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!

Khagineh - Iranian Sweet Omelette from Sofreh At'ameh - A Qajar Dynasty Cookbook

I recently received a copy of سفره اطعمه Sofreh At'ameh, a delightful cookbook written in 1881 by Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Kashani, the royal head chef to the court of ناصرالدین شاه قاجار  Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1831-1896), the fourth king of the Qajar dynasty. The French Dr. Joseph Desire Tholozan was the chief physician to the king for more than 30 years. He asked the آشپزباشی ashpazbashi (chef) of the royal court to put together a guide detailing the king's diet, eating habits, and his typical daily menu, to be able to serve him better. Sofreh At'ameh is filled with bits and pieces of information that give one a glimpse into the past. This book is a compilation of recipes, ingredients, and virtually everything that was served in the royal palace for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including sharbat (sweet drinks), khoresh (stew), ash (soup), polow (rice), moraba (jam), and torshi (pickles).

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar

Joseph DésiréTholozan

There are many timeless recipes in this book that I think most Iranians know by heart as well as new recipes that are definitely worth trying. There are also a few dishes that I had forgotten about and reading this book helped refresh my memory. One of those recipes was خاگینه khagineh. I remember Maman serving a delicious fluffy sweet omelet that could also be eaten as a dessert. Back then I never thought to ask her how she made it and the recipe never made it into my handwritten recipe journal. Yet, when I saw it in the book I knew I had to make it. However, like many old cookbooks, most of the recipes in this book lack exact measurements. Therefore, the following is my adaptation of its khagineh recipe. 

Khagineh - Sweet Omelette
Adapted from Sofreh At'ameh 

Ingredients

Serves 2

-3 large eggs
-1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
-2 tablespoons butter
-A little dash of salt (optional)

Sugar Syrup

-1/2 cup water
-1/2 cup sugar
-Pinch ground cardamom
-Pinch ground saffron

Method

1. In a small pot, combine water and sugar, bring water to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the cardamom and saffron. Stir well and let simmer uncovered on low heat for another 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth.
3. Add in the flour and mix well.
4. In a nonstick skillet, heat the butter over medium heat until it has melted. Pour in the egg mixture all at once. Cook over low heat for about 2 minutes or until eggs are almost set but not hard, and gently flip the eggs using a thin spatula and cook for another two minutes. Slice the eggs and slowly pour the syrup over the eggs, and cook for another minute or until the syrup is fully absorbed. You may use other sweeteners such as honey or grape molasses. 

Transfer onto a platter and serve warm or at room temperature. I added a tiny pinch of dried, crushed rose petals and a little powdered sugar for dusting.

*Historical Cookbook recipes:

Borani Kangar-Yogurt and Cardoon Dip - A Qajar Era Recipe
Sholeh Maash - Green Mung Bean and Kohlrabi Soup - A Qajar Era Recipe
Ash-e Jo - Barley Soup with Spinach and Cilantro -A Safavid Era Recipe

Enjoy!

Kookoo Khorfeh - Purslane Kookoo

Every year from mid-spring to late summer, I eagerly await the appearance of dark-green خرفه (purslane) sprouts in my backyard, peeking through the vegetable garden, flower borders, and even the cracks between the cement. Often under-appreciated and overlooked, purslane has always been one of my favorites.  A handful of fresh succulent leaves can elevate almost any dish, adding a slightly tart and peppery flavor. Packed with omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin B, and many other nutrients, purslane is as nourishing as it is flavorful. 

Purslane (portulaca oleracea) has been labeled as a garden weed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and I gave up looking for it in stores long ago. In Iran, and in many other countries, khorfeh (purslane) happens to be a popular summer green. I'm always looking for different ways to prepare it, but with the little purslane I manage to gather, I can't get too creative! I usually add it to salad shirazi, mast o khiar, sabzi khordan, and even fruit salads. Tokhm-e khorfeh, purslane's black seeds, are used in Iranian baking and sprinkled over naan berenji and shirini keshmeshi for extra flavor.

