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.

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.

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.

When I was a kid the potato kuku was one of the sandwiches my mom gave me for school with pickles and tomatoes! Be assured that kids will like it 🙂

Ingredients | 3-4 servings

• 4 Eggs
• 2 medium Potatoes
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1 Onion
• Clarified butter
• Salt and Black pepper

Preparation

– Cook the potatoes in boiling water. Peel them.

– In a big bowl, grate the onion and potatoes.

– Add turmeric, salt, pepper, and four eggs and mix all together.

– In a hot pan, pour generously clarified butter/oil. Add the mix and cover the pan with the lid. Turn down the heat.

– Wait till eggs starts to cook and the kuku solidifies (especially in the center)

– Remove the lid and cut the kuku in 4 pieces, turn them over, add more clarified butter/oil to cook the other side and prevent from burning.

– When both sides have a brown-ish color the kuku is ready!

Notes

• Usually it’s served with pickles, plain yogurt, and Barbari bread!
• Potato kuku is a nice treat for happy hours with alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks

noosh e jan! (buon appetito! ☺️)

The post Potato kuku or kuku sibzamini appeared first on Foodcraftz.

• Traditional/Formal style (this recipe): it’s more laborious because we drain the rice. This type of preparation is common for celebrations and formal occasions, or when there are guests at home.
• Kateh style: rice cookes in the pot in 1 hour. It’s easier to cook since we don’t drain anything. The rice will be slightly sticky.

Important: you’ll need a thick bottom nonstick pot to distributes the heat evenly. If the bottom is thin the rice will burn.

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 500g/17.6oz Basmati rice
• 2 tbsp Salt
• 2-3 tbsp Ghee/clarified butter
• 2 knobs of Butter

video recipe:

Preparation

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

– In a big pot boil water and add salt. (just like pasta water).

– Add rice to the pot and wait till it grows in size and floats on water.

– Save 1 cup of rice’s starchy-water, and add a knob of butter to melt (set aside for later).

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

– In a nonstick pot, on low heat, add 2-3 tbsp of ghee or oil, followed by 2 knobs of butter. (a greasy bottom helps to have a thicker tahdig and avoids burnings).

– Sprinkle all the rice, and at the end create some holes in it, which helps the humidity to come out more easily.

– Pour in the mix of butter and starchy water (that we saved before).

– Cover the lid with a clean kitchen cloth (in persian it called “Damkoni” دمکنی). It absorbs the humidity, preventing water to return on rice and helps the tahdig becomes crunchy.

– Cook on low heat for at least⏳ 1 hour. If you like a thicker and darker tahdig cook for 2-3 hours.

When the basmati rice comes off the edges, and its color turns to a golden brown, that’s when the Tahdig is ready!

➡️ Grip both pot and serving plate together and overturn. The tahdig falls on the plate and it’s ready to be served.

Notes

• It’s important to save a bit of starchy water from rice to have a beautiful compact tahdig
• The tahdig takes around 1 hour to cook but its color will be pale. Longer cookings makes tahdig more colorful.
• Long-grain rice is usually used for tahdig like: Jasmin, Thai, Basmati, etc.
• It is more authentic, if you serve the rice with saffron.
• People serve tahdig with stews (ghormeh sabzi, khoresh gheimeh, baghali ghatogh, zereshkpolo etc.) but it tastes good even with a fried egg! 🙂

noosh-e-jan ☺️

The post Traditional Tahdig – Persian rice crust appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Fish: Traditionally the white meat fishes are used for this recipe like the Caspian sea fishes: Mullet (کفال), Whitefish (ماهی سفید), Trout (قزل‌آلا), but almost any kind of fish (salmon, mackerel, sea bass, …) taste great with Sabzi polo.

In this recipe I used Common Dentex (Dentice in Italian) because that was the freshest fish I could find in the fish market.

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 1 Fish fillet per person
• 500g/17.6oz Basmati rice
• 1 clove of Garlic
• 2 knobs of Butter
• 60g/2.1oz chopped Dill
• 60g/2.1oz Coriander
• 60g/2.1oz chopped Parsley
• 100g/3.5oz chopped Chives or Leek
• Saffron
• Pickled Garlic as accompaniment (optional)

Preparation

– Herbs: combine all the chopped herbs together (dill, coriander, parsley, chives).

– Grate a clove of garlic and mix.

– Wash the rice till it’s the color of water is longer opaque.

– Add the rice to salty & boiling water (just like pasta).

– When it boils and the rice doubles in size and float on the surface, it’s ready.

– Drain the rice (don’t rinse to maintain the salt and aroma of rice).

– Add the mix of chopped herbs and mix all together gently.

– In a small glass pour hot boiling water.

– Add a pinch of ground saffron and a knob of butter and mix till butter melts completely and saffron gives its color to the mix.

