Persian tomato rice

Persian tomato rice

Persian tomato rice is a simple delicious recipe for tomato dish lovers and vegetarians. This dish can be adjusted easily by adding different seasoning . It can be spicy and salty or be flavored with garlic. It is possible to serve this dish with chicken or beef but I personally love to stick to the traditional recipe which is quite vegetarian and like to serve it with Mast-o khiar. I hope you enjoy this dish and let me know if I can help you with the cooking of this dish.

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Preparation

• Add 2 cups of dried rice to a medium size bowl. Add some cold water to it and gently scrub it and drain it. Refill the bowl with cold water and repeat this process until the water inside bowl becomes clear. (washing rice removes powdery substance and prevents rice grains from sticking together)
• Peel the potatoes
• Chop the onion and the garlic finely
• Grate the tomatoes

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Cooking Method

Step 1
In a large pot add 4 tablespoons of cooking oil and saute the onion and the garlic over medium heat until they become golden . Then add a tablespoon of tomato paste, salt and pepper. Keep stirring for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes add the grated tomatoes to the pot and mix them well.

Step 2
Add three cups of water to the mixture and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. When it starts boiling add the potatoes to the mixture and cook it for 20 minutes.

Step 3
When the potatoes are cooked and soft add the rice to the pot and gently combine it with the mixture . Add a cup of water if the mixture is dry (the tomato sauce and potato mixture should cover the rice). Put the lid on and leave it over high heat for about 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to simmer.
*Adding too much water makes your rice sticky and mushy

Step 4
When the water inside the pot boiled away add some oil or a spoon of melted butter to the rice for Tahdig (crunchy rice bottom). Cover the lid with a clean tea towel and place it tightly on and steam the rice on low heat for 40 minutes. ( Make sure that the lid is on properly.) After 40 minutes the rice is ready to be served.

How to serve it:
Place a large serving platter over the pot. Use a kitchen towel to hold the sides of the pot and then turn over the pot carefully . Serve this delicious rice dish with Mast-o Khiar.

Spinach Borani

Spinach Borani

Spinach Borani is a famous side dish among Mediterranean region. This delicious side dish is a mixture of  thick creamy yogurt ,fresh baby spinach and garlic. This side dish is a perfect choice for vegetarians and healthy food lovers.

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 Preparation

Wash the spinach and drain it.

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Cooking method

Step 1
Place the spinach in a large sauce pot. Add a cup of boiling water and steam the spinach until wilted.

Step 2
Place the wiled spinach in a colander to drain. Heat the spinach in a frying pan to get all the liquid out.

Step3
Chop the spinach finely and place it in the fridge for couple of hours.

Step 4
In a bowl mix yogurt, salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Add the spinach to the yogurt mixture and place it in the fridge.

How to serve it:
Serve this delicious dip cold with Lavash bread, baguette, pita bread, potato chips and veggies.

Kookoo sabzi

Kookoo sabzi

Kookoo sabzi is a vegetarian Persian dish and made with whipped eggs, different herbs and greens and seasoning. This dish is similar to the Italian dish Frittata but has less egg than a Frittata. This dish goes well with Mast-o-khiar.

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 Preparation

• Clean and wash the herbs (leak, dill,Parsley,coriander), drain and chop them finely.
• Chop the walnuts (optional)

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 Cooking method

Step 1
Mix the chopped herbs and chopped walnuts in a large bowl.

Step 2
Beat the eggs and add to the bowl. Combine them with the herbs.

Step 3
Add turmeric, salt and black pepper to the mixture.

Step 4
Heat 4 tablespoons of cooking oil in a skillet over a medium heat. Once the oil is hot enough pour the mixture to the skillet. Spread the mixture gently with a spatula and even the surface. Place the lid and cook it for 10 minutes over a medium heat.

Step 5
After 10 minutes with a knife cut kookoo sabzi into 4 pieces ( in shape of 4 pizza slices) and gently flip them over to cook the other side. Add more oil if needed.

Step 6
Continue to cook the kookoo sabzi over a medium low heat for another 8 minutes . After 8 minutes your Kookoo sabzi is ready.
Serve it hot with french baguette and mayonnaise.

Kookoo sibzamini

Kookoo sibzamini

Kookoo sibzamini is a Persian Frittata dish made with whipped eggs and boiled potatoes. This dish is so delicious and simple. It is a perfect choice for vegetarians. You can served it with baguette and mast-o- khiar.

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 Preparation

• Grate the onion
• Wash potatoes but do not peel them.