On a recent trip to the grocery store, I was delighted to find rows of purslane nicely stacked on the shelf, imported all the way from Mexico! I bought a few bunches and then decided to make کوکوخرفه kookoo khorfeh - purslane kookoo with parsley, chives, and caramelized onion.

Now that summer is almost behind us, only a few purslane plants are remaining in the garden, and I wanted to share this recipe before the season officially ends. I usually find it much easier to bake kookoo sabzi in the oven rather than cook it on the stovetop; it's simpler and doesn't require flipping the wedges halfway through. For this recipe, though, I chose to make it the traditional way on the stovetop, just as my mother used to cook almost all her dishes. I know many of you like to add a bit of baking powder to your kookoo for a lighter texture, dishes, so feel free to mix in about a teaspoon if you prefer.

Kookoo Khorfeh - Purslane Kookoo

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

-2 bunches of purslane (about 2 cups chopped), use the leaves and the thin part of the stems, discarding the thicker ends
-1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley ( about 1 cup chopped)
-1 bunch fresh tareh (chives) or scallions (green parts only) (about 1 cup chopped)
-6 large eggs, beaten
-1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
-1 tablespoon finely diced walnuts (optional)
-1/2 teaspoon turmeric

-1/2 teaspoon paprika 

-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon black pepper
-A pinch of red pepper 
-Vegetable oil or olive oil for frying

Method:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion slices until translucent, then add the turmeric and stir. Reduce the heat and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the chopped purslane, parsley, chives, caramelized onion, walnuts, eggs, paprika, red pepper, and season with salt and black pepper. Mix until well blended.
3. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Pour in the egg mixture, and spread evenly. Cover and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes. Cut the kookoo into 8 wedges, turning each piece carefully halfway through cooking with a fork and spatula. You can also slice the kookoo after it is fully cooked. 

Serve warm or at room temperature with mast o khiar, salad shirazi, torshi, and warm bread.

Enjoy!

Yalda Night (Winter Solstice) 2015 and Shami Haveej - Carrot Shami Kabab with Sweet & Sour Tomato Sauce

شب چله/شب یلدا Shab-e Yalda/Shab-e Chelleh, the ancient Persian celebration of the longest night, dates back thousands of years to the birth of میترا Mithra, the god of light who was born on the eve of Yalda (winter solstice). After the longest night of the year, the days will gradually become longer, symbolizing the victory of light over darkness. The word یلدا yalda means birth in the سریانی Syriac language, and for Iranians, the eve of yalda is a time for joyful celebration filled with poetry, music, and delicious food.  For me, celebrating the Iranian festival of light is a meaningful جشن jashn (festivity), perhaps because it was always celebrated in our home growing up in Iran. The night of Yalda is a time to reflect and appreciate how our ancestors kept this tradition alive for several millennia. Looking at our history, I can only imagine how many of those shab-e yalda gatherings took place amid uncertainties, unrest, battles, and frightening dark times. However, they did not succumb to the madness of their times and held on to the belief that light would prevail over darkness. It inspires us to light the candles on this night, serve the traditional winter fruits, nuts, and sweets, read poetry, share happy memories, and pass on the tradition to future generations.

Almost all of the dried autumn leaves in my yard have been raked, and the grill cleaned and put away for the season. I'm going to miss the whole experience of outdoor cooking -- the taste and the smell of food cooked on an open fire outside. Perhaps on one or two occasions, I'll brave the cold and pull out the grill from under the plastic covers and make some koobideh. Kotlet, shami, and kabab deegi are stove-top alternatives to grilled kababs, although they can be cooked any time of year, regardless of the season.

