Iranian Foods

[Asalbanoo]

Ingredients: (4 servings)
shoulder lamb, 600 grams
medium onions, 3
Iranian (sangak), middle-eastern, or pitta bread
cooking oil
salt
black pepper
turmeric
Directions:
Peel and thinly slice onions. Wash and cut meat into small pieces. Add onions and 3 glasses of hot water to meat and cook over medium heat for about 45 minutes (adding more hot water during cooking if necessary). Add salt, pepper, and turmeric, mix well and cook for a few more minutes. There should be no water left when cooking is over.
Grind (mince) the cooked meat or chop it finely using a sharp, large knife. Fry in oil over medium heat for about 15 minutes, then serve over bread with more bread covering the meat. Note that no rice is served with this dish. Beryani is a delicious dish from Esfahan.

[Asalbanoo]

Ingredients: (4 servings)
4 large green or red peppers
250 grams ground lamb or beef
100 grams of long-grain or basmati rice
2 medium onions, finely chopped
cooking oil
3-4 teaspoons of tomato paste
salt
black pepper
2-3 teaspoons of sugar
3-4 spoonfuls of fresh lime juice
1/3 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)
Directions:
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 most of 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.
Cut a circle at the top of the peppers and remove seeds. Boil 2 cups of water in a large pot. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the peppers. They should be placed side by side (make sure not to stack them). Cook until they soften slightly. Take care not to overcook or they might fall apart later on. Drain the water and let cool.
Mix well prepared meat, vegetables, most of lime juice, most of sugar, and rice. Sprinkle some salt inside peppers, fill them with the mix and close the tops. Again place the peppers side by side (avoid stacking them) in a large pot. Prepare sauce by mixing 1/2 cup of hot water with the rest of sugar, lime juice and tomato paste. Pour the sauce in over the peppers and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve this wonderful dolmeh hot with the sauce.

[Asalbanoo]

Ingredients: (4 servings)
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)
Directions:
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.

[Asalbanoo]

Ingredients: (4 servings)

fresh vine leaves, 250 grams
ground lamb or beef, 250 grams
long-grain or basmati rice, 100 grams
herbs: parsley, dill, mint, tarragon, spring onions, 250 grams
large onions, two
cooking oil
tomato paste, two spoons
salt
black pepper
fresh lime juice, 1/2 cup
sugar, two spoons
Directions:
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.
Wash and finely chop the herbs. Fry in 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.
Mix prepared meat, herbs and rice well. Remove any remaining stems from vine leaves, and wash. Add hot water and salt and boil for 1-2 minutes until leaves soften slightly. Drain water and allow to cool.
Mix lime juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Add half to the mix prepared earlier, and mix well. Pour 2-3 spoons of oil in a pot. Place 2 or 3 layers of vine leaves in the pot. Stack two leaves covering the cracks, place some of the Dolmeh mix on top and wrap the leaves tightly around it. Repeat until all leaves or the entire mix is used up. Place the dolmeh's in the pot packed together. Add oil and 1/2 glass of hot water. Cover and cook over low heat for about 20-30 minutes. If necessary, add more hot water during cooking. Add the remainder of the lime juice and sugar mix and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

[Asalbanoo]

Ingredients: (4 servings)

4 large and firm tomatoes
250 grams of ground lamb or beef
100 grams of long-grain or basmati rice
2 medium onions, finely chopped
cooking oil
3-4 teaspoons of tomato paste
fresh lime juice, 2-3 spoons
sugar, 2-3 teaspoons
salt
black pepper
1/3 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)
Directions:
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.
Cut a small circle at the tops of the tomatoes. Remove the contents of each tomato with a small spoon taking care not to make the outer layer thin. Sprinkle some salt inside the tomatoes. Mix prepared meat, vegetables and rice well. Fill the tomatoes with the mix and close the tops.
Pour 2-3 spoons of cooking oil in a pot and place the tomatoes inside without stacking. Do not add any water. Cook in the oven at low temperature for 15-20 minutes.

[Asalbanoo]

Ingredients: (4 servings

500 grams of potatoes
250 grams ground lamb or beef
2 medium onions, finely chopped
cooking oil
2-3 teaspoons of tomato paste
1 tomato (optional)
2 eggs
salt
black pepper
1/3 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)
Directions:
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. Mix well meat and vegetables.
Cook potatoes in water, then peel and mash them. Add raw eggs, salt and black pepper, and mix well.
Take a handful of potato-mix and shape it into a ball, then create a hole in the middle and fill with the meat-mix. Cover with some more potato-mix and shape into a disc. Repeat until both mixes are used up. Fry both sides of the discs in cooking oil over medium heat until golden. Can be served with slices of tomatos and bits of parsley.

