Everything About IRAN

[IQ]

instead of having all these different threads about Iran in here we can put everything about Iran, like ( Iran, Cuisine, Culture, Gallery, Geography, History, Literature, Names, Softwares, Schools, Sports, Travel, Yellowpages, Links(maybe), News)

[IQ]

Land Area
1,648,195 square kilometers
(631,660 square miles)

Coast Line
3180 kilometers
(1,976 miles)

Population
(July 2003 estimate)
68,278,826

Type of Government
Theocratic Republic

Languages of Iran
Persian, Azari, Kurdish,Luri
Baloch, Arabic, Turkish...

Literacy
79.4%(1992)

Int. Airports
Tehran, Esfahan, Bandar-e Abbas,
Tabriz, Shiraz, Mahabad

Time
+3 1/2 hours CUT
+8 1/2 hours EST

[IQ]

Rice with Lentils
Adass Polo
(By Mrs. Soheila Amiri)
(3-6 servings)
Ingredients:

3 cups (8 Oz) of white long grain rice.
4 table spoons of cooking oil.
1 cup (8 Oz) of lentils.
1 loaf of pita (or other flat middle eastern type) bread.
4 oz of water.
salt
Directions:

For best results, soak the rice for a few hours in hot water and salt before cooking. Soak the lentils in a separate water (no salt) container a short while before cooking.

In a medium size pot, half-way filled with water, bring the water to a boil. Add the rice (and the water it was soaking in), and let it cook for a few minutes until it starts boiling. Add the lentils. Occasionally pick a few of the rice grains with a spoon and chew on them to see if they have softened.

When the rice is half-crunchy half-soft, take it out and drain it in a kitchen stringer. Run the tab water on it to wash out some of the excess salt.

Pour the oil in the pot, add 4 oz of water, separate the two halves of the pita bread and lay them in the bottom of the pot, add a bit of extra oil if necessary, then pile up the rice losely in the shape of a heap. With the back of a spoon, make five holes, one in the center and four around it so that the rice can breath in the cooking process.

Spread a little water on top and close the lid. Let it cook for a few minutes on high heat. When steam starts to rise, change the setting to medium heat and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes. Then turn the heat to medium-low, sprinkle some cooking oil to prevent drying, and let it cook for about another 10-15 minutes before serving.

HINTS:

If you have a choice, use any of the Basmati brands of rice (AftAb, Pari, Gilda, Feel-Neshan, etc.) you can buy from middle eastern or Indian stores. But be careful not to overboil these types. They get pretty sticky if you over cook them. If all else fails, use Mahatma brand (American from supermarket). They take longer to soften, and there is less chance of coming out sticky.
When putting bread in the bottom of the pot for purpose of forming bottom crust (tah deeg), it is best to use a teflon coated or any other non stick pot for this purpose. In most cases, after cooking the rice in such pots, you can put a large round plate over the pot, flip it over and get the rice and the crust to come out in one piece.

[IQ]

Lima Bean with Dill Rice BAGALI SHEVID POLOW
Bagali polo
(Serves 6 to 8 )
The following recipes are from "Secrets of Cooking" by Linda Chirinian (ISBN 0-9617033-0-X Lionhart Inc. New Canaan, CT).

This exotic Iranian dish can be served with plain yogurt spooned over the rice, or with roast chicken, barbecued larnb chops, or steak. A straight-sided, non-stick, saucepan is the best kind of pot to use for this recipe.