 شامی هویج (Carrot shami) is a favorite in our home. This shami kabab is made with chickpea flour, or you can use mashed cooked chickpeas as well. Chickpea flour adds a nutty flavor to these meat patties, and the shredded carrots add a little sweetness. This recipe can also be made with زردک zardak (parsnip) instead of carrots. Carrot shami may be simmered in a sweet and sour tomato sauce dressing, and it's best served with rice. You can also add a handful of finely chopped herbs to the meat mixture for extra flavor and aroma.

Shami Haveej- Carrot Shami

Ingredients:
Makes about 16 patties

1 1/2 pounds ground beef, lamb, or turkey
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
3 tablespoons chickpea flour
1 large yellow onion, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Pinch of cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Oil for frying

Ingredients for the sauce:

1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• In a large bowl, combine meat, carrots, chickpea flour, onion, garlic, eggs, turmeric, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly until well blended. 
• In a non-stick skillet or a cast-iron skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium heat.
• Take a handful of the meat mixture, shape it into a small ball, flatten it to the size of your palm, and make a hole in the center with your finger. You can also make oval-shaped patties. 
• Fry the patties until the meat is nicely browned on both sides.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the onions, saute until soft and golden. 
• Add the tomato paste and saute for a couple of minutes. 
• Add 2 cups of water, pomegranate molasses, sugar, salt, and pepper to taste.  Stir well and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, layer the shami kababs in the skillet. Cover and simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes, 

Serve warm or at room temperature with sabzi khordan, torshi, mast o khiar, and polow.

P.S. I'd like to take a moment here to say it's my seventh blog anniversary, and I would like to express my many thanks and my deepest gratitude to my faithful readers and welcome new readers!

A collage of  past Yalda nights

Happy Shab-e Yalda! Happy Winter Solstice!

Ode to Choghondar (Beets) + Recipes for Laboo and Kookoo Barg-e Choghondar (Beet Greens)

One wintry day long ago, during one of our trips to Tehran, I remember accompanying my mother as she went all over town running errands and shopping. It was getting late, and we were hurrying to get home before dark when my mother stopped at a دکه ی لبو فروشی - dakeh-ye laboo forooshi (street vendor stand selling beets). Many large, glazed purple/red beets were stacked neatly with some floating in their juice on a large tray. How do they make such simple and inexpensive street food so delicious? There must be an ancient secret recipe among the beet vendors in Iran - one that I would really love to get my hands on. Biting into a perfectly sweet, tender, and warm laboo in the snow after a seemingly endless day was especially gratifying. لبو/ چغندرپخته Choghondar pokhteh/Laboo (cooked beets) happens to be one of Iran's popular street foods throughout the winter months. And this recipe brings the cherished memories of my youth back home in Iran.

چغندر - Choghondar (beet) is highly nutritious, low in calories, quite versatile, and has a gorgeous color. Beets can be thinly sliced or grated raw into salads, steamed, boiled, or baked. Beets can also be used in both sweet and savory dishes. Those who love the earthy taste of beets can enjoy them throughout the year since they're always available in the market.

I have tried various ways of preparing beets. The simplest one is to roast them until tender and just serve them plain. Beets have a very high sugar content, and there's really no need to add any sugar/sweeteners. However, I am on a quest to achieve the delicious and flavorful taste of the laboo I had in Iran.

I like to add honey for sweetness to the dish. You can use table sugar, brown sugar, or honey, whichever you prefer, and you can adjust the sweetness to your liking. In addition, adding a good squeeze of lemon juice will enhance the color as well as the flavor of beets. For this recipe, I peeled and sliced them before cooking. You can cook beets whole instead of slicing them. Just remember that beets stain everything, and you may want to wear gloves while peeling and slicing them.

Laboo - Beets

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 

-4 medium-sized beets, trimmed, peeled, sliced
-2 teaspoons white sugar or brown sugar, or honey (I used raw, unfiltered honey), use more if you like.
-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Water

Optional garnish: chopped pistachios, sliced almonds

Method:

1. Place the beets in a large heavy saucepan. Add enough water to cover the slices by 2 inches, bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes.
2. Add the lemon juice and honey, cover, and simmer over low heat for another 10-15 minutes or until beets are tender and glazed. Make sure there is some liquid left in the bottom of the pan.

