Persian cooking favours fragrance over heat: saffron, dried lime, rose petal, cinnamon and turmeric, huge quantities of fresh herbs, and slow stews balancing sour and sweet.
Overview¶
Iran has one of the world's oldest continuous cooking traditions, and its influence runs through Turkish, Arab, Central Asian and North Indian food (the Mughal emperors' kitchens drew heavily on Persian cooks). Its spicing is fragrant rather than fiery: saffron, dried lime, rose, cinnamon and cardamom against a background of turmeric, onion and black pepper, balanced with sour fruits and pomegranate. Almost no chilli is used.
The other defining feature is fresh herbs used as vegetables. Sabzi khordan, a plate of raw herbs with feta, walnuts, radishes and flatbread, is on the table at most meals, and dishes like ghormeh sabzi and kuku sabzi use several hundred grams of chopped herbs for a family meal.
The core palette¶
- saffron: Iran produces the great majority of the world's saffron (see most-expensive-spices and biggest-spice-producers). It is ground with a pinch of sugar and steeped in hot water before use, then drizzled over rice or stirred into stews.
- turmeric: the everyday spice; almost every stew starts with onions fried golden with turmeric.
- Dried lime (limoo amani): whole, pierced, or ground; gives stews an earthy, fermented sourness.
- advieh: a family of blends. Rice advieh often includes rose petal, cinnamon, cardamom and cumin; stew advieh adds nutmeg, coriander or dried lime. Recipes vary by family.
- Rose: dried petals and rose water in rice, sweets and advieh.
- Sour: sumac on kebabs, verjuice (ab-ghooreh), pomegranate molasses, sour cherries, barberries (zereshk) and pomegranate seeds.
- Others: nigella in pickles and on bread, golpar (Persian hogweed seed, often mislabelled "angelica seed") on pomegranates and broad beans, and cinnamon in both savoury and sweet dishes.
- Herbs: parsley, coriander, dill, chives or Persian leek (tareh), fenugreek leaves (shanbalileh), mint, tarragon and basil.
Regional differences¶
Tehran and the central plateau give the "classical" repertoire of rice dishes, kebabs and khoresh. The Caspian provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran are lush and green: garlic, sour plums, fresh herbs and fish, and dishes like mirza ghasemi (smoked aubergine with garlic and egg). The south, around the Persian Gulf and Bushehr, is the exception to the "no chilli" rule, using chilli, tamarind, fish and spice mixes closer to those of the Gulf and India. Azerbaijani and Kurdish regions in the north-west share dishes with the Caucasus and Turkey; Khorasan in the east is known for saffron and barberries. Iran's Armenian and Jewish communities have their own traditions.
Key techniques¶
- Blooming saffron: grind 1/4–1/2 tsp threads in a mortar with a pinch of sugar or salt, pour on 3–4 tbsp just-boiled water, and leave for 10–20 minutes. It goes much further this way than tossed-in threads. See saffron.
- Chelow and tahdig: rice is parboiled, drained, then steamed slowly with oil or butter so the bottom layer forms a golden crust (tahdig) — often with saffron, yoghurt, potato or bread.
- Sautéing herbs: for ghormeh sabzi, the chopped herbs are fried slowly in oil until dark green and fragrant, which changes their flavour completely. Dried fenugreek is essential here.
- Khoresh: slow stews that balance sour (lime, pomegranate, plum) and sweet (fruit, a little sugar).
💡 Pierce the limes
Whole dried limes should be pierced several times with a knife before going into a stew so the liquid can get in. Remove them before serving or warn your guests; they can be bitter if bitten into. Some cooks remove the seeds first to reduce bitterness.
Landmark dishes¶
Ghormeh sabzi (herb, bean and lamb stew with dried lime), fesenjan (walnut and pomegranate stew), gheimeh (split pea stew with dried lime), zereshk polo (barberry and saffron rice with chicken), baghali polo (rice with broad beans and dill), kuku sabzi (herb frittata), ash reshteh (herb and noodle soup), kebab koobideh with sumac, tahchin, and sholeh zard (saffron rice pudding with rose water).
Stocking the cupboard¶
- Good saffron — buy from a reputable source; see spice-adulteration
- turmeric
- Dried limes, whole and ground
- advieh, or its components: dried rose petals, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin
- sumac
- Dried fenugreek leaves and dried mint
- Barberries and pomegranate molasses
- Basmati rice, and plenty of fresh parsley, coriander, dill and chives