Ingredients:

PREPARATION TIME: 20 MINUTES (plus soaking for rice)
COOKING TIME: 45 MINUTE

1 recipe Steamed Rice
1 package (10 ounce) frozen baby lima beans, thawed
14 tablespoons butter
3 cups freshly chopped dill
3 medium potatoes, cut into 1/inch slices (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon threads crushed and steeped in 2
tablespoons hot water
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Prepare Steamed Rice . Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a non-stick 6-quart saucepan. Arrange potato slices in single layer in saucepan.
Spread one-third of prepared rice over potatoes. Salt and pepper. Cover with half of lima beans, and half of dill. Cover with half of remaining rice and remainder of lima beans and dill. Top with remaining rice. Keep ingredients mounded high in center so steam can circulate. Sprinkle 4 cup water over rice. Slice remaining butter, place over rice. Cover rice with waxed paper. Wrap cover of pot in kitchen towel and place over saucepan to keep steam inside.
Cook over medium-high heat 8 minutes, reduce heat to low, and cook 35 minutes or until rice is soft and fluffy.
Set 1 cup rice aside. Mound remaining rice on serving dish. Remove potatoes from saucepan with spatula and place around rice or in separate dish. Sprinkle reserved cup of rice with saffron and mix well. Spread saffron rice on top of plain rice. Season with salt and pepper.
VARIATION: When layering rice, add 1 large onion, chopped and sauted in butter, 6 broiled lamb chops or 2 pounds cooked boneless lamb shoulder cubes, or 6 cooked chicken cutlets. Increase cooking time by 15 minutes.

[IQ]

Iranian StyleWhite Rice
Chelo Safeed
(By Mrs. Soheila Amiri)
(3-6 servings)
Ingredients:

3 Cups of white long grain rice.
4 table spoons of cooking oil.
3-4 medium size potatos.
4 oz of water.
salt.
Directions:

For best results, soak the rice for a few hours in hot water and some salt before cooking. Peel the potatos and slice them in a round shape. You could use the potatos unpeeled as well since they add lots of fiber to your diet.

In a medium size pot, half-way filled with water, bring the water to a boil. Add the rice (and the water it was soaking in), and let it cook for a few minutes until it starts boiling. Occasionally pick a few of the rice grains with a spoon and chew on them to see if they have softened. When the rice is half-crunchy half-soft, take it out and drain it in a kitchen stringer. Run the tab water on top of it to wash out some of the salt.

Pour the oil in the pot, add 4 oz of water, lay the potatos in the bottom of the pot, add a bit of salt, then pile up the rice losely in the shape of a mountain, on top of the potatos. With the back of a spoon, make five holes one in the center and four around it so that the rice can breath in the cooking process.

pread a little water on top and close the lid. Let it cook for a couple of minutes on high heat. When the rice starts to steam, change the setting to medium heat and let it cook for about 15 minutes. Then turn the heat to medium-low, sprinkle some cooking oil to stop it from drying, and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Most likely by this time the smell of the potatos has filled the kitchen. Its time to take it out and enjoy it.

Hints:

If you have a choice, use any of the Basmati, AftAb, Pari or Feel-Neshan brands you can buy from specialty stores. But be careful not to overboil these types. They get pretty sticky if you over cook them. If all else fails, use Mahatma brand. They take longer to soften, and there is less chance of coming out sticky.
In traditional Iranian dishes, the white rice is decorated with a bit of Safron. In order to do that, put a bit of safron in a micro wave safe dish and over high power cook for a few seconds. This helps the safron dry up and give better color. Add a few teaspoons of hot water and let it stand for a few minutes. Pour a couple of table spoons of cooked rice in the dish and mix until they turn yellow. The amount of safron and the color of the rice have a direct relationship. The more you add, the richer the color and aroma. Spread the dyed rice over the white rice at serving time.
Also, for decorating purposes, any one of the natural dyes such as beet juice (purple), leek juice (light green), onion peels (light brown) could be used. In order to do that, in each case, put the vegetable in hot water and cook for a few minutes. Then pour the cooked rice in the juice and let it stand for a few minutes. Spread over white rice at serving time.
Instead of potatos, you can use sliced onions, tomatos, and also any kind of Iranian bread as well as Pita bread. The recipe is the same and they all come out pretty crunchy. If you use nothing, the rice itself forms a crunchy layer called "Tah Deeg".

