Special News/Recipes Iranian Cuisine

[Rasputin]

Maghz (Brain)

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Ingredients: (4 Servings)
lamb brains, 4
butter, 100 grams
vinegar, 2-3 spoons
medium onions, 2
large eggs, 2
flour, 100 grams
herbs (parsley, coriander, dill, spring-onion ends), 200 grams
salt
black pepper
Directions:
Brain is quite fatty and not for everyone! Note that in some countries a concern does exist regarding transmission of diseases through beef/lamb brains, and that they may not be available everywhere.

Peel and thinly slice onions. Wash brains carefully in cold water, removing skin and veins. Add warm water, salt, black pepper, vinegar, and onions, and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Drain water taking care not to crush brains. Allow to cool. Slice to a 1cm thickness.

Wash and finely chop the herbs. Add to eggs with salt and black pepper and mix well. Pour flour on both sides of brain slices, then dip each side in the egg-mix and fry in butter on both sides until golden. Serve with Iranian, middle-eastern or pitta bread.

[Rasputin]

Aab-goosht Badenjan

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Ingredients: (4 servings)
leg or shoulder of lamb or beef, 600 grams
split peas, 50 grams
small eggplants, 6
medium onions, 3
medium potatoes, 6
tomato paste, 2 spoons
cooking oil
salt
black pepper
turmeric, 1 teaspoon
Directions:
Peel and thinly slice onions. Fry in oil until slightly golden. Wash split peas and fry slightly with onions. Cut meat into small pieces, add to onions and split peas, and fry over medium heat until colour changes. Add salt, black pepper, and turmeric. Follow with six glasses of hot water and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes. The pot should be covered with a tight lid so that little steam escapes during cooking.

Peel eggplants and cut perpendicular to their major axis to a thickness of 1 cm. Add a bit of salt and fry in oil over medium heat on both sides until colour changes. Wash and peel potatoes. Add eggplants, potatoes, and tomato paste. Cook over low heat with the pot again tightly covered for another 30 minutes. If necessary, add more hot water during cooking.

When cooked, pour the juice into another container. With the back of a fork or spoon, fully crush the ingredients and mix well. Serve both the ingredients and the juice separately with Iranian, middle-eastern, or pita bread. Rice is not served with aab-goosht. When eating, cut bread into small pieces and briefly soak in the juice or form morsels by wrapping a small piece of bread around some of the food.

[Rasputin]

Ghors-khorshid

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Ingredients: (4 servings)
fine white rice flour, 500 grams
very fine sugar, 200 grams
cooking oil, 250 grams
rose-water, 1/2 cup
medium egg, one
saffron, 1/2 teaspoon
almonds, 100 grams
pistachios, 50 grams
Directions:
Mix oil, sugar and egg yolk and beat until soft. Beat egg white separately until it thickens. Add rose-water, flour, and egg-white to the mix and stir well. Dissolve saffron in a bit of hot water and add to the mix. Pour the mix in a plastic bag and keep in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Make small balls out of the mix. Press in on each ball to create a concavity. Add a bit of crushed almonds and sugar. Fill in the concavity with a bit of the mix to create a round ball again. Stick some pistachio slices on the balls. Cook in the oven at 300F for 20 to 25 minutes. Colour should not change much.

[Rasputin]

Samanoo

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Ingredients: (4 servings)
wheat, 500 grams
wheat flour, 2 kg
Directions:
Samanoo is usually made at the Iranian new year (starts on the first day of spring: 20 or 21 March).

Wash wheat with cold water, then rinse. Add cold water until there is 2-3 cm of water over the wheat. Leave for about two days, changing the water after the first day. The wheat should begin to germinate. Rinse thoroughly.

Hold a thin piece of cloth under cold water until it is completely wet. Pour wheat inside and wrap the cloth around it. Place it in a bowl and leave the bowl in a warm place. Once or twice a day, sprinkle a bit of cold water over the cloth to make it wet but not soggy.

When roots appear, spread wheat on a large plate, then spread the cloth over it and sprinkle with water. Continue sprinkling with water once or twice a day until silvery sprouts appear. Wheat should be used before the sprouts turn green.

Grind the wheat, add two glasses of cold water, and mix well. Filter out the excess water. Press the wheat hard to squeeze out the extract. Add wheat extract to flour while mixing. The mix should become thin.

Place the mix over medium heat, stirring frequently until the mix starts boiling and thickens. Continue heating until water disappears. Fry the mix without any oil or sugar for about 10-15 minutes.

Gradually add 1-2 glasses of hot water and mix well. Allow to boil slowly, stirring occasionally until the mix slightly thickens. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes at low temperature.

