If you\u2019re not familiar with Persian cuisine, the very basics are that if you\u2019re invited to an Iranian home for dinner you\u2019ll likely be served some combination of grilled or braised meats and rich stews, flavored by deeply aromatic spices (though not many of them pack much heat) and accompanied by piles upon piles of steamed rice. (Persian rice is the best rice, and I will hear no arguments to the contrary.)<\/p>\n
On the actual day of Nowruz, though, you can expect to see a couple of dishes that are specific to the holiday, often centering on greens and herbs to represent its themes of \u2014 say it with me now \u2014 freshness and renewal.<\/p>\n
The centerpiece of most Nowruz meals will be sabzi polow ba mah<\/em>i, an herbed rice<\/em> served with some kind of whitefish. Then you might have a\u00a0kuku sabzi<\/em>, which bakes eggs with a whole mess of herbs like dill, cilantro, parsley, fenugreek, tarragon, and more. (My mother helpfully describes kuku sabzi as \u201can ancient relative of the frittata.\u201d)<\/p>\n No matter what, though, Iranians will always make you more food than you know what to do with \u2014 and at the end of the meal, you\u2019ll still wish you could still eat more.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Take a look at Iran\u2019s place on the map and it\u2019s easy to understand why the scope of native foods is so wide. Once the center of the Persian Empire, Iran neighbors the former Soviet Union countries, as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Arab states and Turkey. Although Iran is part of the Middle East, it has close ties to Europe, the Far East, and Africa, owing to its central place on the Silk Road trade route.<\/p>\n A core curriculum of classic Persian favorites can be found on most Persian-Canadian restaurant menus. Here are 10 to try.\u00a0Noosh-e jan!<\/em>\u00a0(Yes, that\u2019s Farsi for \u201cbon app\u00e9tit.\u201d)<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0Fesenjan<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(Pomegranate Walnut Stew)<\/strong><\/p>\n This iconic stew, an essential part of every Persian wedding menu, pairs tart pomegranate with chicken or duck. Ground walnuts, pomegranate paste and onions are slowly simmered to make a thick sauce. Sometimes saffron and cinnamon are added, and maybe a pinch of sugar to balance the acid. Fesenjan has a long pedigree. At the ruins of Persepolis, the ancient ritual capital of the Persian Empire, archaeologists found inscribed stone tablets from as far back as 515 B.C., which listed pantry staples of the early Iranians. They included walnuts, poultry and pomegranate preserves, the key ingredients in fesenjan.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bt4OMolH1FN\/<\/p>\n 2.<\/strong>\u00a0Khoresht-e Bademjan<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(Eggplant And Tomato Stew)<\/strong>
\nThis stew has the shimmering red-gold color of tomatoes cooked with turmeric, with a sheen of oil on top, a prized characteristic in Persian cooking that shows a stew has been cooked long enough for the oils to rise up. Slightly tart, with the tang of tomatoes, lemon juice, and sometimes the juice of unripe grapes, its tanginess is kept in check by the eggplant, which is first fried on its own until golden-brown, then cooked with onions, lamb and the tomatoes and seasoning. Like all Persian stews, khoresht-e\u00a0<\/em>bademjan is thick and meant to be eaten over rice with a fork.<\/p>\n\n