However you spell or pronounce them, Kebabs, Kebobs, or Kababs are meat dishes that take pride of place alongside other meat-centered dishes in Persian cuisine. They are typically small pieces of seasoned whole or ground beef, lamb, chicken, or seafood that are generally skewered and grilled. What makes Kebabs so tasty is the addition of…
Category: Beef
Cotlet – Meat and potato patties
Cotlet is a meat patty that in my humble (albeit Persian) opinion ranks quite a few notches above the good old hamburger. Many cultures have their own version of meat patties and this is the Persian one. Ground meat of your choice, typically beef or lamb, is mixed with boiled potatoes, eggs, grated onions, the…
Khoresh Rivas – Beef and herb stew with rhubarb
Khoresh Rivas is yet another Persian stew that celebrates the abundance of fresh herbs and Iranians’ never ending love affair with sour flavors. In the rest of the world rhubarb’s sourness is almost always moderated with sugar or strawberries, but Iranians use rhubarb in savory dishes precisely because of its sour flavor.
Abgoosht – Meat and potato stew with beans
Abgoosht is the original Persian rustic “one pot meal” that dates back to centuries ago when simple ingredients were gathered and thrown in a pot to accompany tougher cuts of meat that needed to cook for a long time. Nowadays, with easy access to a wide range of ingredients, this once modest dish has become…
Khoresh Bij Bij – Caspian Sea stew with poached eggs
Bij Bij is not only a fun name for a dish, it is also a staple for Caspian Sea folks. People from Iran’s Mazandaran Province call this dish “Vavishka” (clearly a name that originated in Russia), but in Tehran, those who know of it call it Bij Bij. It is a comfort dish, made with…
Makaroni – Pasta with tomato and meat sauce
What does a pasta dish look like after a Persian makeover? How do you turn a classic Italian ingredient into Persian comfort food? Well, first you boil pasta until it’s al dente, and then you layer it in a pot with a tomato meat sauce and Persian spices such as turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom,…
Khoresh Bamieh – Okra and beef stew
Khoresh Bamieh comes originally from Khuzestan province in southern Iran, where it is traditionally prepared with tamarind sauce. This variety, which is more common elsewhere in Iran, substitutes tomato sauce for the less well-known tamarind.
Khoresh Ghormeh Sabzi -Beef and fresh herb stew
This is Ghormeh Sabzi, by many accounts Iran’s national dish! Yes, there are Fesenjoon, Khoresht-e Bademjan, and Zereshk Polo, and a myriad of other stews and rice dishes, not to mention a long list of Kebabs. But there is something so very special about Ghormeh Sabzi. To learn about this dish is to learn some…
Khoresh Kal-leh Gonjishkie – Petite meatballs in tangy tomato sauce with roasted potatoes
This dish takes me way back to my childhood growing up in Tehran. I remember loving this dish for its flavor and simplicity, which clearly appealed to my teenage palate. A simple meatball dish with fried potatoes over steamed rice – how can you go wrong with that?
Khoresh Gheymeh – Beef and yellow split pea stew with roasted potatoes
Khoresh Gheymeh is a well-recognized and popular dish to Iranians: a comforting meat-and-potato stew that has all the familiar flavors of Persian cuisine. The stew is flavored with the Persian spice mixture called Advieh, containing warming spices such as cinnamon and cardamom, earthy cumin and coriander, and a gentle kiss of ground rose petals. But…