For this recipe I followed my friend’s suggestion Nastaran and added grate ginger! It has a beautiful harmony with the flavor of beetroot and yogurt. I also added black onion seeds that combines well with the rest of the ingredients but it’s optional.

This Borani is a good option also as breakfast with cereal but without onion seeds. 🙂

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 8 tablespoons of yogurt (whole, no sugar)
• 1 medium beetroot.
• 2 g grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion seeds
• to taste Salt, pepper

Preparation

– Cut in dice the beetroot, some prefers to grate them. It’s up to you.

– Mix all the ingredients in a bowl: yogurt, beetroot, salt, pepper, ginger and onion seeds. You’re done!

I took this photo the day after. It’s always so much work to do when you have guests at home and want to serve a Persian banquet. So Borani is one of those choices that you can prepare a day before so you may work on other dishes. Time also helps to have a more tasty and colorful Borani!

Notes:

• Some grate garlic instead of ginger. Do as you prefer. The main ingredients are yogrut and beetroot for the rest you are the boss! 🙂
• The proportions between yogurt and beetroot is subjective. For more creamy result add more yogurt.
• When you prepare beetroot Borani the day before, it probably thickens because beetroots and onion seeds absorb the humidity of yogurt. Add 1-2 tbsp of yogurt to adjust Borani’s creaminess.

Noosh e jan

The post Borani of beetroot appeared first on Foodcraftz.

If you have both main ingredients (lentils and squash) cooked, this dish will take no longer than 20-30 minutes.

Ingredients | 5 servings

• 400g/14.1oz squash
• 200g/10.5oz lentils
• 1 medium onion
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 3 tbs clarified butter
• Lemon juice (to taste)
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Preparation

– Cooking lentils: add them in a pot with 4cm/1.5in water above the surface. (follow the package instructions for cooking time)

– Stir fry chopped onion in clarified butter, till they become golden.

– Add the squash and a bit of salt. To have a greater taste, stir for 10 minutes, then put the lid on and wait other 10 minutes so the squash is tender.

– Add: cumin, turmeric and stir. The squash should be soften by now. Smash the squash pieces by pressing the back of spoon or a meat masher. This will help the stew become creamy.

– Add the cooked lentils, pour 2 cups of boiling water.

– Add freshly grate nutmeg on top and let it simmer for ⏳ 20 minutes.

– Adjust the season with salt and a bit of lemon juice and it’s ready!

Notes:

• While cooking lentils, don’t add salt because it makes them harder to cook. Add salt when they are cooked.

• Make sure the squash has a good quality so it sweet taste has a greater impact on the the dish. Once I bought from the super market the squash and the stew was very tasteless.

Serve with extra virgin olive oil and bread.

Noosh e Jan and Enjoy ☺️

The post Squash and lentils dip appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Some people cook it in pyrex and in the oven. This way it’s easier to check the color and decide when it’s done. This recipe is with old fashion non stick pot.

Ingredients | 4 servings

• 2 Eggs
• 2 tbsp Yogurt
• 4-5 tbsp Oil of your choice/Clarified butter
• Salt
• 1/2 tsp Saffron
• 400g/14.2oz Rice (Basmati, Thai or Jasmin)

Nice to have:

• Non-stick pot

Preparation

Making saffron cream:

– In a big bowl (later some rice will goes in) add saffron and pour 2 tbsp of hot boiling water and wait for ⏳ 5 minutes.

– Add yogurt, eggs, a pinch of salt and 3 tbsp of oil/clarified butter. Mix till you have a yellow homogenous cream.

Preparation of rice

– Wash the rice till the color of the water, is no longer opaque.

– In a big pot boil water and add salt.

– Add the rice to the salty boiling water and wait till the rice grows in size and floats.

– Drain the rice, don’t rinse! (to maintain its taste and salt)

Preparation of final pot

– Mix 1/3 of rice with saffron cream.

– Pour in 3-4 tbsp of oil/Clarified butter to a non-stick pot on the stove, make sure it coats the bottom of the pot.

– Add the mix of rice and saffron and gently spread with a spatula to have an even surface.