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Cooking methods

Step 1
In a large pot cook potatoes in boiling water over a medium-high heat until tender. Drain and allow to cool. Then peel the potatoes and mash them or grate them in a food processor.

Step 2
In a large bowl beat the eggs. Add salt, pepper and turmeric.

Step 3
Add the grated potato and the grated onion to the eggs mixture. Stir gently and combine them well.

Step 4
Heat 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil in a skillet over a medium-heat. Pour a droplet of the mixture to the pan to check if the oil is hot enough. Once the oil is hot enough pour the mixture to the skillet. Spread the mixture gently with a spatula and even the surface. Place the lid and cook it for 10 minutes over a medium heat.

Step 5
After 10 minutes with a knife cut kookoo sibzamini into 4 pieces ( in shape of 4 pizza slices) and gently flip them over to cook the other side. Add more oil if needed.

Step 6
Continue to cook the kookoo sibzamini over a medium low heat for another 8 minutes . After 8 minutes your Kookoo is ready.
How to serve it:
Serve kookoo hot with bread and tomato slices.

Ghormeh sabzi

Ghormeh Sabzi

Ghormeh Sabzi is a famous Persian herb stew. It is a popular dish in Iran, and Azerbaijan and is often said to be the Iranian national dish. Here you can find the recipe of this delicious stew. This stew is served with Basmati saffron rice. For Basmati saffron recipe rice click here.

This recipe with a little bit of adjustments is suitable for our vegetarian friends. You can follow the recipe and find those adjustments. For vegetarian Ghorme sabzi click here.

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 Preparation

• Clean and wash the herbs (leak, fenugreek,Parsley,coriander) drain and chop them fairly finely.
• Dice the onion and the garlic cloves finely Soak the dried beans 24 hours before the preparation of the stew.
• Wash the beef or lamb and cut it into small cubes (preferably 2 cm (¾ inch)).

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 Cooking Methods

Step 1

Use a large frying pan and fry all herbs (leak, fenugreek,Parsley,coriander) with 1/3 cup of the vegetable oil for maximum 18 minutes until they wilted. After frying the vegetables, set the frying pan aside. *It is important to keep stirring the herbs. Otherwise they quickly start burning. *Add a bit more oil if needed)

Step 2

Use another large pot and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil,chopped onion and garlic and stir fry them over medium heat until they become golden brown . After that add the beef /lamb cubes to the pot and stir fry them with the onion and garlic for a few more minutes then add the turmeric, salt, black pepper and continue stirring for another few more minutes. *maximum time for this process is about 15 minutes.

(Our vegetarian friends can use the chopped mushroom or potato pieces instead of beef and stir fry them with the other  ingredients.)

Step 3

In this step add the soaked dried beans, fried vegetable and dried limes to the mixture. *make a hole in each dried lime before adding them to the mixture *Since canned beans are precooked they should be added half an hour before serving the stew

Step 4

Add two cups of boiling water to the pot (the water should cover the beef/lamb mixture ), Place the led and let it boil over medium-low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour. If you are using canned beans, you can add them half an hour before serving the stew.

Step 5

As soon as the meat becomes tender the Ghormeh sabzi stew is ready. ( you can poke the meat by a fork or a knife to separate them and to make sure if the stew is ready to serve.) Now you can taste the stew and add more taste to it if you want. The stew is served with white rice and saffron.

Celery stew

Celery stew

Persian celery stew (khoresh karafs) is a classic Iranian dish. It is a combination of beef/lamb, sliced celery, finely chopped mint, parsley and celery leaves and lime juice. This stew is healthy, delicious and  full of flavor. By omitting the beef/lamb you can transform this stew to a vegetarian dish.  This stew is usually served with Basmati rice and saffron.  For Basmati saffron recipe rice click.

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Preparation

• Wash the beef or lamb and cut it into small cubes (preferably 2 cm (¾ inch)).
• Dice the onion and the garlic cloves finely.
• Wash the herbs (mint,celery leaves,parsley) and mince them.
• Wash the celery and chop it into 2 inch pieces.

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 Cooking method

Step 1
In a large pot add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and saute the chopped onion over medium heat until it becomes golden. Then add the beef/lamb cubes, turmeric, salt and black pepper to the pot and stir fry them with the onion for few more minutes until the the color of the meat changes. Then reduce the heat to a low simmer.

Step 2
In a frying pan fry the chopped celery with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over a medium heat until they turn brighter green.