[Rasputin]

غذایی رژیمی با پختی آســـــان

دلمــــه ی کدو

: مــــــــــواد لازم
بروکلی: یک ساقه بزرگ ¤
هویج: سه عدد کوچک ¤
مغز کرفس: یک شاخه ¤
سیر: یک حبه ¤
پیاز: دو عدد کوچک ¤
زنجبیل تازه: دو برش ¤
قارچ: دویست و پنجاه گرم ¤
آب پرتقال طبیعی: یک لیوان ¤
کدوی بزرگ: چهار عدد ¤
سیب: یک عدد ¤
نمک و فلفل و ادویه: به میزان لازم ¤

: طـــــــــرز تهیه
پیاز و زنجبیل را رنده کرده، به همراه ادویه و سیر خرد شده تفت میدهیم. سبزیجات دیگر را نگینی خرد میکنیم و به همراه مخلوط پیاز تفت میدهیم. داخل کدو ها را با قاشق بستنی خوری یا چاقوی نوک تیز خالی کرده به اندازه ای که یک و نیم سانت از گوش کدو باقی بماند. سبزیجات تفت داده شده را داخل کدوها می ریزیم. کدوها را درون قابلمه یا ظرف پیرکس می چینیم و به همراه آب پرتقال به مدت سی دقیقه می پزیم. غذا آماده است به همراه این غذا بهتر است کمی نان سبوس دار یا نان جو سرو شود. این غذا باعث پایین آمدن کلسترول، قند خون برای افراد دیابتی و برای افرادی که اوره بالا دارند بسیار مفید است دد

اگر با نان جو سرو شود دارای 22 تا 24 گرم فیبر می باشد

[Rasputin]

Doogh

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Ingredients:
yogurt, one glass
water, 2-3 glasses
dried mint, one teaspoon
dried pennyroyal, one teaspoon (optional)
salt
black pepper (optional)
Directions:
Beat yogurt until it flows smoothly. Add mint, pennyroyal, salt, and black pepper, and mix well. Add water to yogurt gradually and mix as you add. The quantity of water can be adjusted to obtain the desired density. Place in the frig for a few hours. Mix again before drinking. Carbonated doogh is a popular soft-drink in Iran.

[Rasputin]

Akbar Mashdi Ice cream

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Ingredients: (4 servings)
vanilla ice-cream, one litre
thick (or double) cream, 100 grams
rose-water, 2 spoonfuls
Directions:
The cream used to prepare Bastani Akbar-Mashti should be very thick. Leave the cream in the freezer until it is frozen. Cream or Ice-cream should not be very hard. Cut frozen cream into small pieces and mix with ice-cream. Add rose-water and mix well. Place the mix in the freezer for at least one hour.

[Rasputin]

Sekanjebin

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Ingredients: (4 servings)
sugar, 500 grams
white vinegar, 100 grams
fresh mint, one small bunch
fresh lettuce, one bunch
Directions:
Dissolve sugar in two glasses of water and bring to a boil. Wash mint and tie it together with a string and drop it in the mix. Allow the mix to thicken. Add vinegar and boil for another minute. Remove mint. Serve cold with fresh lettuce. Lettuce should be dipped in sekanjebin.

[Rasputin]

Meigo-polow (Shrimp & Rice)

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Ingredients: (4 Servings)
large shrimps, 500 grams
basmati or long-grain rice, 500 grams
tomato paste, 2 spoonfuls
butter, 150 grams
flour, one spoonful
curry powder, 1-2 spoonfuls
large eggs, 3-4
parsley, 100 grams
cooking oil
salt
black pepper
Directions:
Cook rice as described in the recipe for kateh. Wash shrimps, add salt and hot water and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. There should be about one glass of water left when shrimp is cooked. Boil eggs until hard.

Fry flour in butter over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste to shrimp juice and mix well. Add slowly to flour and stir while adding.

Add salt, black pepper and curry powder and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the sauce to shrimps and mix well. Wash parsley and cut. Serve shrimps with kateh, sliced eggs and parsley.

[Rasputin]

Maahi Kabab

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Ingredients: (4 servings)
whole fish (such as salmon or cod)
fresh lime juice, 1/2 cup
extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup
coriander, 50 grams
parsley, 50 grams
mint, 50 grams
saffron, 1/2 teaspoon
salt
black pepper
Directions:
Note that fresh fish should have raised eyes and should be bright red under the ears.

Cut fish length-wise from below. Remove insides, then wash inside and out, and dry thoroughly. Place each side under grill at high temperature for 5-10 minutes so that the skin dries up. Remove fish and separate skin which should come off easily.

Prepare sauce as following: wash and finely chop coriander, parsley and mint. Add lime juice, olive oil, saffron, salt, and black pepper, and mix well.

Cover a suitable pan with aluminum foil and place fish on top. Add the sauce on both sides as well as inside. Cover with a sheet of aluminum foil and cook in oven at medium temperature for 45 minutes to one hour. Note however that exact cooking time depends on the type and size of fish. Take care not to over-cook. Add more sauce 2 or 3 times during cooking. When cooked, decorate fish with slices of lime or lemon and some parsley. Serve with Sabzi-Polow. It is customary to serve Maahi-Kabab with Sabzi-Polow on the Iranian New Year's day which coincides with the Spring Equinox.