– Add the rest of the white rice on top.

– Pour a bit of oil/butter on its surface.

– Cover the lid with a clean kitchen cloth.

➡️ in persian it called “Damkoni” دمکنی. It helps to absorbs the humidity, preventing water to return on the rice and helps the tahchin becomes crunchy.

– Cook on low heat for ⏳ 1 hour at least.

To serve:

➡️ Grip both pot and serving plate together and overturn. The Tahchin detaches from pot to the plate and it’s ready to serve.

Notes:

• Use thick bottom non-stick pot, it distributes the heat evenly, and prevent the rice to burn quickly.
• Greek style yogurt is perfect for Tahchin. It’s fatty and slightly sour.
• Long-grain rice is usually used to make Tahchin: Jasmin, Thai, Basmati, etc.

Noosh e Jan ☺️ (buon appetit!)

The post Simple Tahchin appeared first on Foodcraftz.

The season of the fava beans is in the mid spring – early summer. In Iran, people buy kilos and after peeling, they store them in freezer to enjoy various dishes made of it for whole year.

Ingredients | 4 servings

• 530g/12oz minced Meat (with 30% fat)
• 350g/12oz Rice (basmati, Thai or similar)
• 120g/4oz Dill (finely chopped)
• 4 Onions
• 350g/12oz Fava Beans (cut in half)
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• Salt and Pepper
• Cinnamon (to taste)

Preparations

– Wash the rice until the water is clear.

– Grate 1 medium onion and squeeze to discard excessive water.

– In a big bowl add rice, grate onion, meat, dill, turmeric, cumin, salt and pepper.

– Smash them with a meat mallet and make a sticky paste. The meat’s fat acts as a glue.

– Shape the paste into balls (smaller than tennis balls) and put them aside.

The final pot

– In a casseruole, stir fry 3 chopped onions, until translucent.

– Add a bit of turmeric, salt and pepper and stir.

– Pour hot boiling water to almost half of the pot and stir.

– Place the koofteh/meatballs one by one, gently in the pot. Make sure the meatballs shape is intact.

– Only the the tips of koofteh should remain out of water.

➡️ Important: each meatballs should have 1 inch/2cm of distance from the others. Because when the rice cooks their volume will grow.

– ⏳Put the lid on, cook on low heat untill the juice is reduced to 1/4th.

Last touch: 10 minutes before serving add a bit of cinnamon on the top of each meatball.

Serve koofteh with pickles, plain greek yogurt and salad.

Noosh e jan (Buon appetite) ☺️

The post Koofteh baghali, fava bean meatballs with dill appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Halim helps to resist the hunger for long hours. The traditional Halim is without grain peel but here we didn’t remove them so it’s quicker and healthier 🙂

The most important characteristic of Halim is its elasticity. It should shine and stretch! The cut of meat used in Halim helps to have such consistency. The best choices are sheep neck or ribs because they are tender and fatty. Some people like to use turkey too.

Ingredients | 4 servings

• 1 cups Shelled Wheat
• 1/2 cup pearled Barley (optional)
• 300g Sheep ribs or neck
• 1 Onion
• black pepper (to taste)
• half tsp Turmeric (optional)
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 1.5 L Water
• Cinnamon (for garnish)
• Sugar (for garnish)
• Butter (for garnish)

Preparation of meat

– In a pot place onion and meat.

– Brown the meat for 10 minutes on high heat. It helps to have more flavors in broth.

– Add a bit of turmeric stir a few seconds then pour half liter of boiling water.

– On low heat cook for ⏳ 3 hours.

The meat should become extremely tender that separates from the bones.

– Remove all the unwanted bonds, skins etc.

– Place the meat in a bowl and add a bit of broth and with a masher make a paste.

Cooking wheat (in parallel with meat):

– In a big pot, pour 1L of water add wheat and salt.

– Cook for ⏳ 2 hours.

– Add barley and cook for another ⏳ 1 hour. (optional)

– At the end we have a very starchy and thick mix in the pot.

– Ground the wheat base with food processor or a Minipimer, or by hand with a masher to have a creamy paste.

