Persian Food

Iranian or Persian cuisine is the traditional and modern style of cooking in Iran (formerly known as Persia). The Iranian culinary style is unique to Iran, though has historically both influenced and has been influenced by Iran's neighboring and conquered regions at various stages throughout its history.

Fresh green herbs are frequently used along with fruits such as plums, pomegranates, quince, prunes, apricots, and raisins.

Typical Persian main dishes are combinations of:

• rice with meat, such as lamb, chicken, or fish,
• and vegetables such as onions,
• various herbs, and nuts.

To achieve a balanced taste, characteristic Persian flavorings such as saffron, dried lime, cinnamon, and parsley are mixed delicately and used in some special dishes.

National cuisine

Iranian cuisine includes a wide variety of foods ranging from:

• chelo kabob (rice served with roasted meat: barg, koobideh, joojeh, shishleek, soltani, chenjeh),
• khoresht (stew that is served with white Iranian rice: ghormeh sabzi, gheimeh, fesenjān, and others),
• āsh (a thick soup: for example āsh-e anār),
• kuku (vegetable souffle),
• polo (white rice served alone or with the addition of meat, vegetables and herbs, including loobia polo, albaloo polo, sabzi polo, zereshk polo, baghali polo, and others),
• and a diverse variety of salads, pastries, and drinks specific to different parts of Iran.

Rice and bread are commonly used to make Persian food.

Rice

There are three primary methods of cooking rice in Iran:

• Polo (pilaf)
  Rice that is prepared by soaking in salted water then boiling it. The parboiled rice (called chelo) is drained and returned to the pot to be steamed. This method results in an exceptionally fluffy rice with the rice grains separated and not sticky. A golden rice crust is created at the bottom of the pot called Tah-deeg (literally "bottom of the pot"). Tah-deeg is served plain, with thin bread such as lavash or slices of potato.


• Kateh Rice
  Kateh is cooked until the water is absorbed completely. This is also the traditional dish of Gilan Province.


• Damy Rice
  Damy literally means "steaming". Dammy rice is cooked almost the same as Kateh, but at the start, ingredients that can be cooked thoroughly with the rice are added such as grains and beans like lentils in "Adass Polo". In making Kateh the heat is reduced to minimum when the rice and other ingredients are almost cooked. If kept long enough on the stove without burning and over-cooking Damy and Kateh can also produce Tah-deeg.

Bread

Second only to rice is the production and use of wheat. There are said to be more than forty types of wheat breads from very dark to very light. Bread is called “naan” in Persian.

There are four major Iranian flat breads:

• Naan-e barbari
  Thick and oval-shaped, also known as Tabrizi Bread for its origins in and links to the city of Tabriz.
• Naan-e lavash
  Thin, flaky and round or oval, and is also the oldest known bread in the Middle East and the Caucasus.
• Naan-e sangak
  Triangle-shaped bread that is stone-baked.
• Naan-e taftoon
  Thin, but thicker than lavash, soft and round.