Iranian cooking, with its roots that can be traced back to Persia, is renowned in Middle Eastern cuisine. The reason behind its popularity is simple, and that is their food is impeccably delicious. They work with different ingredients such as nuts, pickled vegetables, edible flowers, and dried fruits to deliver a fragrant and flavourful dish. The resulting texture of their dishes are irresistibly complex and satisfying.
While you can get a fill for your cravings through restaurants that serve Iranian dishes, nothing beats homemade recipes. Thereby, explore some of the classic Persian cuisine recipes that you can effortlessly make at home. Just make sure that your pantry is stocked with the essential spices that will give you a taste of Persia on your plate.
Table of Contents
Steamed Saffron Rice
Lightly ground saffron is the main ingredient that sets this dish apart from other rice dishes. Aside from basmati rice and saffron, the only other ingredients you need for this dish are unsalted butter, extra virgin olive oil, and some Kosher salt. Make sure that you soak the rice in cold water with salt at room temperature for at least an hour before the cooking process.
Persian Kuku Sabzi
This egg dish is delectably different because of the dried rose petals that are infused in it. Heat up some olive oil and saute the dried rose petals, together with some walnuts and garlic. Cook it up until it becomes fragrant, which will take about a couple of minutes. Add some cilantro, parsley and scallions and cook for another couple of minutes more. After which, add the slightly beaten eggs and season with salt and pepper before you bake the dish for 15 minutes.
Veal Stew
The typical veal stew is made more heartily delicious with some dried kidney beans and dried Fenugreek, which is the secret ingredient of this dish. The dried kidney beans need to be soaked overnight prior to cooking. Add to this a dab of ground turmeric, some minced yellow onion, and you have a flavourful stew with an authentic Iranian taste. Making it is as easy as putting everything together in a pot. This dish is best served with lavash or pita.
Rice Cookies
Rose water, used in this rice flour cookie recipe, is a classic ingredient in Middle Eastern sweets. Specifically, rose water and sugar are the ingredients used in making the syrup. This syrup is mixed into the dough that results in crumbly cookies after being baked. However, in the middle of the baking process, you need to sprinkle some poppy seeds and rotate the cookies halfway through until they are cooked. Make sure that the cookies are cool enough before you arrange and serve them on a platter.
Final Word
There are numerous Persian recipes that you can try aside from main dishes like steamed saffron rice and veal stew. You can also explore appetisers other than Persian kuku sabzi or desserts other than rice cookies. The important thing is that you infuse your dishes with spices that will allow you to bring out the real flavours of Iran.