[IQ]

Carrot Rice
Haveeg Polo
(By Mrs. Soheila Amiri)
(4-6 servings)
Ingredients:

4 cups (32 Oz.) of white long grain rice.
8 table spoons of cooking oil.
4-6 large carrots, peeled and grated (using the large teeth).
4 Oz. of water.
1 lb. of ground beef.
1 medium onion, chopped.
1/2 tea spoon of turmeric (zardchoobeh).
2 cups (16 Oz.) of tomato sauce.
A touch each of salt and pepper.
Directions:

For best results, soak the rice for a few hours in hot water and salt before cooking.

In a medium size pot, half-way filled with water, bring the water to a boil. Add the rice (and the water it was soaking in), and let it cook for a few minutes until it starts boiling. Occasionally pick a few rice grains with a spoon and chew on them to see if they have softened. When the rice is half-crunchy half-soft, take it out and drain it in a kitchen stringer. Run the tab water on it to wash out some of the excess salt.

In a medium size pot, over medium heat, pour 4 table spoons of oil, add the chopped onions and stir fry until they turn a golden brown color. Add the meat, turmeric and pepper and continue to stir fry until the meat is brown. Add the tomato sauce and salt and con- tinue to stir fry for a few more minutes. Add the grated carrots and stir fry for another 5-10 minutes. The meat sauce is done when it starts to thicken (most of the water evaporates).

Pour the remainder of the cooking oil in a separate medium size pot, add 4 Oz. of water, then loosely spread a thin layer of rice and a thin layer of meat sauce. Continue in this fashion until all the rice and meat sauce have been exhausted. With the back of a spoon, make five holes one in the center and four around it so that the rice can breath in the cooking process.

Spread a little water on top and close the lid. Let it cook for a couple of minutes on high heat. When the rice starts to steam, change the setting to medium heat and let it cook for about 15 minutes. Then turn the heat to medium-low, sprinkle some cooking oil to stop it from drying, and let it cook for about another 10 minutes.

HINTS:

If you have a choice, use any of the Basmati brands of long grain rice (i.e., AftAb, Pari, Feel-Neshan, etc.) you can buy from middle eastern or Indian stores. But be careful not to overboil these types. They get pretty sticky if you over cook them. If all else fails, use Mahatma brand (American from supermarket). They take longer to soften, and there is less chance of coming out sticky.
Often times on the onset of stir frying ground meat, large lumps are formed. During the course of stir frying the meat, with a back of a large spoon keep pressing on the lumps to separate them. Your meat sauce comes out with finer granularity this way.
You can optionally add a few table spoons of either carrot or orange jam (not jelly) to the meat sauce to add more flavor and sweetness to the dish.

[IQ]

Sabzi Polo
Vegetable Rice
(By Mrs. Soheila Amiri)
(3-6 servings)
Ingredients:
4 cups (32 Oz) of white long grain rice.
4 table spoons of cooking oil.
1/2 cup (4 Oz) chopped Chives/Scallion stems (tarreh/piAzcheh).
1-1/2 cups (12 Oz) Parsely (jafaree).
1 cup (8 Oz) coriander (gheshneez).
1-1/2 cups (12 Oz) fresh Dill Weed (sheveed).
A few large, outer leaves of lettuce.
4 Oz of water.
Directions:
For best results, soak the rice for a few hours in hot water and salt before cooking.

Wash and drain the vegetables. Using a cutting board and while repeatedly bunching up the vegetables, finely chop them.

In a medium size pot, half-way filled with water, bring the water to a boil. Add the rice (and the water it was soaking in), and let it cook for a few minutes until it starts boiling. Stir the rice a few times during the boiling process. Occasionally chew on a few of rice grains to see if they have softened.

Near the end of boiling, add the fresh chopped vegetables (if you are using dried vegetables do not add them in yet because they will get washed out). Stir the rice one last time and then take it out and drain it in a kitchen stringer. Run the tab water on it to wash out some of the excess salt.

