainy days. Usually, you’ll find ash composed of a plethora of herbs, beans, chickpeas, noodles, and lentils all stewed together in a giant pot. This dish has the same consistency as chili, and makes for a healthy and light meal. Commonly, you’ll find ash-e reshteh topped with caramelized onions and liquid kashk, which is a type of dried and rehydrated buttermilk with a really creamy, rich, and unique flavour.
#3: Ghormeh Sabzi
Coming in third place is ghormeh sabzi. Of course, being the national dish of Iran, ghormeh sabzi never disappoints! This dish dates back as far as 5,000 years, and is a great way to get your fibre in. However, this dish takes multiple hours to prep and stew, so if you’re looking for a quick meal, you’re out of luck. Ghormeh sabzi is definitely aheavier dish
Ghormeh sabzi consists of herbs, veal and kidney beans that are stewed together for a long time, and served on a bed of fluffy, white long grain rice. This dish is definitely a must-try!
#2: Tahdig
Although it is a side-dish, tahdig is absolutely irresistible! Tahdig is simply the crispy rice at the bottom of the rice pot. Tahdig can be just the crispy rice, or sometimes you’ll see potato slices placed at the bottom of the pot to get nice and tender alongside the browned rice (my personal favourite version). Regardless of how it’s made, there’s a 100% guarantee that you’ll love it!
#1: Tomato Dolme
At number one we have my favourite, dolme! Dolme is an umbrella term for lots of variations of the same thing; filling stuffed inside of either grape leaves or any type of vegetable. The bulk of this dish is made of hollowed out tomatoes filled with lentils, dried herbs, rice, and ground beef. The tomatoes are then stacked on top of a bed of lettuce and stewed in a large pot for three to four hours. The results are individual, tender and tomato-y pods full of a wholesome filling, as well as a thin tomato sauce sitting at the bottom of the pot. This dish isn’t too popular as the effort to yield ratio is rather undesirable, but nevertheless this dish is 100% worth it in my opinion and I highly encourage everyone to try to get their hands on this dish.
Some of these dishes have some ingredients that may not be available to you depending on where you live, though the most accessible dish by far on this list is the tomato dolme. Regardless of this, ordering in from a local Persian restaurant will not only get you a flavourful meal, but it’ll also help the community of small businesses near you. Happy eating!
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Works Cited
https://www.souschef.co.uk/blogs/the-bureau-of-taste/persian-spices-the-essential-list
https://www.unicornsinthekitchen.com/zereshk-polo-morgh/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghormeh_sabzi
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020205-ash-reshteh-persian-greens-bean-and-noodle-soup
Images:
https://leitesculinaria.com/347208/recipes-tahdig.html
https://ozlemsturkishtable.com/tag/dolma/