And so we reach Iran. I guess I don't have to tell you where that is, unless you really, really aren't paying attention to what goes on in the world.
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Iranian food really didn't surprise me a whole lot, based on its proximity to other nations I've already covered, such as Armenia and Afghanistan. There's lots of rice and meat, of course, and yogurt and herbs such as saffron and cinnamon. It did actually surprise me to hear the Iran is famous for its caviar, though I didn't go so far as to try and find any. I can't afford to eat the stuff that I actually can find here.
Anyway there are a ton of supposedly Iranian recipes all over the internet, most of which are impossible to verify as actually being authentic Iranian recipes. So I will admit to taking the easy way out on this one, mostly because I am now being paid to write about other stuff and it's sucked up a ton of my recipe research time.
So yes, all of these recipes came from the same place: The Iran Chamber Society, which is a research organization that studies Iranian culture and history. Here they are:
Jooje Kabab (chicken kebabs)
- 2 lbs chicken, white and dark meat, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large onions, grated
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp saffron
- 4 medium tomatoes
For the shrimp:
- 1 lb large shrimps
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2/3 cup butter
- one tbsp flour
- 1 to 2 tbsp curry powder
- 3 to 4 large hardboiled eggs
- 2 cups parsley
- cooking oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 1/2 cups basmati or long-grain rice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 lb lean ground lamb or beef
- 1 lb small potatoes
- 3 to 4 medium eggs
- 2 to 3 medium onions, grated
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- Cooking oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Mix the olive oil with the onions, lime juice, salt, pepper and saffron.
Heat the oil in a large skillet and fry the balls on both sides until golden.
You will note that these meatballs are not an ellipse shape. 'Cause I forgot. |
In a separate pan, melt the butter and add flour to make a roux. Cook, stirring continuously, for five minutes.
Now mix the tomato paste with the shrimp broth until dissolved. Add to the roux and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. Add the salt and pepper and curry powder and continue to cook for two or three minutes. Now mix the sauce in with the shrimp. Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve over the rice with sliced eggs on the side.
I thought it deserved better than “I don’t mind it,” but it’s true that there wasn’t a ton of flavor in any one of these dishes--except for the chicken, which tasted very strongly of saffron. To be honest, though, I probably don’t like saffron enough to justify it’s ridiculous expense. The meatballs were pretty good, though I confess they got overcooked a bit and as you can plainly see in the photos, they were also not the right shape. Martin claimed he was unable to tell that they had any actual meat in them because they tasted mostly of potato, but hey, at least he “didn’t mind them.”
My favorite part of this meal was the shrimp, which I thought tasted pretty good even though it wasn’t stunning. This meal just didn’t contain a lot of spice, and I don’t know if that’s indicative of Iranian food in general or just the food that was posted on that one particular website. At any rate it is certainly a good example of why it's really best to shop around for these sorts of recipes.
Anyway, I didn’t mind it either, but there you go. One of these days I think I’ll go searching for more Iranian recipes, just to see if a do-over might be in order.
Next week: Iraq
For printable versions of this week's recipes:
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