Pour the oil in the pot, add 4 Oz of water, lay the lettuce leaves in the bottom of the pot and add a bit of extra oil if necessary. If you are using dried vegetables in place of fresh ones, you will have to mix them in as you are adding thin layers of rice in the pot, in the shape of a heap.

With the back of a spoon, make five holes, one in the center and four around it so that the rice can breath in the cooking process.

Spread a little water on top and close the lid. Let it cook for a few minutes on high heat. When steam starts to rise, change the setting to medium heat and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes. Then turn the heat to medium-low, sprinkle some cooking oil to prevent drying, and let it cook for about another 10-15 minutes before serving.

HINTS:
If you have a choice, use any of the Basmati brands of rice (AftAb, Pari, Gilda, Feel-Neshan, etc.) you can buy from middle eastern or Indian stores. But be careful not to overboil these types. They get pretty sticky if you over cook them. If all else fails, use Mahatma brand (American from supermarket). They take longer to soften, and there is less chance of coming out sticky.
When putting lettuce leaves in the bottom of the pot for purpose of forming bottom crust (tah deeg), it is best to use a teflon coated or any other non stick pot for this purpose. In most cases, after cooking the rice in such pots, you can put a large round plate over the pot, flip it over and get the rice and the crust to come out in one piece.

[IQ]

Pot-Bottom Crust with Chicken
Tah-Cheen-e Morgh
(By Mrs. Soheila Amiri)
(4-6 servings)
Ingredients:

For Tahcheen:
1 pound of long grain rice.
1/2 cup (4 oz) of cooking oil.
1 cup (8 oz) of mAst (plain yogurt).
2 teaspoons of zafarAn (saffron).
1 pound of various chicken pieces.
6 egg yokes (zardeh tokhm-e morgh).


For Zereshk:
1 cup of red currents (zereshk) presoaked and washed.
1 tea spoon of dried saffron (zafarAn).
1 tablespoon of lemon juice, or one fresh lemon, squeezed.
1 tablespoon of granualted sugar.
A touch of turmeric (zard-choobeh).
Directions (for Tahcheen):

Presoak the rice in hot water and salt for about an hour before cooking. Cut up the onion in large pieces. Wash and devein the chicken pieces, put them in a pot with some water, add the onion, turmeric, salt and a touch of saffron and let it cook until the meat softens. Take it out, drain it and set aside.

In a medium size pot, half filled with water, boil the rice for a few minutes, until the rice is half crunchy half soft when you chew on it. Take it out, drain it and set aside. You may want to wash off the rice in a stringer, if you used excessive amounts of salt to soak the rice.

In a bowl, mix the egg yokes and yogurt and beat it until it has a smooth texture. Mix in about a cup full of cooked rice.

In a medium size pot, pour half of the cooking oil in the bottom of the pot, evenly pour in the egg-yoke/yogurt mixture in the bottom, place the chicken pieces on top of it and top it up loosely with the remainder of the boiled rice. Sprinkle the remainder of the oil on top of it, close the lid, put the heat setting at high for a minute or so until the rice starts steaming.

Turn the heat setting to low and let it cook for about an hour and a half to two hours. The lower the heat and the longer the cooking time, the crustier and darker the bottom layer becomes. Careful not to burn it

Direction for Zereshk:

In a cup containing two oz of boiling water, pour the saffron, cover the cup and let it sit for a while (until it forms a rich color). In a pan, pour one table spoon of oil, put the heat setting at medium-low, pour in the red currants, saffron liquid, sugar, turmeric and lemon juice and stir fry it for a few minutes until the sugar dissolves.

The zereshk is spread over the rice at serving time.