[Rasputin]

Shaami


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Ingredients: (6 servings)
lean ground lamb or beef, 500 grams
medium eggs, 2-3
medium onions, 2-3
bread crumbs, one cup
tomato juice, 3-4 glasses
lime juice, 3-4 teaspoons
milk, one cup
baking powder, one teaspoon (optional)
cooking oil
Salt
Black pepper
Directions:
Add bread crumbs, salt and pepper to milk, and mix well. Peel and grate onions. Add meat, eggs, baking powder, onions, and lime juice to the mix, and again mix well.

Heat up cooking oil in a frying pan. Remove balls from the mix about 4-5 cm in diameter. Form into a round shape with a thickness of 2-3 cm, and poke a hole in the middle.

Fry on both sides until golden. Add salt and pepper to tomato juice and mix well, then add to shaami and cook over medium heat until tomato juice is quite thick.

[Rasputin]

KooKoo Gol-Kalam

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Ingredients: (4 servings)
small cauliflower, one
eggs, 4 large
saffron, 1/2 teaspoon
baking soda, one teaspoon
cooking oil
salt
black pepper
Directions:
Cut cauliflower into small pieces and wash. Add hot water and salt. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, then drain water. Soften cauliflower slightly using a fork.

Add salt and black pepper to eggs, and mix. Dissolve saffron in a bit of hot water and add to eggs. Also dissolve baking soda in a bit of cold water and add to eggs. Mix well.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan until it is hot. Pour in the mix, flatten the surface with the back of a spoon, and place the lid on. Reduce heat and fry for about 10 minutes, until kookoo is cooked under. Cut radially into 4 equal pieces, turn over, and fry for another 10 minutes.

[Rasputin]

Poore Seeb-Zamini

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Ingredients: (4 servings)
potatoes, 1 kg
milk, one cup
butter, 2 teaspoons
salt
Directions:
Wash and peel potatoes. Add 2-3 glasses of hot water and salt and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes until soft. Press well using the back of a fork until potatoes are very soft. Place over low heat. Add milk slowly while stirring so that milk is fully absorbed by potatoes. Add butter, mix well, and serve.

[Rasputin]

Dolmeh Gojeh Farangi

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Ingredients: (4 servings)
4 large and firm tomatoes
250 grams of ground lamb or beef
100 grams of long-grain or basmati rice
2 medium onions, finely chopped
cooking oil
3-4 teaspoons of tomato paste
fresh lime juice, 2-3 spoons
sugar, 2-3 teaspoons
salt
black pepper
1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/3 cup mint, finely chopped
1/2 cup spring onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup garlic chives, finely chopped
1/3 cup tarragon, finely chopped (optional)
Directions:
Fry onions in cooking oil over medium heat until golden. Add ground meat and fry further until meat changes color. Add 1/2 cup water, salt, pepper and tomato paste. Mix and cook further until water boils off.
Fry prepared vegetables in cooking oil over medium heat until wilted. Boil two cups of water in a small pot. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and rice and boil further until rice softens. Drain the water and let cool slightly.
Cut a small circle at the tops of the tomatoes. Remove the contents of each tomato with a small spoon taking care not to make the outer layer thin. Sprinkle some salt inside the tomatoes. Mix prepared meat, vegetables and rice well. Fill the tomatoes with the mix and close the tops.
Pour 2-3 spoons of cooking oil in a pot and place the tomatoes inside without stacking. Do not add any water. Cook in the oven at low temperature for 15-20 minutes.

[Rasputin]

Khoresh Anaar-Aveej

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Ingredients: (6 servings)
chicken pieces, 1-1.5 kgs
ground walnuts, 500 grams
rice-flour, 2 spoonfuls
herbs (parsley, mint, coriander, spring-onion ends), 500 grams
3-4 onions
garlic, 2-3 cloves
pomegranate juice, 3-4 glasses (or 4-5 spoons of pomegranate paste)
sugar, 2-3 spoons
1/2 cup of cooking oil
salt
Directions:
Peel onions and slice thinly. Fry in oil until slightly golden. Wash chicken pieces and fry in onions until color changes. Add 3 glasses of hot water and bring to boil. Turn heat down and let boil slowly for about 30 minutes adding more hot water if needed.

Wash and rinse the herbs, then finely chop them. Peel garlic cloves and thinly slice them. Fry herbs and garlic in oil for a few minutes.

Add herbs, salt, ground walnuts and pomegranate juice or paste (if using pomegranate paste, add 2 more glasses of hot water and bring to slow boil). If pomegranate juice or paste is sour, add some sugar to the khoresht. Dissolve rice-flour in a cup of cold water and add to khoresht near the end of cooking.

Care should be taken to cook the khoresht long enough so that the oil in walnuts comes out and the mix becomes quite thick. Khoresht anaar-aveej should be served with white rice.