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Beyond carpets and nuts
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Here are some eats to go with the wine and poetry, Omar Khayam recommended
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IN A land of nuts, spices, fruits, and carpets, a blend of exotic and common tastes is what a connoisseur can expect. Persian cuisine might have conjured up an image of rich food floating in butter and spices — replete with saffron, diced limes, cinnamon, parsley, and apricots — once, but not anymore. Today, the dishes, which are considered to be colourful and healthful, are given a lighter touch to suit the present `light eats' style. The cuisine gives vegetarians a chance to feel happy about their choices and preferences. Try out these easy-to-prepare authentic and tasty dishes.
Kebab-e-Morg (roasted chicken kebab)
Ingredients
Chicken - 750 gms
Onions (chopped) - 50 gms
Butter - 3 tbsp
Apricots (chopped) - 12
Apple (peeled and diced) - 40 gms
Raisins - 50 gms
Currants - 50 gms
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Cinnamon powder - ¼ tsp
Ajwain - ½ tsp
Saffron - 1 pinch
Method: Sauté chopped onions in butter for five minutes. Add dried fruits and apples, and sauté again on low flame for five minutes. Remove, add the seasoning and let it cool. Stuff the chicken with this mixture and tie up thoroughly so that the mixture does not come out while roasting. Baste with a little more butter and put into a dish to roast. Roast the chicken in the oven at 350-degree Celsius for 1-1/2 to 2 hours until golden brown. Remove from the oven, cut into pieces and arrange on dish, arranging the stuffing as a garnish all around.
Dolmeh
Ingredients
Cabbage - 1 large head
Yellow split peas - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Onion (chopped) - 50 gms
Rice (cooked) - ¼ cup
Parsley (chopped) - ½ cup
Pepper powder to taste
Cinnamon powder - ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Vinegar - ½ cup
Method: Core cabbage, set it into a pot of boiling hot water, cover and cook until almost tender, drain well, remove the leaves and cut out the midribs if hard. Cook peas in pressure cooker until tender. Mix onion, rice, parsley, and seasoning very well. Take a leaf of cabbage in your hand, put a tablespoon of rice mixture on it. Shape it into finger shaped packages. Line the bottom of the pan with cabbage leaves that cannot be used. Pack the stuffed cabbage leaves, placing any remaining leaves between the layers. Pour water and cook on a low fire for 30 minutes. Mix sugar and vinegar, and pour over cabbage dolmeh. Cook gently for another 15 minutes until tender.
Nane Shirini (Persian cookies)
Ingredients
Flour - 2 cups
Margarine - 1 cup
Egg yolks - 2
Almond extract - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Granulated sugar - 1 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Lemon extract - 1 tsp
Method: Sieve together two cups of flour and one teaspoonof baking powder. Cream thoroughly one cup of shortening and one cup of sugar. Blend in two egg yolks, vanilla, almond and lemon extract. Add gradually the dry ingredients and mix until dough is well blended. Roll dough into round balls with hands, using about one level of teaspoon of dough for each ball. Place on non-greased baking tray and flatten slightly with a spoon. Bake in a slow oven for 20 minutes, until the cookie gets colour.
Padouleh
Ingredients
Melon - 1
Sugar - 1/3 cups
Salt - ½ tsp
Crushed ice - for topping
Peaches ripe - 2
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Rose water - 2 tbsp
Method: Cut melon into half and scoop as many lemon balls as you can, and put them in a crockery bowl. Save the melon and add to the melon balls. It is important to use all the melon juice. Peal and thinly slice the peaches. Add sugar, lemon juice and salt, and refrigerate it. Half-an-hour before serving, add rosewater and put it back in the fridge. Just before serving, put the melon mixture in individual glasses and top it with finely crushed ice.
The writer is Executive Chef at ITC Hotel Kakatiya
Sheraton and Towers
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Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
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Visakhapatnam
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