Persian Food Defined

The essentials of Persian cuisine are Basmati rice, flat breads, lime, lamb, chicken and herbs. When I think of Persian food I think of lime. Lime is a staple in the Persian kitchen, as juice from a fresh lime or as a flavoring from dried lime. Whole dried limes are thrown into all types of stews and ground dried lime is a flavoring added to rice, stews, kabobs and other foods. Dried lime has a musky, intense flavor reminiscent of fresh lime, but stands on it's own as an independent flavoring. Bottled lime juice is repulsive and would never be touched by any self respecting Persian cook.

Basmati rice is the favored rice in the Middle East and India/Pakistan areas. Iranians use nothing but Basmati rice, plain white rice would never be called for in any recipe. I would be surprised if plain white rice was sold in Iran, I'm guessing that it isn't. Basmati rice must be rinsed with lots of water until the water is clear. In Persian cooking, the rice is always soaked for at least an hour but usually longer. This allows the grains to swell and become longer and will produce a superior rice. The rice is then cooked while tightly covered. When cooked correctly, Basmati rice grains are long and separate. The rice is delicate and not squashed as other rices are. It is an excellent bas to the many Persian dishes

Persians cook a stew called khoresh. This involves either lamb, beef or chicken cooked together with vegetables or fruits, herbs and sometimes a little split yellow peas or other such legumes. Typically a khoresh will consist of chopped onion, beef, lamb, or chicken, and a showcased fruit or vegetable. Spices are important and the staple spices are Samples of vegetable khoresh are cumin, coriander and turmeric and freshly ground black pepper. These are combines with other spices to produce a Persian spice mixture called advieh. Fruit khoresh can have cinnamon or cardamom, and other sweeter spices. Khoresh is always served on a bed of Basmati rice and sometimes Persian pickles on the side.

Popular Persian drinks are tea and abdug. Tea is typically brewed in a samovar which keeps it hot so that small cups of tea can be drunk continuously all day. Tea is called Chai, not to be confused with the heavily spiced Indian Chai. Persian chai is mostly just tea but sometimes other flavored such a bergamot are added. Abdug is a refreshing yogurt drink that is often drunk during meals.

A major part of the Persian diet is flat bread such as Lovash or Barbari. Lavash is basically flour, water and salt but it is baked in very thin sheets. Lavash is soft if eaten right away but quickly becomes hard and is mostly eaten in that form with meals.Barbari is made with butter and sesame seeds on top.

Persian food is sour and sweet and spiced delicately. Onions and leeks are common but garlic is not a common ingredient at all. An excellent if not the best book on Persian cooking is "New Food For Life" by Najmieh Batmanglij. The book is comprehensive and the photos are gorgeous. I recommend this wonderful book to anyone who wanting to cook authentic Persian food.