To serve, place the beets in a deep serving platter, and pour 2-3 tablespoons of the remaining liquid over them. Sprinkle with almonds and pistachios and serve immediately as a side dish or snack.

Beetroot greens (leaves and stems) also have nutritional value and can be substituted into most recipes that call for spinach. It can be added to ash reshteh, kookoo sabzi, or even ghormeh sabzi for a great flavor variation. After I cooked the beets, I decided it was about time to make a dish just using their greens, the under-appreciated and often discarded barg-e choghondar, and that's how this beautiful and delicious کوکوبرگ چغندر kookoo barg-e choghondar was created.

Kookoo Barg-e Choghondar - Beet Greens Kookoo (leaves and stems)

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

-2 cups beet leaves, chopped (I gave them a quick rough chop)

-2 cups beet stems, chopped

-1 medium yellow onion, chopped

-2-3 garlic cloves, minced

-4 eggs

-1 tablespoon flour

-1/2 teaspoon turmeric

-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper

-A pinch of cumin (optional)

-A pinch of cayenne pepper (optional) 

-Vegetable oil

Method:

1. In a medium frying pan, heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil, add onions, and saute over medium-high heat until light golden brown. Add turmeric powder and garlic, saute for another 2-3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove fried garlic and onion from oil, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until well mixed.
3. Add the green beet leaves, red stems, fried onion, garlic, flour, salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne. Mix thoroughly.
4. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat, and gently pour in the mixture. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 35-40 minutes. There's no need to turn them over. This way, they'll maintain their gorgeous color and fresh rustic look.

Serve warm or room temperature with warm bread, salad, mast o khiar, and torshi.

As I am sure many of you may already know, since I have already shared the news on my Facebook and Instagram pages, I was recently chosen by Yahoo Food as their blogger of the week. The following three recipes: Zucchini and Yogurt Salad, Fesenjoon, and Khoresh-e Karafs were featured during the week, along with a Q&A. I am truly honored and delighted.

Enjoy!

Father's Day Tribute - !کیک عشق - My Version of Persian Love Cake

A few years ago, when I was just starting to blog about the food of my heritage, I came across an image of something called a Persian Love Cake, a chiffon cake adorned with a few pink rose petals. My first reaction was: no way! How come I've never heard of this before? Where was I all that time growing up in Iran when everyone else was eating کیک عشق - cake-e eshgh? 

After my initial surprise, I realized there was no need to worry. This so-called Persian Love Cake was a modern creation, a sweet new take on the aromatic and flavorful ingredients that have long defined Persian desserts. I figured that if the combination of saffron, rose water, cardamom, and lemon zest transforms a simple cake into "love cake,"  then we Iranians have been feasting on love for centuries! 

I may have been startled to discover that there's such a thing as Persian Love Cake, but I wouldn't be surprised if Persian food, in general, were called a love cuisine. So much love goes into mastering the art of simmering stews into glorious deliciousness using fresh, seasonal ingredients, just the right amount of salt, pepper, and spice, and steaming rice to a fluffy perfection with a golden, crunchy tahdig - crust.

 I can easily call salad shirazi a love salad, fesenjoon a love khoresh, or zereshk polow a love polow, and I think we should call it a love menu!

In addition to my passion for Persian food, which is clearly evident in this very personal blog of mine, I've also developed a deep love for Persian poetry over the years. Persian poetry is as fragrant as drops of rose water in the air, colorful as saffron threads, and flavorful as cardamom nestled in its pod. That's what happens when an Iranian food blogger writes about Persian poetry! 

Among many poems that I grew up with, a few that have left an everlasting impression on me and remain my favorites to this day. I am a firm believer that love is the force that connects and holds all things together in this world, even in the darkest and most challenging times.

