Esfahani-Style Pancake Recipe, Long-Awaited Trip to Iran and My 10 Year Blogging Anniversary

After many years, I finally took a long-awaited vacation to Iran with my two daughters. It was an unforgettable journey filled with incredible moments. Our trip was meant to reconnect with family, explore historic sites, and ignite in my daughters a love for my homeland. Over the course of three weeks, we visited Esfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran. The experience exceeded all expectations. From the moment we arrived, we were warmly embraced by family on both sides and graciously guided through the beauty and history of these remarkable cities.

This blog was born in the early days of December ten years ago, during a time when I was searching to find a way to cope with the loss of my mother. What began as a small project soon grew into something that brought me immense joy and fulfillment. Over the years, it has become a space to share my love for Persian food and culture, and to connect with so many wonderful readers around the world. I am grateful for the kind and heartfelt messages I've received throughout the years, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

One of the highlights of our trip was getting to enjoy new dishes and old favorites. A memorable new discovery was my sister-in-law's special pancakes, which she prepared for breakfast on our very first morning in Esfahan. This ingenious پنکیک pancake is actually closer to scrambled eggs than the American-style pancake, made with more eggs than flour.. It's quick to prepare, yet just as delicious. 

Instead of spooning the batter into the pan to make several thin pancakes, the entire mixture is poured in at once and cooked slowly over low heat until golden and set. 

Esfahani Pancakes - پنکیک اصفهانی 

Ingredients

Serves 4

-4 eggs
-4 tablespoons flour
-1 cup milk
-A pinch of salt
-1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
-1/2 tablespoon sugar *optional
-3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter

For the topping:
Syrup, honey, grape molasses, fresh fruits, or s little extra butter

Method:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
2. Gradually add the milk, stirring until the mixture is smooth.
3. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork or whisk, then add them to the flour mixture. Stir until well combined.
4. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the oil or butter, then pour in the entire batter. Reduce the heat to low.
5. Cover and cook until the pancake is fluffy and golden on the bottom. 
6. Cut the pancake into four equal pieces.
7. Carefully flip each piece with a spatula, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. 
8. Serve immediately with your favorite topping.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year! May 2019 be a happy, healthy, and prosperous year for everyone!

Dopiazeh Aloo

A while back, I received a comment on my blog from a reader asking about an Iranian potato recipe. She wrote that she had just returned from a trip to Iran, where she had enjoyed a wonderful potato dish in Shiraz. After cooking and eating Persian food for over twenty years, she said she had never come across this dish before; it wasn't a kookoo sibzamini (potato kookoo) or a cutlet. This dish had been served at both breakfast and lunch, and when she asked about it, a server told her it was a local specialty. Curious,  I asked one of my Shirazi friends about it. Without hesitation, she said, "Oh, that must be Dopiazeh Aloo!" 

Dopiazeh is a traditional dish from Shiraz, made with an abundance of onions ("do piaz", literally means "two onions") and either cubed or ground lamb/beef, chicken, shrimp, and potatoes. In Shiraz, the word aloo, which usually means "plum" in Persian, is also used to mean "potato." Here's the link for my ground beef Dopiazeh (Two Onions).

Dopiazeh Aloo - Shirazi Style - دوپیازه آلو شیرازی

Ingredients
Serves 2

-1 pound small potatoes, boiled, peeled, and cubed
-2 large onions, sliced
-1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
-1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)
-A pinch of dried fenugreek leaves
-A pinch of red pepper
-Salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
-1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (optional)


Method

1. Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until tender and not falling apart. Set aside to cool.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the sliced onions and sauté over medium-high heat until they are soft. Stir in the turmeric and cook for another minute. 
4. Mix in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes. 
5. Add the cubed potatoes, salt, black pepper, red pepper, and a pinch of fenugreek. Stir gently to coat the potatoes without mashing them.
6. Cover and cook for 7-10 minutes until everything is well blended. Drizzle with fresh lime juice and serve.

Serve warm with bread, pickles, salad shirazi, and mast o khiar.

Enjoy!

Moraba-ye Kadoo Halvaie - Persian Pumpkin Jam

I have always wanted to make مربای کدو حلوایی - pumpkin jam but for one reason or another, I never got around to it. One reason was knowing that my modified version of this recipe wouldn't turn out as good as my grandmother's. I always knew that I had big shoes to fill when it came to cooking. My paternal grandmother who we called Khanoum Ahvazi (lady from Ahvaz) was known for her delicious jams, pickles, and khiar shoor (pickled cucumbers). All her food looked and tasted amazing. Khanoum's pumpkin jam was different from any other ordinary jam; the pumpkin pieces were somewhat transparent, crisp, and slightly crunchy on the outside but soft and perfectly sweet on the inside.