HINTS:

When cooking the rice, if you put a small amount of saffron in one side of the pot, the rice gets a richer aroma.
When serving the rice, turn off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes. Then place a round, flat dish over the pot and gently flip it over. The rice comes out in the same fashion as a cake and can be cut up and served at the table.
Any time you use saffron, specially if it has been sitting in the refrigerator or freezer, if you put it in microwave for a few seconds, excess moisture is taken out and it gives better color.
Don't soak the zereshk in water for too long. They get soft.
In some recipes, the Zereshk is combined with dried almond slices. You can presoak and drain them, and add them in at frying time.
Best kind of chicken pieces for this dish are the white meat (breast) and the thighs.
This recipe requires a good amount of oil in the bottom of the pot for it to come out with a nice color and not too dry.

[djTapesh]

wowwww good info thanks

[IQ]

anytime mr.Tapesh.

[Cop]

merci damet garm

[IQ]

Kookoo Sabzi
Vegetable Souffle
(By Mrs. Soheila Amiri)
(3-6 servings)
Ingredients:
8 eggs.
1 tea spoon white flour.
1 table spoon red currants (zershk).
1/3 cup (2-3 Oz.) finely chopped walnuts (gerdoo).
1 tea spoon salt.
1/4 tea spoon black pepper.
1/4 cup (2 Oz.) cooking oil or butter.
1/2 cup (4 Oz.) finely chopped fresh chives/scallion stems (tarreh/piAzcheh).
2 cups (16 Oz.) finely chopped fresh parsely (jafaree).
1/2 cup (4 Oz.) fresh coriander (gheshneez) or 2 table spoon dried ones.
1/4 cup (2 Oz.) fresh or dried dill weed (sheveed).
1/2 table spoon dried fenugreek (shanbelileh).
Directions:
Soak the currants in cold water for 15 minutes before cooking. Drain before adding them in.

In a bowl add the eggs, 1/2 of the cooking oil and all other ingredients, with the exception of fresh and dried vegetables. Beat it with a fork until the ingredients have been mixed well.

Add the vegetables, and stir the mixture until the vegetables have blended in (do not beat it any longer due to the delicate nature of fresh vegetables).

Put the oven setting to bake at 250 degrees (F). Pour the remainder of the cooking oil in an oven safe dish. Pour the vegetable mixture in the dish. Bake at this setting for about 40-45 minutes. You may cover the dish with aluminum foil at the beginning to prevent over-drying of the top crust. Remove the foil half way during the baking process.

Cut in square pieces before serving.

HINTS:
Chives, sometimes called garlic chives are the same as "tarreh". If you can't find fresh chives, you can use the stems of either scallions (piAzcheh) which are also called green onions, or Leek which is the same as "tarreh farangi". In either case you do not have to use the bulbs but you can.

[IQ]

Mahi sefeed
White Fish
(By Mrs. Soheila Amiri)
(4 servings)

Ingredients:



For the fried version:

4-8 filets of White fish.
1 large onion.
1 & 1/2 medium lemons (limes will do fine as well).
1/2 (4 Oz.) cup all purpose white flour.
1 table spoon curry powder (optional).
1 table spoon turmeric (Zard Choobeh).
A touch of salt and black pepper.
1 cup (8 Oz.) of milk.
1/2 cup (4 Oz.) of cooking oil.


For the baked version:

1 medium-large whole white fish.
1 large onion.
1 large bell pepper, and/or a few jalepenio peppers (if you prefer the spicy taste) .
1 head of fresh garlic, peeled and finely chopped.
2 cups (16 Oz.) of fresh chopped parsely (jafaree).
1/2 cup (4 Oz.) of fresh chopped coriander (gheshneez),
or,2 table spoons of dried coriander.
1 package of dried tamarind (tamr-e hendi).
Directions:

To fry:

Slice the bell pepper, onion, and the whole lemon and set aside. Mix flour, curry powder, turmeric, salt and pepper together. This mixture should have a light orange color. If it is too white, increase the amount of curry and turmeric equally. Pour the milk in a bowl. Pour the cooking oil in a frying pan, put the heat setting to medium, spread the slices of lemon, onion and bell pepper and fry for a few minutes. Dip the pieces of fish in the milk, sprinkle thoroughly with the flour mixture and place in the frying pan on med-low heat. When one side is brown, turn over and squeeze the 1/2 lemon juice over them.

