Mast-o-Khorfeh - Yogurt with Purslane

 
Yogurt with Purslane (khorfeh) is the best food to beat the summer heat. There's nothing more refreshing and satisfying than a cool cup of yogurt mixed in with coarsely chopped fresh purslane picked right from your own garden. I've never planted purslane since they grow on their own and are actually considered weeds. I used to pull them out and discard them, until one summer that my mother

Khoresh Rivas - Persian Rhubarb Stew

It's been a very hot summer so far, the kind where you don't feel like cooking and heating up the oven or turning on the stove. However, I was so excited to have finally found a bunch of fresh rhubarb stalks in a supermarket the other day that it no longer mattered how hot the weather was. I had to cook this savory dish. I adore rhubarbs for they are nutritious and very tasty. I loved

Ash-e Miveh - Fresh Fruit Soup

The chickpea



A chickpea in a pot leaps from the flame

out from the boiling water,

crying, "Why do you set fire to me? You chose me, bought me, brought me home for this?"

The cook hits it with the spoon into the pot.

No! Boil nicely, don't jump away from the  one who makes fire. 

I don't boil you out of hatred.

Through boiling you may grow flavorful and nourishing, and united with

Baghali Pokhteh - Cooked Fava Beans

I've always loved the taste of fresh and simple cooked fava beans/broad beans (baghali) with a dash of salt, a sprinkle of ground angelica (golpar) and a squeeze of fresh lemon. I grew up with fava beans and that's how it was always prepared in our home. Fava bean season is very short but it's worth the wait. They are soft and creamy when cooked and have a nutty flavor and are quite

Upside-Down Persian Macaroni With The Crunchy Bottom Layer (Tah-Dig)

In one of my earlier posts I wrote about Persian macaroni. This is a revisit with a focus on making the pasta tah-dig (crust at the bottom of  pan), where the noodles meet the hot oil with a pinch of turmeric and form a flavorful and golden crunchy layer at the bottom of the pan. A good tah-dig is crispy but not burned, crunchy but not hard. Those of you who are familiar with Persian food