Monday 30 April 2012

Iranian Recipes

This month on Gormandize with A-dizzle and K-bobo I've been experimenting with recreating some delicious and classic Iranian dishes in a vegan friendly manner. It's been such a delicious month and I have to give a huge thank you to the person who requested that I feature Iran - what a great choice!! But now it has come to an end - so here is a recap of the tasty treats featured. I hope you enjoyed the learning journey with me. If you'd like to get in on it and request a country for me to feature then head over to this post. Here is what we ate over the last month:


~Savoury~

Artichoke and Pine Nut Dolma
I've never liked dolma very much at all, so this month I was able to do something I've always wanted to - make my own fresh ones with a filling that I knew I would love. These were filled with artichoke hearts, tomato, dill and toasted pine nuts and cooked fresh right before eating! They were sensational! Check out the recipe here.

Salad-e Shirazi
This is a light and tangy classic salad. Tomato, onion, cucumber, fresh herbs and lots of lime juice. It's not a challenging or unusual salad but it's a classic that is simple to make and you can eat it every day. Check out the recipe here.

Naaz Khatoon
This eggplant and tomato dish was delicatedly flavoured with verjuice and pomegranate molasses - classic ingredients in Iranian cooking. I had a fun time heading out to find some pomegranate molasses, and it was worth the hunt! Check out the recipe here.

~Sweet~

Yakh Dar Behesht
This delight was called Ice in Heaven - although I don't know why because it's not frozen! But that aside, this was something pretty special. Essentially it only has six ingredients in it and only takes about 10 minutes of cooking time. It's a very special treat to serve up to guests, and a very healthy dessert option. I made mine vegan by using delicious almond milk. Check out the recipe here.

Sholeh Zard
I love rice pudding in any form. This Persian one was flavoured with rosewater (of course!) and had crunchy almonds and pistachios through it. Can be served hot or cold but I much preferred it hot! This post also contains my "student's saffron" - i.e. for people too poor to afford saffron! Check out the recipe here.

~Accompaniments~

Carrot and Rose Jam
I never knew until now that carrot makes such delicious jam! This is so easy to make and it just excites all your senses! The aroma is sweet rosewater, the colour is exceptionally orange and the taste is a pleasant surprise - sweet and tangy jam which doesn't leave that sickly taste in your mouth. Check out the recipe here.

Sugar Pickled Garlic
This was the surprise hit of the month. This sugar pickled garlic was delicious and was a huge hit with all my dinner guests, they absolutely loved it! Check out the recipe here.

Torshi-havij
The second pickled vegetables I made for this month - making my own pickles was such a bonus of doing Iran this month, as it's something I've never even thought about doing. These pickled carrots were also a big hit with one of my guests commenting it was like eating a "carbonated carrot" because of the tingly sensation in her mouth! Check out the recipe here. 

Mokhalafat
This one isn't as much as recipe as it is an information post. I loved the fact that traditional Iranian tables serve  a smorgasbord of tasty accompaniments to the meal so that guests can help themselves to whichever flavours they want more of - here is a post on what I served up for my guests as mokhalafat and what you could also include. Check it out here. 


I'm also very excited to announce that starting next month I'll be featuring wonderful and veganised versions of dishes from....

Scotland!

 

Want a sneak peak? Here it is...



I hope to see you next month for a highland feast!



On another note - I've been nominated for the Best Australian Blogs 2012 People's Choice Award - you can vote for me by hitting up this link: http://www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au/bloggingcomp/peopleschoice.html


1 comment:

  1. I just found your site from another blog. Just wanted to let you know that I subscribed to your feed and can't wait to see what your next post will be.

    ReplyDelete