HINTS:


Dipping the pieces in milk before frying prevents them from
breaking apart. This is optional.
Flipping the filets several times, before one side is completely brown,
prevents curling.
If you prefer a more zesty taste and are adventurous, add a fewslices
of Jalapenio peppers while frying.

To Bake:

Place the tamarind paste in a bowl containing a cup of water. knead the paste until the seeds separate from the dried pulps. Run the mixture through a kitchen stringer to separate the seeds from the resulting sauce. Set it aside.

Stir fry the chopped onion, garlic, fresh peppers at first and then add the remaining chopped vegetables. Stir fry for a few more minutes. Take it off the heat and set it aside.

Set the oven to bake at 350 degrees (F). Place the fish in an oven safe dish, add a touch of cooking oil, salt and pepper, stuff the fish with the stir fried vegetable mixture and pour the tamarind sauce over the vegetable stuffing. Cover the dish with aluminum foil for half of the baking period. Bake at this setting for about an hour. By the end of the baking period, the outer layer of the fish should have a reddish color and the meat should be flaky to the touch of a fork.

HINTS:

The above stuffed white fish is the Southern version of the white fish which is traditionally served as new year dinner.
When buying the fish, ask the clerk to cut the fish on one side only, take the flakes and guts out and leave the head and tail intact.

[IQ]

Grilled ground meat
Kabab kubideh
(by Ms. Mojgan M. Thompson)
(4 to 6 servings)
Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef or lamb
1 med. onion, grated
1/4 cup bread crumbs or white flour
1 egg slightly beaten (optional)
1 tsp. tumeric
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbs. lemon juice
Directions:

Mix all ingredients well - cover and leave in frig overnight or at room temperature for a few hours.

In order to prevent the mix from falling off the skewers, you should drain the water (juice) out of the grated onion before adding it to the meat. Also the colder the mix, the better it will stick to the skewers.

Dividing the meat into 10-12 portions. Press each portion around long metal skewers and shape evenly.

Place the skewers a few inches away from the grill coals. Turn constanly for a couple of mintes and then cook each side for a few minutes.

Serve with hot rice and enjoy!

[IQ]

FESENJAN

Ingredients: (Serves 6)

1 large onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoon butter or cooking oil
1 pound meat or small duck or partridge
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 pound walnut meat, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup hot water
1 1/2 xups pomegranate juice *
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 or 2 lemons (optional)
1 small eggplant
Cooking oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom powder
Directions:

Saute the onion with the pepper and turmerc in the butter or the oil until well browned. Remove onions and drain. If ground meant is used, make small balls and brown slightly in the oil remaining in the pan. If birds are used, brown them on all sides.

Sprinkle meat or birds with the flour and the chopped walnuts and saute for a few minutes longer. Add water, pomegranate juice and salt to taste. If you like a sourer dish add lemon juice. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

Peel eggplant, cut lenghtwise into 6 or 8 pieces, sprinkle each piece with salt and stack one on top of the other for a few minutes to drain. Then rinse in cold water, dry and saute inhot oil until lightly browned on both sides. Arrange the eggplant on top of the meat or poultry, partially cover, and simmer over low heat until the eggplant is tender and a rich brown gravy rises to the top. Add powdered cardamom, stir well but gently and cook about 5 minutes longer. Server with chelo (white rice).

Note:

1 pound white fish or salmon may be used instead of meat or poultry. In this case the cooking time will be about 15 minutes less. ALso either of the following vegetables may be substituted for the eggplant: One pound of fresh pumpkin meat, minced and sauteed, or one pound Italian squash, halved and sauteed.

* Somtimes we use lemmon or lime juice, brown sugar and 1/2 cup tomato juice when pomogrante juice is not available.