– Add the meat paste and broth to the wheat base and mix.

– Simmer for ⏳1 hour. Stir every 10 minutes to avoid it sticks to the bottom of the pot.

At the end Halim should be shiny and dense.

➡️ Check the seasoning before serving.

Notes

• Better to soak wheat a night before.
• The longer wheat cooks we get a better texture and richer flavors.
• Avoid buying sterilized wheat. They are tasteless and poor in minerals.
• Place a knob of butter while Halim is still hot and add sprinkle of cinnamon.
• It’s fun to eat Halim, starting with a salty version and whenever you feel like having “dessert” sprinkle sugar on top and enjoy!

The post Halim, Persian version of meat porridge appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Some add the meat broth for a richer taste. Since we are using ghee/clarified butter this is a vegetarian version but feel free to replace with oil of your choice to have a vegan Adasi.

Ingredients | 4 servings

• 250g / 2 cups lentils
• 1 L Water
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 3 tbsp Clarified Butter
• 1 Onion (diced)
• Salt (to taste)
• Black Pepper (to taste)
• 1 tsp Corn or Potato Starch (optional)

Preparation

– In a big pot, on medium heat, sauté the diced onion.

– When they become golden, add the spices: turmeric & cumin & black pepper.

– Sauté spices for some seconds, to intensify their flavors.

– Add lentils followed by boiling water.

– On low heat, simmer for ⏳ 2 hours.

– 30 minutes before finishing: add salt.

➡️ Because salt increases the cooking time of the lentils and harden their texture. That’s why we add it toward the end of cooking time.

The final touch:

– Mix 1 tsp of corn or potato starch in half cup of cold water.

– Add the mix to Adasi. It will make the soup more shiny and creamy. Simmer for ⏳ 5 minutes and it’s ready.

Notes

• Adasi is served with golpar (Persian Hogweed), drops of lemon, fried onions or a knob of butter. (any of these alone is good enough 🙂 )
• Soak the lentils a night before, for a better and quicker result.
• It’s usually cooked with green lentils

Noosh e jan ☺️ (buon appetite in persian)

The post Adasi, vegetarian lentils soup appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Sholezard has two main ingredients: rice & saffron. No Basmati rice for this recipe. Because it should release starch during long hours of cooking. The Thai rice can be a good option, it has perfume and a considerable amount of starch.

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 100g/3.5oz rice (i.e. Thai)
• 1.2 liter Water
• 250g/8.8oz Sugar
• 1/2 cups Rose water
• 1 tsp Saffron
• 3tbsp slivered Almonds or/and Pistachios
• Cinnamon for decoration

Preparations

– A night before wash the rice and soak it in the water.

Next day: add water and sugar to rice in a big pot.

– Simmer for ⏳ 4-5 hours. Stir occasionally to avoid the rice stick to the bottom.

➡️ While waiting, mix the rose water with saffron. Cover it and let it rest for an intenser taste.

– Back to rice pot: after long hours of cooking, rice has soften and we have a creamy, shiny and dense cream.

– Add the mix of saffron and rose water.

– Continue to simmer for last ⏳ 5 minutes until the consistency and color becomes like the following:

– Turn off the heat and add half of the almonds. We save the other half for decorations.

– Mix all together and Sholezard is ready. While it’s warm pour it on the serving bowl because it tends to solidify when cools down.

– Wait another 1 hour to cool down

Decorate with cinnamon, almonds, and pistachios and serve 🙂

Notes

• The rose water is a distilled liquid from rose flowers and it absorbs more than any other liquid the color of saffron.
• Usually, Sholezard is poured into small serving dishes or one big bowl. It’s served cold or at room temperature.
• Mix the rice and sugar during the cooking time, it’s very tricky if you add sugar at the end, even for “adjust” the sweetness you will risk the creamy consistency into runny liquid :-/ (it happened to me!)
• The cold Sholezard tends to feel less sweet, that’s why the amount of sugar for Sholezard seems excessive.

