It’ll be no surprise that rice dishes are cherished and consumed in Persian cuisine. Rice found its way to Iran from China via the silk road, and took root in the Caspian Sea region, where the climate and landscape are very hospitable to rice production. Recently I’ve been reading about the wide variety of rice…
Category: Dessert
Naan-e Keshmeshi – Rosewater and raisin cookies
Sometimes simplicity is the best approach, and these rosewater and raisin cookies are just that: simple. Cream the butter, add eggs, and then the rest, and you’ll have these lightly rose-flavored buttery raisin cookies.
Koloucheh, Fuman style -Sweet pastries with creamy walnut and rosewater filling
This beauty is another of the Caspian Sea region’s contributions to Persian cuisine. Not only is this pastry unique to this region, but also the two provinces that border the Sea – Gilan, and Mazandaran – each have their own versions. Though a walnut paste is the most common filling, possible alternatives include dates, bananas,…
Naan-e Berenji – Rice flour, rose water cookies with poppy seeds
These delicate and brittle little cookies were present at the tables and spreads of a Persian home for as long as I remember. But, most significantly, these cookies would have their place at the Nowruz table (Persian New Year), which would also meet the company of various other sweet treats, dried nuts, and fruits. These…
Cake Eshgh – Persian love cake
Today and every day we celebrate LOVE! Valentine’s day has come and gone and I am just getting around to posting this cake recipe on the blog. To state the obvious, Valentine’s day was not always a day that was celebrated in Iran and there was certainly no cake to go with it! But as…
Moraba-ye Beh – Quince jam with rosewater
Let there be jam! Homemade jams are such an integral part of Persian culture and cuisine. Quince is one of those rare and sometimes underappreciated tart and crisp fruits that are best enjoyed either cooked in a stew or made into a jam. Quince is an ancient fruit that finds its origin in the Mediterranean…
Qhotab – Walnut​ ​turnover​ ​pastry​ ​with​ ​cardamom​ ​and​ ​rose​ ​water
I have such fond memories of my mother making these tasty treats as a young child. Qhotab is traditionally deep-fried (though, I bake mine), creating a delicate and flaky textured crust with creamy and aromatic cardamom and rose water walnut paste on the inside. I can still recall the scent of the oil and the…
Halva Havij – Carrot halva
Halva, an Arabic word meaning sweet, is a well-recognized global dessert that by many accounts dates back to 7th century Persia, when dates and milk were cooked to create a creamy paste. Since then, the term halva has been used to reference a variety of sweets that include the cooking of wheat, rice, or semolina…
Baghlava – Persian Baklava
Baklava is a layered pastry dessert typically made of filo pastry and filled with finely ground nuts. They are then sweetened with either syrup or honey and seasoned with various warming and sweet spices. Baklava continues to be one of the most recognizable and popular sweet pastries in Iran, Syria, Lebanon, India, Armenia, Greece, and…