What made the pumpkin pieces glass-like and crunchy was the use of آب آهک calcium oxide. I have been told that it's safe to use in food preparation if the directions are followed carefully. I imagine that my grandmother used her mother's recipe and that's how they all made this delicious pumpkin jam. However, since I am an advocate for non-chemical cooking I didn't want to use calcium oxide or any other kind of chemical in my cooking. Therefore, this recipe is not the exact same as my grandmother's. Not only did I not use the required calcium oxide solution, which was one of the key ingredients in this recipe, I essentially made this jam-based solely on the memory that I had of its taste, texture, color and nostalgic feelings for this childhood favorite. After making four different batches to get the pumpkin jam just right, I can finally say that I am pleased with the results and that this is also a healthier version.

Moraba-ye Kadoo Halvaie - Pumpkin Jam

Ingredients:
Yields: approximately 5 cups

2 1/2 pounds pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cubed
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons lime juice
3-4 cardamom pods
2 tablespoons rosewater

Method:

1. In a small, heavy-bottomed pan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved in water, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes or until the syrup slightly thickens. Set aside.
2. Put the pumpkin cubes into a large pot, pour the syrup over it and add the lime juice and cardamom.
3. Bring to a boil for 5-7 minutes on medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, placing the lid slightly open (ajar). Cook for an hour or until they are very soft, gently stirring occasionally.
4.  Add the rosewater in the last 10-15 minutes. You may want to remove the cardamom pods from the jam after cooking.
5. Scoop the jam into clean and dry jars and store the jam in a cool dark place or refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Moraba-ye Haveej - Persian Carrot Jam

Has it ever happened to you that you have all the necessary ingredients to make a delicious meal, but you don't know what to cook and aren't inspired enough to come up with something new? These are the times you call your mom, sister, friend, or even a neighbor and ask for their opinion. We need suggestions and helpful comments as to how to do our hair, what to wear to a wedding, what color purse matches our outfits, and so on. In my case, several days ago, I was looking at a 5-pound bag of organic carrots and wondered about the possibilities.

In our home, we almost have a set menu that everyone is more or less OK with. There are things that I may make several times a month, and then there are those dishes that I rarely make for no special reason, and dishes that include carrots are among them. When it comes to carrots, we prefer to eat them raw. There's usually a plate of sliced fruits and vegetables such as carrots, celery, broccoli, apples, and oranges on our kitchen table at all times. I needed some inspiration to make something different and new with them. So, I decided to put the question to the fans of Turmeric and Saffron's Facebook Page. That's a community that I'm so grateful for and appreciate being a part of. There were wonderful responses, but the idea of making a مربای هویج Persian carrot preserve with cardamom, as suggested by one of the fans, had me so excited that  I decided to give it a try!

You can either cook carrots, water, and sugar together from the start, or first cook the carrots lightly to soften them a little. However, for me, softening the carrots is not an issue since we are used to eating them raw. 

Moraba-ye Haveej - Persian Carrot Jam

Ingredients

-2 pounds carrots, peeled and grated

-2 cups sugar

-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

-5 cardamom pods (remember to remove the pods)

-2 tablespoons rosewater

Method:

1. Place carrots and two cups of water in a large heavy-bottomed pot, and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes. 
2. Add sugar all at once and bring mixture back to full rolling boil, stirring constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. 
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add cardamom and lime juice, cover, and continue to cook for about 30 minutes or until it has thickened and looks syrupy. 
4. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add rosewater, stir, and cover the pot. 
5. Ladle jam into sterilized and dry glass jars, allow to cool completely, and close the lids tightly. Refrigerate.

Sobhaneh - Persian Breakfast

صبحانه Breakfast has been called the greatest meal of the day. I couldn't agree more. It only takes a little time early in the morning out of our busy schedule to boil some water to brew a fresh cup of loose-leaf tea or make an aromatic, delicious cup of coffee. Warm up some flatbread (lavash, barbari, sangag, or pita) if it's available where you are. Serve feta cheese and/or butter, walnuts, fruit jams, or honey. Many like to serve fruits of the season and sliced small cucumbers, and firm tomatoes. This is a typical Iranian breakfast. Where the tea is hot, and the bread is warm, cheese (paneer) is tasty and of good quality. In those 10-15 minutes sitting at a table, sipping tea, enjoying the company of loved ones, counting your blessings, and gathering the strength to get up and start a day refreshed and ready to go. The above photo is a picture of my favorite kind of breakfast. I should mention that there are many other morning meals that I'll be sharing with you later on.

Enjoy!