Recipes
The recipes below are a sampling from Najmieh’s cookbooks. Use them to explore Persian cuisine, which has one of the oldest and most refined cooking schools. You will find inspiration from a great age-old cuisine presented for today’s cook.
Stove-top Plain Rice
This is a very simple way to make wonderful rice in only 30 minutes. It is a technique favored around the Caspian, where rice is eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Fava Bean and Dill Khoresh
The combination of dill, fava beans, and plenty of garlic, flavored with verjuice/ab ghureh or sour orange/narenj is a signature taste of the Caspian region. It is made with chicken or lamb and served over plain rice/kateh.
Apple Khoresh
Using fruit and nuts to create a slow-cooked braise with a sweet and sour flavor has been part of the Persian cooking repertoire since ancient times. In this recipe I am also giving you a variation that replaces the split peas with sour cherries.
Steamed Rice with Cumin and Potatoes
I adapted this recipe from Mah-Gol Bagherpour, a wonderful cook at Shahin and Homayoun Sarlati’s house in Kerman.
Saffron Rice and Potato Balls
Traditionally, the filling of these potato croquettes is made with lamb and deep fried. It’s also made in various parts of Iran without the potato. If you want to try them the traditional way: For the filling, add ½ pound of ground lamb with the onion in step 3 and…
Pistachio and Pomegranate Meatballs
Years ago I was inspired by a sixteenth-century Persian cookbook to create this recipe and combine a mixture of pomegranate and grape molasses for the sauce…
Noodle and Chickpea Soup
In Iran, it is said that eating noodles brings good fortune, that is why noodle soup is always served on Nowruz, the Iranian New Year’s Day.
Pistachio Soup
The word “pistachio” comes from the Persian word pesteh. One ancient nickname for the Persian people was “pistachio-eaters.” According to a Greek chronicler, when King Astyages of the Medes gazed from his throne over his army, which had been defeated by Cyrus the Great, he exclaimed, “Woe, how brave are…
Saffron Rice Pudding
This rich, delicious vegan saffron rice pudding is associated with sofrehs and the giving of alms during religious ceremonies. It also makes a wonderful chilled dessert in small portions.
Saffroned Almond Cake
I’ve adapted this recipe from Sara Alavi’s mother, Shayesteh Khanum, who is from Yazd. Sara says that in spring her mom would spread almonds on a clean sheet and cover them with pussy willow flowers, leaving them overnight for the perfume of the flowers to infuse the almonds. She can…
Saffroned Mango Pickle
For this pickle, it is best to use firm, unripe mangoes. This helps the fruit keep its shape as it ferments.
Rose Water and Apple Shrub
Shrubs/faludeh have an ancient tradition in Iran’s culinary history and go back a few thousand years. Iranians loved to combine fruit with syrup or honey and crushed ice. Sherbets and sorbets are the descendants of the faludehs of Shiraz.