Combine all together

– On medium-high heat, place a non-stick pot.

– Add the mix of saffron & butter (for a good saffron tahdig).

– Followed by mix of rice & herbs.

– Put the lid on, wait a few minutes, until it starts to sweat.

– Set the heat to lowest. Cover the lid with a clean kitchen cloth = damkoni, (it absorbs the humidity and helps to have a better tahdig).

– Cook for ⏳ 1 hour.

Preparation of Fish

– Clean and debone the fish fillets.

– Make some cuts on the skin, sprinkle salt and pepper.

– Place the fish on the hot pan with clarified butter/oil.

– First from the meat side when it becomes golden turn over to the other side until it gains the same color and preferably the skin gets crunchy.

– When the skin becomes crunchy it’s ready to serve.

Serving

– Overturn the pot of rice on a big flat plate (finger’s crossed you’ll have good Tahdig!).

– Decorate the sabzi polo with a bit of saffron rice.

– Bring fish and rice to the serving table in two separate plates so each diner can take the amount she/he wants to eat.

Notes

• Some cook the fish in the oven with herbs, garlic and lemon. In this case the skin of the fish doesn’t become crunchy and usually is removed.
• The best accompaniment for sabzi polo mahi is: pickled garlic, which is a typical delicacy of north Iran

Noosh-e-Jan & happy Nowrooz ☺️

The post Sabzi polo mahi – rice with herbs and fish recipe appeared first on Foodcraftz.

For Fesenjan you are free to use any type of meat, either chicken or meatballs the choice is yours. Traditionally in north Iran, where this stew comes from, they use wild poultry meat like goose, duck, quail etc.

In case you can’t find Pomegranate concentrate also the Pomegranate molasses is fine. The elegant and sophisticated taste of Fesenjan, makes it the stew of celebrations and formal occasions. That’s why, in this recipe, we opted for duck’s breast to maintain the level of sophistication.

This stew is served with rice

Ingredients | 2-3 servings

• 170g/6oz Walnuts
• 2 tbsp Pomegranate concentrate/pomegranate molasses (adjustable to taste)
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1 Onion
• 1 Duck big breast (or chicken or 300g/10oz meatballs*)

➡️ Here is the recipe for basmati rice to prepare which will be served with Fesenjoon.

Preparation

– Blend walnuts, to form a paste.

– In a pot, stir the walnuts on medium heat gently, for around ⏳ 15 minutes. Their color becomes darker.

– Grate half onion, add turmeric, salt, and pepper stir to combine all ingredients.

– Add the duck breast (you can either add chicken or sautéed meatballs*) and the other half onion to the pot.

– Pour cold water till it covers all ingredients.

➡️ Water should be very cold, you can even add 1 cube of ice too. This thermic shock helps the walnuts to release more Natural oil to the stew.

– Stir gently and bring the stew to a simmer.

– Add the Pomegranate concentrate or molasses and stir.

⏳ On medium-low heat, cook for ⏳ 1.5 hours.

– Stir occasionally to avoid Fesenjoon sticks to the bottom of the pot.

When the stew has a dense consistency with a thick layer of oil on top and its taste has a good balance between sweet & sour, the Fesenjan is ready!

Notes

• Fesenjoon/Fesenjan is served with saffron rice, a mix of fresh herbs aside, raw onions, white yogurt.
• The taste of Fesenjan depends on the concentration of Pomegranate, if it’s from north Iran they are sour. If it’s from central Iran it’s sweet. Feel free to adjust the sweetness if you prefer by adding a bit of sugar.

Noosh-e-jan (in farsi: buon appetite) ☺️

*How to prepare the meatballs: combine minced meat (lamb or veal), salt, black pepper, and half of a grated onion. From this sticky mixture create small balls (dimensions like a walnut), sauté on high heat to have grilled surface, add them to the Fesenjan. ⏳ The time of cooking will not be less, because the focus is on the taste of pomegranate sauce that should be mature.

The post Fesenjan, the stew of pomegranate and walnuts appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Khoresh bademjan is served with white rice (Kateh style or Traditional style). The rice is cooked alongside the stew.

A popular variant of this recipe called: Gheimeh bademjian which is with the split chickpeas . It gives a richer structure to the stew, I put that optional because it’s not the main ingredient.

Ingredients | 4 servings

• 2 kilos/4.4oz Eggplants
• 400g/14oz Lamb or Veal
• 2 Onions
• 2-3 limu amani or 2tbsp ghooreh or half cup of lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• 2tbsp Tomato paste
• 4 big Fresh Tomatoes
• Clarified butter
• Salt and Black pepper
• 2-3 tbsp Split Chickpeas (optional)

Preparation

– Peel the eggplants and cut them in half.

