Need Ideas for a new Persian recipe to learn?

Question

Hi, my husband is persian, I am Canadian. I made a big mistake learning to cook persian food!! -now that's all he wants!! My very first dish was ghormeh sabzi, which all the persians I feed it to love, so I guess I am a pretty good cook, but getting bored and need some ideas for new recipes. I just made loobia polow tonite, hope he likes it......what do you usually serve with it???
These are the recipes I already know:
ghormeh sabzi
joojeh kabab
koobideh kabab
tah cheen
haveej polow
koo-koo
kotlet
sabzi polow
mahi
zereshk polow
....maybe a couple more I can't think of right now.

*Please don't say fesenjaan.......I have already told my husband to forget it!! I just don't like it myself!!

Thanks so much for your ideas!

Answer 1

For a main dish you can try Dolmeh-yeh Baadenjaan

Ingrediants:
8 small eggplants
400 grams ground lamb or beef
100 grams of long-grain or basmati rice
2 medium onions, finely chopped
cooking oil
2-3 teaspoons of tomato paste
fresh lime juice, 3-4 teaspoons
sugar, 2-3 teaspoons
salt
black pepper
1/2 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)

Method:

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.

Peel eggplants and cut a circle at the tops, then remove insides without creating any holes at the sides or the end. Sprinkle some salt inside the eggplants. Mix prepared meat, vegetables and rice well. Fill the eggplants with the mix and close the tops.

Fry eggplants in cooking oil for 5-10 minutes over medium heat, then place in a pot side by side (avoid stacking them). Dissolve one teaspoon of tomato paste in a glass of hot water and add to eggplants. Add salt, black pepper, lime juice and sugar and simmer for 5-10 minutes until water boils off.

Or how about Meigo-Polow:

Recipie:
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

Method:
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.

Both of these are for four postions.

Good luck and enjoy

Answer 2

I've made this. It's very good.

Baghala Polo -- Iranian Rice With Lamb, Dill and Lima Beans

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
3 lbs boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed of fat and cubed
3 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
4 cups finely cut fresh dill
1 lb shelled fresh baby lima beans
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon saffron, crushed and dissolved in 1 tbsp warm water

1. In a heavy 3-4 quart casserole, with a tightly fitting lid, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over a medium heat.
2. Add the onions and cook for about 10 minutes or until the slices are browned.
3. You will need to stir them often.
4. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan and onto a plate.
5. Set aside.
6. Working in batches, brown the lamb cubes in the remaining fat in the dish.
7. As they brown, take them out of the dish and put them on the plate with the onions.
8. Pour the 3 cups of water into the casserole and bring it to a boil, scraping to loosen any brown particles clinging to the dish.
9. Return the lamb and onion to the dish, add the salt and reduce the heat to low.
10. Cover tightly and simmer for about an hour or untilt he lamb is tender and doesn't show any resistance when pierced.
11. Transfer the onions, lamb and all the cooking liquid to a large bowl.
12. Set the casserole aside.
13. Preheat the oven to 350°F Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a 5-6 quart saucepan.
14. Pour in the rice in a slow, thin stream so the water does not stop boiling.
15. Stir a couple times and boil for 5 minutes.
16. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the dill and lima beans and drain in a fine sieve.
17. Ladle about half of the rice mixture into the smaller casserole and moisten it with 1/2 cup of the lamb cooking liquid.
18. Then use a spatula or spoon to spread the rice mixture to the edges of the pan.
19. Use a slotted spoon to return the lamb and onions to the casserole and smooth them over the rice.
20. Spread the remaining rice mixture on top.
21. Combine 2 tablespoons of the melted butter with 6 tablespoons of the lamb broth and pour it over the rice.
22. Bring the casserole to a boil over high heat.
23. Cover tightly and bake on a middle oven shelf for 30-40 minutes or until the beans are tender and rice has absorbed the liquid.
24. To serve, spoon about a cup of the rice mixture into a small bowl.
25. Add the dissolved saffron and stir until the rice is bright yellow.
26. Spread about half the remaining rice on a heated platter and arrange the lamb over it.
27. Cover the lamb with the rest of the plain rice and garnish with the saffron rice.
28. Pour the remaining 6 tablespoons butter over the top.

Answer 3

Look up harrisa, its a creamy chicken soup. It takes great, sometimes Persians put Cinnamon but it depends on the preference.. Its not Persian but try Tholma, if you haven't already, or Bakla and pilaf, kufta. See my husband is middle eastern, and their recipes are very similar. But check out Mormon chi its a website with all kinds of recipes...

Answer 4

Pomegranite soup .. Ash-e Anar

check out the great web site below. and good luck
cup yellow split peas
1/2 cup rice
1 bunch fresh parsley chopped or 1 cup dried
crushed parsley
1 6oz packet of frozen chopped spinach or 1/2
pound fresh chopped spinach
1 tablespoons crushed dried mint leaves
3-4 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon tumeric powder
1/2 pound ground beef
3 to 4 cups water
1 bottle (32 FL OZ) MID EAST pomegranate juice
or 3/4 cups pomegranate CORTAS molasses


(serves 6-8)


Add spit peas to water and bring to boil under high heat. (If you are using pomegranate juice use 3 cups of water. If you are using pomegranate molasses add 4 cups of water.) Let the split peas boil for 10 minutes. Add rice to boiling split peas and let them cook together for about 20 minutes or until the rice begins to split apart. The reason we boil the split peas first is that once the rice is added it absorbes most of the heat and will not allow the split peas to cook properly. Season the ground beef to taste with salt, pepper, and tumeric. make small meatballs and add to the soup along with parsely, spinach, salt, pepper, sugar and the pomegranate juice and let the mixture boil for 30 more minutes or until it reaches a creamy consistency. Heat the oil in a separate suacepan and saute\ the tumeric in it. Remove the suacepan from the heat and add the crushed dry mint leaves to it and stir. This way the mint will saute in oil but will not burn. Add the mint mixture to boiling soup and let it simmer for 2 more minutes and then serve.

Answer 5

When you've tried all of those, try some of these:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=Persian+recipes

P.S. You might try doing some "fusion" recipes too... fusion cooking is quite "in" these days and produces some really good stuff. In other words, combine some of the ingredients from Persian cuisine into recipes for Canadian or any other ethnic group's food . . . or do the reverse.
Maybe something in these links?:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=Persian+Iranian+food+fusion

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=fusion+food+cooking+how+to


Diane B.

Answer 6

Wow! You know how to cook all those? Your husband is pretty damn lucky. What part of Iran is he from? Maybe you can make him something local from the part he's from?

Try:
Loobia Polo:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lubia-Polo-Green-Bean-Rice/Detail.aspx

Dolmeh:
http://www.anvari.org/iran/Persian_Food_Recipes/dolmeh.html

Salad Olovieh:
http://www.anvari.org/iran/Persian_Food_Recipes/salad_olovieh.html

Good luck :)

Answer 7

lady you know more persian foods' names than I do and I am persian, increase the amout of walnuts in fess... and you might like it I used to hate it muself because they made too sweet. also try making tah dig with different things ( bread, sliced or diced orgrated potato, veggies ) to spice things up . and for god's sake dont make the guy fat.

Answer 8

Try beef intestine,lungs,liver,penis,leg,ears and eyes fry it with paprika and olive oil

they are tasty

Answer 9

try making the goat's eyes, testicles,penis, intenstines,brain, heart, & liver in couscous,hummus, and saffron stew!
yumm-o!