Step 3
Add all minced herbs (mint,celery leaves,parsley) to the frying pan and stir fry them until they wilted.

Step 4
Add the fried celery and herbs to the beef’s pot and gently mix them. Add boiling water to the beef mixture (the water should cover the beef mixture ), Place the led and let it boil over medium-low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Step 5
As soon as the beef becomes tender the stew is ready. ( you can poke the meat by a fork or a knife to separate them and to make sure if the stew is ready to serve.) Now you can taste the stew and add lime juice and more taste to it. This stew is served with rice and saffron. When the stew is ready, serve it in a plate on top of white rice and saffron.

Stir-fried pork with Kiwi

Stir-fried pork with Kiwi

Stir-fried pork with kiwi is one of my favorite marinade recipes. The juicy sour taste of this dish is truly fantastic and unforgettable. I suggest this dish to everyone who loves to try new tastes.  You can also use this recipe for  cooking  other types of meat such beef or chicken.

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 Preparation

• Wash and cut the the pork meat into small pieces. (small pieces of meat cooks better and faster)
• Grate the kiwis.
• In a bowl marinate the chopped pork with the grated kiwi, a table spoon of cooking oil and a table spoon of yogurt and put it in fridge for 30 minutes. (The mixture of grated kiwi fruit olive oil and yogurt gives the meat extra flavor and the acid and enzymes in yogurt tenderize the meat)
• Chop the leek finely.

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 Cooking method

Step 1

Pour the marinated mixture into a skillet. Add a glass of boiling water and cook it for 15- 20 minutes over a medium heat. ( If you want the meat to be soft and well-done then add more water to the mixture and cook it for another 10 minutes)

Step 2

When the water inside the skillet boiled away and the meat is cooked add the chopped leek and a table spoon of cooking oil to the skillet and stir fry them for 5 minutes over medium-low heat.

Step 3

When the color of the meat changes to light golden add salt, pepper and a table spoon of lemon juice to the mixture.

How to serve it:

Now your stir fried pork is ready. This simple delicious recipe is served with baguette slices or on the top of Basmati rice.

Mast-o-khiar

Mast-o-khiar

Who can reject a delicious side dish!!. Mast o Khiar is such an easy traditional healthy dip which is farsi/persian for yogurt and cucumber. This cool dip goes well with almost every recipes you choose.

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 Preparation

• Wash the cucumber.
• Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop the seeds and pulp from the middle.
• Wash the onion and cut it in half.

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 Cooking method

Step 1

Hold a flat or box grater over a bowl, and shred the cucumber on the coarse section of the grater.

Step 2 (Optional)

Grate the onion and mix it with the grated cucumber in bowl.

Step 3

Add the yogurt in the bowl and mix it with the cucumber. Add salt,pepper and mint powder to the mixture. Place the mast-khiar in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. It is delicious to serve it when it is cold.

How to serve it  :Pour some mast-khiar in a bowl and decorate it with some mint powder and basil leave. You can serve it as dish side with potato chips.

Meatballs with basmati rice

Meatballs with basmati rice

Meatballs with basmati rice (Ghelgheli polo) is a simple Iranian rice dish. It is cooked with minced beef, onion, salt, black pepper and basmati white rice. This dish goes well with Mast-o-Khiar. For Mast-o-khiar recipe click here.

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 Preparation

• Peel and grate the onion
• prepare the rice
  • washing rice
    add 2 cups of dried rice to a medium size bowl. Add some cold water to it and gently scrub it and drain it. Refill the bowl with cold water and repeat this process until the water inside bowl becomes clear. (washing rice removes powdery substance and prevents rice grains from sticking together)
  • Soaking rice
    Refill the bowl with cold water and add two tablespoon of salt. soak it for 2-24 hours.
    (Soaking rice with salt water add flavor to your rice)

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 Cooking method

Step 1

Place the grind beef in a large bowl. Add the grated onion, a pinch of salt and black pepper to the bowl. Wash your hands and mix them up well with your hand. Then wet your hands and roll meatballs (If you roll the meatballs with dry hands, the minced beef mixture will stick to your hands and finger). After you are done with rolling meatballs put them on a plate and place them in a fridge for one hour.

Step 2

Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a large frying pan. Add the meatballs and fry them for 15 minutes. Stir them occasionally. After the color of the meatballs changed into brown. Turn off the heat and set the it aside.