روزی که می گرفتند پیمان ز نسل آدم       عشق از میان ذرات در جست وجوی ما بود

~ غمام همدانی   

On the day of making a covenant with Adam's generation, "Love" among all other particles was looking for us.

My next favorite poem is a line from a tale in the book: منطق الطیر - The Conference of the Birds by Attar. It tells the story of an old woman who wanted to buy یوسف - Joseph when he was being sold to the highest bidder at a market in Egypt. All she had to offer was a handful of yarn. Knowing she couldn't afford him, she replied to the merchant's ridicule:

لیک اینم بس که چه دشمن چه دوست       گوید این زن از خریداران اوست

~ عطار

"This is enough for me, that everyone, friend or foe, will say: this woman was among his bidders."

The next poem, or rather a line of a poem, is by Hatef Esfahani, known for his ghazals (ode) and tarji-band (recurrent verse) style of poetry. However, I would like to take the liberty to say that for me this poem stands alone by itself as the best of the best to describe the mood and the feeling of someone's love and devotion. It has to be read several times to feel the rhythm and the beat embedded in the words. Perhaps, one day I'll come back to this post and write a translation for it, but so far, I am at a loss for words to capture the essence of it. Therefore, I'll leave it without the English translation. My sincere apologies.

تو کمان کشیده و در کمین که زنی به  تیرم و من غمین      همه ی غمم بود از همین که خدا نکرده خطا کنی 

~هاتف اصفهانی

I haven't written about my father as much as I have written about my mother. Perhaps because I didn't spend much time with him growing up, or rather, he didn't have much time to spend with us, always working so hard and often away from home. By the time he retired. I was long gone. Most of what I know about Baba's childhood and family history, I learned through my mother. Baba was a quiet man who had suffered from many physical ailments throughout his life.

I clearly remember my last long-distance phone conversation with Baba right before his passing. I had gotten the terrible news about my father's deteriorating condition. Devastated, I called home and asked to have a few words with him, even though I was told he couldn't speak coherently. Still, I needed to hear Baba's voice. I asked my mother to place the phone next to his ear, and I started to plead with him to say something, anything, that I just wanted to hear him. His last few words were: work on your heart and polish it into a jam-e jahan nama (a crystal globe that reflects the world). These were Baba's last words, a short message of a self-realized life lesson that spoke volumes and showed me the depth of his love for his child on his last breath, and for that alone, I am forever indebted to him.

For this recipe, I had a couple of options; the first one was the chiffon cake with rosewater icing and candied rose petals. The second option was a simple almond cake. I chose the second version simply because it tastes more like the kind of sweets I grew up with, no-frills and downright delicious. I've tweaked the recipe a little bit. Please see my Pinterest link for more Persian Love Cake recipes.

Persian Love Cake - کیک عشق پارسی

Ingredients

Serves 8

-2 1/2 cups almond flour

-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
-3 large eggs, room temperature

-1 cup strained yogurt

-1 cup of sugar

-1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-2 teaspoons baking powder

-Zest of 1 lemon/lime

-1 tablespoon rosewater

-A pinch of salt

Powdered sugar for sprinkling

-2-3 tablespoons chopped pistachios

-1 tablespoon sliced almonds
-1 teaspoon dried rose petals (crushed) 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, butter, and a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly by hand or pulse it a few times in a food processor.
3. Generously butter an 8-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
4. Beat the eggs lightly, then add yogurt, lemon zest, cardamom, and rosewater. Combine with the flour mixture until well blended.  
5. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. 
6. Bake on the middle rack for 35-40 minutes or until the center is set.
7. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan.
8. Transfer to a serving platter and decorate with powdered sugar, chopped pistachios, sliced almonds, and rose petals on top, or however you hear desire. 
9. Serve with ice cream or fresh fruit and chai.

Enjoy! Happy Father's Day!

Persian Love Cake 

My Baba and I