– Add a generous amount of salt and leave them in a sieve for ⏳ 2 hours so they lose water.

Then you can cook the eggplants either:

• Frying (Traditional way): the eggplant in a big pan.
• In the Oven (None traditional): Coat them with oil and put them in the oven for ⏳ 1 hour at 180C°/350F°.

– In both cases: The eggplant cooks and gain a dark brown color.

Cooking the meat

– In a pot place the meat and add one onion, turmeric, 2 cups of water, salt, and pepper.

– Cook for⏳ 2 hours.

No need to chop the meat in smaller size, because in the end, it will be so tender that it divides with a spoon.

➡️ Meanwhile cook the rice so it will be ready when the stew is cooked.

➡️Prepare the sour ingredient: Place the limoo amani in a glass and pour hot boiling water on it after 1 hour they become soft. Create wholes on its skin and add them later to the final pot. If you have ghooreh (sour grapes) or you have lemon juice, you can add it directly to the final pot.

The final pot

– In a big pot, stir fry chopped onion.

– When it turns golden brown add turmeric, salt, pepper, tomatoes paste, and 2 fresh tomatoes cut in half. Stir fry for some minutes.

– Add the cooked meat & its juice (remove the onion, it helps to absorb the smell of the meat).

– Add the split chickpeas (optional).

– On top of them place fried eggplants so they soak in the meats juice.

– On the eggplants goes: the other pieces of fresh tomatoes.

– On low heat, Cook for at least ⏳ 1 hour without stirring!

Be careful with the shape of eggplants: This is challenging, especially when you want to adjust the salt but if you stir gently without mashing the eggplants it will be ok.

The main characteristic of the Khoresh Bademjan stew, visually is, the form and shape of eggplants. They should be maintained intact until you serve them. This is how you show your guest a flawless eggplant stew! This will be very challenging because they become very soft at the end of cooking.

When the stew is dense, and the flavors are well combined, the eggplant stew is ready!

Serve the stew with rice.

Notes

• To cook the meat, if you use a pressure cooker the cooking process will be much quicker.
• This dish is usually served with raw onions (not very socially accepted), fresh herbs, pickles, plain yogurt, and salad. The usual Persian mazzes مزه / چاشنی on the table

Noosh-e-jan ☺️ (in persian: Buon appetite)

The post Eggplant stew – Khoresh Bademjan appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Some “gourmet” restaurants serve this with cooked & juicy bonemarrow in the middle and some with the reduction of the meat broth like a sauce on top, if you go to the famous restaurant of chef Marchesi in Milan, you can taste his signature dish: risotto with golden leaf (another variation of this risotto)

Ingredients | 3 servings

• 300g/10.5oz Carnaroli rice
• 4 knobs of butter
• pinch of ground saffron
• 60g/2.1oz grated Grano Padano cheese or parmesan
• 1L meat Broth
• half of onion
• 1/2 glass of white wine

Preparation

Saffron water: pour boiling water on ground saffron (0.5g circa) in a small glass. Let it rest for 10-15 mins.

– Sauté the grated onion with butter in a hot pan for 1 min.

– Sprinkle a bit of salt (not much because meat broth & cheese are salty)

– Add rice and toast: stir them in the hot pan, till the rice becomes slightly translucent, the pan should be dry and hot.

– Give it a thermic shock by pouring the white wine.

– Continue to stir till the wine evaporates & the starch starts to be released.

– The meat broth should be warm, add 2-3 ladles of broth and continue to stir till the broth is absorbed.

– If you like the risotto to be “al dente” continue to add broth for the next 14-15 mins.

➡️ If you’re not a fan of al dente: continue to add the broth and taste the rice till they are softer.

– In case the broth finishes earlier, add boiling water to complete cooking the risotto.

– 1 minute before Turn off the heat, pour the saffron water and stir.

➡️ Don’t worry if you see the risotto’s consistency is runny, it should be because Rice absorbs quickly and to have a creamy result we have to give it humidity.

– Add 3 knobs of butter & cheese together.

– Mix lively, some chefs even waving the rice in the pan to “mix” them (they believe this way, “more air” goes inside the risotto!).

Now you should have a silky & creamy risotto.

When serving, you’ll notice the rice becomes slightly denser on the plate.

You can serve this as it is or with a cheese cracker* in the middle. One of the classic dishes of Milan is the saffron risotto with Ossobuco. so if you have prepared the meat it can goes on top.

Buon appetito! ☺️

*cheese crackers: in a non-stick pan, sprinkle in form of circles the grated cheese, when it melts wait till it starts to change its color to yellow/brownish remove them with a spatula and while it’s soft (and warm), bend it on a cool surface like a small glass. When it’s cold the cracker is ready!

The post Risotto alla Milanese – Risotto with Saffron appeared first on Foodcraftz.