Step 3

Use a large pot and pour 10 cups of water in it. Add 2 tablespoons of Salt and some Oil. Place the lid and bring it to a boil over high heat. When the water starts boiling add 2 cups of rinsed Basmati rice and stir occasionally. After 5 minutes scoop some rice grains from the water by a spatula or a slotted spoon. Taste to make sure the rice grains are soft but not fully cooked (Al dente), then turn off the heat. Pour the rice into the colander to drain and rinse it with some warm water . Set it aside.

Step 4

In a pot heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over a medium heat. Add a layer of rinsed rice and a layer of meatballs. Very gently mix the rice and meatballs and continue layering until you are out of the ingredients. Then splash some cinnamon on the top.

Step 5

Poke three holes With a handle of a wooden spatula or spoon in the rice. Then pour ¼ cup water mixed with 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. Place the lid and let it cook over medium heat for six minutes. After 6 minutes , Turn the heat to medium-low and place the lid of the pot . Make sure that the lid is on properly. After 40 minutes the rice is ready to be served.

Tomato stew with eggs

Tomato stew with eggs

Tomato stew with egg is a traditional dish in north of Iran. I have learned this delicious stew from my mom. The taste of this stew is amazing. I love the fresh garlic and the juicy tomato sauce which is very aromatic. This dish is originally served with rice but I have also tried it with croutons and it was unbelievably delicious. I would like to suggest this this to everyone specially all my vegetarian friends.

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 Preparation

• chop the garlic cloves
• chop the tomatoes

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 Cooking method

Step 1

In a sauce pan saute the chopped garlic over medium heat until it become golden . Then add the tomato paste and stir fry it with the garlic for 2 minutes. (Tomato paste gives a beautiful color to your stew)

Step 2

Add the chopped tomatoes to your mixture and gently combine them. Then add 2 cups water to the mixture and bring to a boil. When it starts boiling reduce the heat to a low simmer.

Step 3

After 30 minutes the tomato sauce is ready. Gently crack three eggs into the tomato sauce then place the lid and cook it for 10 minutes. (Do not stir or mix the tomato sauce and eggs).When the eggs are completely solidified your stew is ready.

How to serve it

Serve this stew on top of Basmati rice or in a bowl with croutons.

Baghali polo with chicken

Baghali polo with chicken

Baghali polo is a delicious classic Iranian rice dish. It is rice with broad beans and fresh dill. This dish is known as a vegetarians recipe however it is usually served with chicken or beef. Here in this page you can find the cooking method of both chicken and beef with baghali polo. This recipe is so good with Mast-o-khiar(The Persian side dish).

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 Preparation

• Wash the the broad beans and peel them.
• Wash the fresh dill and chop it finely.
• Chop the onion finely

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 Cooking method

Step 1 (cooking the chicken/beef for Baghali polo)

In a pot saute the onion and garlic with 1 teaspoon turmeric and black pepper over a medium heat. Then add the chicken/beef to the pot and stir fry them with onion and garlic for few more minutes. Then Add 2 table spoons of tomato paste and stir fry for another minute. Add 4 cups of boiled water to the pot (water should covers the mixture). Then turn the heat down and let it simmer with the lid on. (The cooking time for chicken is 30-40 minutes and for beef is 1.5-2 hours) After the cooking time is finished use a fork or a knife to poke the meat/ chicken to see if they have become tender) 5 minutes before serving add salt and pepper.

Step 2 (Cooking Baghali polo)

In a large pot pour ten cups of water and bring it to the boil. Then add the broad beans. After 3 minutes add the rice, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to it. After 5 minutes scoop some rice grains from the boiling water by spatula or slotted spoon and taste to make sure the rice is (al dente) and not fully cooked. Then turn off the heat. Pour the rice and broad beans into the colander to drain and rinse it with some warm water. Set it aside.

Step 3

In a pot heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over a medium heat. Add a layer of rinsed rice and broad bean (you can also put a layer of Tortila bread or potato for Tahdig). Then add a very generous layer of chopped dill or dried dill. Very gently mix the rice, broad beans and dill with the spoon and continue layering until you are out of the ingredients. You can form sort of pyramid. Poke three holes With a handle of a wooden spatula or spoon in the rice. Then pour ¼ cup water mixed with 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. Place the lid and let it cook over medium heat for ten minutes. After 10 minutes , Turn the heat to medium-low and place the lid of the pot . Make sure that the lid is on properly. After 40 minutes Baghali polo is ready to be served.

Persian rice with tahdig

Persian rice with tahdig

Persian rice with tahdig  is a traditional Iranian dish. This dish is served with almost every stew in Persian cuisine.

