OUR MEALS ARE COLOURFUL, FRAGRANT, AND BALANCED

An Iranian meal is a combination of fruits, vegetables, poultry, herbs, seeds, and flowers. Saffron and rosebuds hold a special place in their cuisine — adding colour, fragrance, and flavour to the dishes. The country has a variable climate with four distinct seasons and hence the abundance and variety in ingredients.

Heavily influenced by Caucasian, Turkish, Levantine, Greek, and Russian cuisines — Iranian food is a blend of textures and flavours. Modern spicy curry stews reflect India’s influence on the food and Mughlai is said to be Iran’s gift to Indians. Koftas and pulao are hence common with foodies from both countries.

Often referred to as Persian cuisine, the meals include hot and cold items with the home cooks laying an emphasis on creating a perfect balance between the two. Say, walnut (hot food) will be added to a dish with pomegranate (cold food). Yoghurt is a staple item in an Iranian home and even today, they like to make their own dairy products including cheese. Nuts are an important cooking ingredient, especially almonds, pistachios, and raisins — they’re added to not only desserts but also to mains like rice, meats, etc. The distinctive sour taste in many Iranian dishes is courtesy of lemon or orange.

Chelo Kebab is a popular Iranian dish — it can be savoured at the pocket-friendly Al Ustad Special Kabab (043971469), Meena Bazaar. The Iranian Sweets Palace (043980164), Satwa, is a must-stop to try the cream-filled puff called Noon Khamei. Afrina Iranian Sweets (043463933), Jumeirah, serves traditional Iranian ice-cream in two flavours — pistachio and saffron.

Noosh-e jan (Farsi for Bon Appétit)!

Koofteh Tabrizi A meatball dish made with rice, yellow split peas, leeks, mint, and minced beef. It originated in Tabriz, a city in Northwestern Iran.

Sholezard A traditional creamy rice pudding dessert, which is infused with saffron, rose water, cardamom, and cinnamon.

Fesenjan A stew prepared with ground walnut, pomegranate juice, and meat. It can be sweet or sour depending on the cooking method.

Ash e Reshteh A soup of noodles, beans, herbs, spinach, and beet leaves. It’s topped with mint oil, fried onions, and sour kashk (latter tastes like sour yogurt).

Zereshk Polo Rice flavoured with saffron, turmeric, and barberry. It is also known as ‘celebration’ or ‘jewelled’ rice, as it is cooked for weddings.

Mirza Qasemi An aubergine and tomato scramble, which is served with bread. It originated in the Northern Iranian Caspian region.