Noosh e jan (buon appetite)

The post Sholezard, Persian rice pudding with saffron appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Like Italian polenta, it is made of cornflour (photo) which is white and has a rough texture. There are different variations of toppings for Kachi. From the modest version: stir fry onions, spices, and loads of animal fat to the more “sophisticated” one with meat (this recipe)

The way of serving:

The polenta is served in a circled flat tray. In the middle, they create a whole for topping which is called the “fortress” (قلعه). First, goes kashk (a Cream made of sheep’s yogurt which is very salty) followed by the stew of meat, mint oil, and fried garlic & onion.

The family gathers, sitting on sofreh (traditionally on the ground) around the big tray, when the Kachi slightly, cools down it becomes dense, each person, skillfully with fingers gets a bit of Kachi and dip halfway in the fortress to get savory. They start eating from the edges and proceed to the center. It’s fun!

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 300g/10.5oz Polenta flour/cornflour (preferably white)
• 1.2L Water
• 700g/24.6oz sliced Meat (better be lamb)
• 300g/10.5oz Kashk/Sheep yogurt
• 2tbsp dried Mint
• 5tbsp Clarified Butter or Animal Fat
• 2-3 Chopped Onion
• 1tsp Turmeric
• a pinch of Nutmeg
• 3-4 Garlic (optional)
• Extra virgin olive oil (for Mint oil)

Directions

Preparing the topping: meat stew

– Stir fry the chopped onions, in clarified butter/animal fat/oil when they become translucent add meat. Stir fry for 10 minutes more, so the meat starts to lose water.

– Add turmeric, nutmeg, and salt. Mix all ingredients and cover with lid. Cook on low heat for ⏳ 1.5 hours.

Preparing the topping: yogurt cream/kashk

– If you have fresh Kashk: mix it with a bit of water to dilute and have a dense cream

– If you got plain yogurt: add 1 tbsp of salt and 1-2tbsp of water if it is too dense. The final result should be a salty dense yogurt cream.

Cooking kachi/polenta

– In a non-stick pot bring water to boil add 1 tsp or salt

– sprinkle -while stirring- the flour gently. Whisking constantly until all polenta is stirred in and there are no lumps.

– When kachi starts to thicken, reduce the heat and cover with lid. Cook for ⏳ 1 hour. Stir occasionally to avoid the kachi/polenta sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Mint oil and fried garlic

– Pour a bit of oil (I used extra virgin olive oil) in a small pan, on medium heat, wait till the oil becomes slightly hot, turn off the heat, sprinkle dried mint in it while you are crushing the leaf between your fingers, it’s done! (the mint shouldn’t burn, they are very delicate)

– Fry the garlic slices and onion strips (like chips) and put them aside for topping.

Serving

– Since the traditional version is on a flat tray and I didn’t have that at home, I used a baking mold (for tarts) to serve. Pour in the polenta (while it’s still hot and easy to shape) and, try to create a wide whole in the middle. I placed a clean glass in the middle 🙂

– In the whole, first goes a generous amount of kashk/salty yogurt cream, then add the stew.

Topped with mint oil and fried garlic and onions And the Kachi is ready to serve!

Notes

• Zavareh is a city in the desert, in Isfahan province.
• Kachi is considered to be so nutritious that usually, is cooked for the women after labour or during their period to give them more energy.
• (for decoration) The Kashk or Yogurt should be like a dense cream to create a better circle, in mine, it was a bit thin. :-/

Noosh e jan (Buon appetite)

The post Kachi Zavareh, Iranian polenta appeared first on Foodcraftz.

The color, the consistency, the timing of adding syrup, the heat of the flour at the time of adding syrup… all of these are important factors to know while cooking an authentic Persian halva. I messed up so many times while trying to create this recipe! lol and they weren’t cheap mistakes, If you follow the recipe strictly I’m sure you will have the right halva! Good luck : ))

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 200g/7oz Whole Wheat Flour
• 110g/3.8oz Brown Dark Sugar
• 1/2 cup Rose water
• 1tsp Ground Saffron
• 100g/3.8oz Water
• 100g/3.8oz Clarified Butter
• a handful of Almond & Pistachios for decoration

Choose the right pan

For the Pan: choose any type of pan between aluminum, copper, steel, etc. But not coated with Teflon or other non-stick materials that are made of chemics. Because the pan will get very hot and we don’t want to risk those materials become carcinogenic.