[Asalbanoo]

Ingredients: (6 servings

750 grams boneless stewing lamb or beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup of cooking oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup dried limes (or fresh lime juice)
3/4 cup black-eye beans or kidney beans
1 large potato, diced (optional)
salt
black pepper
1 cup spring onions, finely chopped
1.5 cups spinach, finely chopped
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup coriander, finely chopped (optional)
1/4 cup tareh (garlic chives), finely chopped
1/4 cup shanbelileh (fenugreek), finely chopped (optional)
Directions:
Trim meat and cut into 2 cm (3/4 inch) cubes. Fry onion over medium heat in half of the oil until golden. Add turmeric and fry for 2 more minutes.
Increase heat, add meat cubes and stir over high heat until meat changes color and begins to turn brown. Reduce heat.
Add water, black-eye or kidney beans, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer gently for 1-1.5 hours hours until meat is tender. Time depends on type of meat used.
Fry potatoes over high heat in the remaining oil until lightly browned. Add to sauce, leaving oil in the pan. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add prepared vegetables to frying pan and fry over medium heat until wilted. Add to sauce, then add dried limes (or lime juice), cover and simmer for further 10-15 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve with white rice. An exquisite Iranian dish.

[Asalbanoo]

Ingredients: (6 servings
Basmati or Long Grain Rice, 100 grams
Ground Beef or Lamb, 500 grams
Chick-pea Flour, 100 grams
Herbs (spring onion ends, parsley, common-dill, sweet-fennel, mint, tarragon), 500 grams
3 Eggs
Split-peas, 100 grams
3-4 onions
0.5 cup of cooking oil
2-3 spoons of turmeric (or tomato paste)
Salt
Black pepper
Barberries, 100 grams
Walnuts, 100 grams
Directions:
Koofteh-Berenji is a delicious ball of meat, rice and herbs with extra goodies inside. Cook rice in some water with a bit of salt until it softens, then filter out the water. Do the same to split-peas.
Mix rice, split-peas, chick-pea flour, meat, eggs, salt and pepper very well. Cut the herbs very finely and mix in with the rest. Chop the onions and fry in oil until golden. Save some of the fried onions. Add 5-6 glasses of water to the rest of the onions with a bit of salt, pepper and turmeric (or tomato paste) and bring to boil.
Make balls about the size of an orange from the mix, leaving a bit of barberries, walnuts and fried onions at the center. Place the balls in the boiling water and cook for a few minutes. Then continue cooking at low temperature until the koofteh is completely cooked. Make sure the container is not covered during cooking.

[Asalbanoo]

Ingredients: (4 servings)
ground lamb (or beef), 500 grams
chickpea flour, 300 grams
onions, two regular
fresh lime juice (or vinegar), one cup
sugar, 3-4 spoons
cooking oil
saffron, 1/2 teaspoon
salt
black pepper
Directions:
Dissolve half of saffron in a cup of hot water and add with salt, pepper and chickpea flour to ground lamb (or beef) and mix well. If necessary, gradually mix in some more water so that the mix does not stick to the hand.
Slice onions and fry in oil until golden. Add five glasses of water and some salt and bring to boil. Make 3-4 cm balls from the mix and fry in oil for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Transfer balls to boiling water and add lime juice (or vinegar), sugar and the rest of saffron, and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.

[Asalbanoo]

Ingredients: (4 servings)
chicken, 1 kg
basmati or long grain rice, 500 grams
yogurt, 300 grams
saffron, 1/2 teaspoon
large onions, two
3 eggs (yolks only)
cooking oil
salt
black pepper
Directions:
Start by washing rice and soaking it in warm water (with added salt) for 2 hours. Then filter out the water.
Chop onions into thin slices and fry in oil until slightly golden. Wash and cut chicken, remove skin, and fry in onions until color changes. Add some water and bring to boil. Turn heat down and let boil slowly until cooked, adding more water if needed. Remove the bones.
While chicken is cooking, beat the yogurt until it is smooth. Dissolve saffron in half a cup of hot water. Add saffron, salt, pepper and egg-yolks to the yogurt and mix very well.
Pour a few glasses of water in a large pot and bring to boil. Pour in rice and cook while stirring occasionally until rice grows longer and slightly softens (Take care not to overcook the rice. It should still be too hard for eating). Again filter out the water.
Pour several spoons of oil and several spoons of the yogurt mix into a non-stick pot. Add a thin layer of rice and flatten using the back of a spoon. Add a layer of chicken on top followed by another layer of rice. Again flatten the rice. Spread several more spoons of the yogurt mix on the rice. Continue in this fashion until chicken, rice and the yogurt mix have been used up. Add some more oil on top. Put the lid on and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
Place the pot in an oven (preheated to 250 F) and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours. Note that the longer Tah-Chin is cooked, the thicker the Tah-Dig (delicious crispy layer of rice at the bottom) will be. When cooked, remove the lid and let cool for a few minutes.
Place an inverted large dish over the pot and turn it over. Tap the pot in order to loosen the contents inside. The contents should fall on the dish in one piece with the Tah-Dig on the outside.