Making syrup

– Start with mixing rose water and saffron in a small cup and let them be for ⏳ 20 minutes so the saffron completely gives its color and flavors to the mix.

– Prepare the syrup by mixing water and sugar, boil, then turn it off. Pour in the mix of saffron and the syrup is ready.

Making Halva

– In a pan on medium heat toast the flour. No oil is required for now. This step takes up to ⏳10 minutes or even more.

– Stay near the pan and stir continuously. After a while, Its color turns darker and the scent of the toasted flour spread in room along with a white smock coming out of the pan, the pan becomes very hot. Arriving at this point, continue to stir for another ⏳ 2-3 minutes then turn off the heat.

– Add clarified butter and continue to stir.

Now comes the most important step: Adding the syrup.

It’s essential that the pan’s temperature isn’t too hot. Because if it is, the flour will absorb all the syrup and grows in size and we’ll have a dough-like mix, which is far from the traditional halva. The main characteristic of Persian halva is a slightly “Flour-like texture” (حلوا آردی) not doughy.

Try to splash some drops of water inside the pan. If it sizzles very lively don’t add the syrup yet. The pan should be hot but not extremely hot!

– Pour the syrup. At first, the mixture seems a bit runny but continue to stir.

– Set the heat to lowest. The color should be very dark, stir gently until the halva arrives at the consistency of a dense cream. The flour hadn’t doubled in size and the syrup is perfectly mixed.

The right consistency of Persian halva

How to serve

Halva, usually, is served on a flat dish with some decorations on top. So while it’s still warm transfer it to the serving dish. In room temperature halva becomes more solid and it’s easier to decorate. We made circles with a small glass and used almonds slices and grated pistachios for garnishing and decorations.

Notes

• In the old times which sugar wasn’t accessible for everyone, Persian Halva was made of grape syrup (شیره انگور). A very dense, dark liquid made of grapes. So a darker sugar is perfect for this recipe (I used a mix of muscovado and brown sugar)
• In Iran, Halva is usually made for mourning periods and is cooked in much bigger proportions. It’s served on small/medium flat plates and is distributed among the people. Usually neighbors.
• Halva with Chai (black tea) is the match of life! (and with Barbari Bread is the end of the world! lol)
• If you like you can also add cardamom to the syrup, I personally think it is not necessary.

Enjoy ☺️

The post The authentic Persian Halva appeared first on Foodcraftz.

This recipe is the most common type of Eshkeneh in Iran but other versions, like the Booshehri (south Iran) with garlic and coriander, the version with the quince or with yogurt and even with mung beans which is from Khorasan etc. are worth to try.

Ingredients | 2 servings

• 1 big Onion (chopped)
• 2 Potatoes (diced)
• 2 Eggs
• 1tsp Turmeric
• 1 tbsp Flour
• 1 tsp Fenugreek leaf (or 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds)
• 2 tsp Salt
• Ghee/clarified butter
• Black pepper
• 5 cups of water (more or less)

Preparation

– On a gentle fire, stir fry for ⏳ 10 – 15 minutes chopped onions until golden.

– Add turmeric, flour, fenugreek, salt, and black pepper. Stir for some more seconds

– Add potatoes and hot water that completely covers 1 cm above the ingredients. Simmer for ⏳ 20 minutes.

– Add eggs and gently mix the soup while they are spreading. Cook for another ⏳ 2-3 mins and the Eshkeneh is ready.

Notes

• Instead of flour, you can use corn starch/potato starch for a gluten-free version
• Eshkene is a quick dish if the potato’s cut are small.
• The more the base of onion cooks it taste becomes better
• Fenugreek leaves can be found in Iranian supermarkets or online. In case you don’t have the fenugreek leaf, use the seeds in a smaller portion because they are bitter
• Usually it’s one egg per diner

Eshkeneh is served with bread.

Noosh e jan (buon appetite)

The post Eshkeneh, quick Persian soup with onion base appeared first on Foodcraftz.