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 Preparation

• Mix ¼ teaspoon ground saffron with 3 tablespoons of boiling water in a small glass and soak it for 30 minutes.
• Wash and peel the potatoes. cut them evenly and not too thin. ( we need to layer the bottom of the pan with potato slices

Preparing the rice

• washing rice:
  • Add 2 cups of dried rice to a medium size bowl. Add some cold water to it and gently scrub it and drain it. Refill the bowl with cold  water and repeat this process until the water inside bowl becomes clear. (washing rice removes powdery substance and prevents rice grains from sticking together
• Soaking rice
  • Refill the bowl with cold water and add two tablespoon of salt soak it for 2-24 hours.( Soaking rice with salt water add flavor to your rice)

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 Cooking method

Step 1

Use a large pot and pour 10 cups of water in it. Add 2 tablespoons of Salt and some Oil. Place the lid and bring it to a boil over high heat.

Step 2

When the water starts boiling ,Add 2 cups of rinsed Basmati rice and stir occasionally.

Step 3

After 5 minutes scoop some rice grains from the water by a spatula or a slotted spoon. Taste to make sure the rice grains are soft but not fully cooked (Al dente), then turn off the heat. Pour the rice into the colander to drain and rinse it with some warm water . Set it aside.

Step 4

Pour some boiled rice in a bowl and add some rinsed saffron to it. Mix them thoroughly. Set it aside.

Step 5 ( preparation of tahdig)

In this step you are preparing tahdig for your rice. Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and two tablespoons water in a pot over a medium heat. ( For a crispy tahdig you may need more oil.).

Layer all sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pot. Pour the saffron rice (look at step 2) on the top of the sliced potatoes . Cover the potatoes with the saffron rice . Press it gently with the spatula and add the remaining drained rice on the top of it. Place the lid and turn the heat high for 3 minutes. Then reduce the heat to medium-low for 45 minutes. ( Make sure that you place the lid properly)

How to serve it

Place a large serving platter over the pot. Use a kitchen towel to hold the sides of the pot and then turn over the pot carefully . Now you get your Persian saffron rice with crispy potato tahdig.

Instead of potato for a tahdig you can also try just rice to get crispy rice tahdig or pieces of white lavash bread/tortila bread.

Loobia Polo

Loobia Polo

Loobia Polo is one of the famous Persian recipes in the Persian cuisine . It is a one pot Persian dish with rice, ground beef, green beans, tomato sauce. In this website you can find more recipes of exotic foods like loobia Polo.

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Preparation

Green beans: Wash and trim the green beans and cut them into 1 ½ inch pieces

Onion: Chop the onion finely

Saffron: Mix ¼ teaspoon ground saffron with 3 tablespoons of boiling water in a small glass and soak it for 30 minute

Mushroom (optional):Wash the mushrooms and chop them.

Preparing rice

Washing rice: Add 2 cups of dried rice to a medium size bowl. Add some cold water to it and gently scrub it and drain it. Refill the bowl with cold water and repeat this process until the water inside bowl becomes clear. ( washing rice removes powdery substance and prevents rice grains from sticking together)

Soaking rice:  Refill the bowl with cold water and add two tablespoon of salt soak it for two hours. ( Soaking rice with salt water add flavor to your rice)

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 Cooking method

Step 1

In a frying pan add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and stir fry the green beans until the color of the bean changes. Then set it aside.

Step 2

In a pot, saute the chopped onions with 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over a medium heat . Keep stirring until its color turns into golden brown.

Step 3

Add the grind beef/lamb to the sauteed onion and then add pepper and salt to it and keep stir frying for few more minutes until the color of the meat changes. ( Our vegetarian friends can now add the mushroom and corn to the mixture)

Step 4

Add two tablespoons of tomato paste to the mixture and stir fry it for 2 minutes. Then Add the crushed tomato and ½ cup boiling water to the mixture. Place the lid and bring it to a boil. Then turn down the heat and simmer covered for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes ,add the friend beans to the mixture. Set aside. ( So far you have prepared the loobia polo sauce. I suggest you to cook a large portion of lobia polo sauce and put it in freezer for later.)

Step 5

In a large pot and pour 10 cups of water in it. Add 2 tablespoons of Salt and some Oil. Place the lid and bring it to a boil over high heat. When the water starts boiling ,Add 4 cups of rinsed Basmati rice and stir occasionally.

Step 6

After 5 minutes scoop some rice grains from the water by a spatula or a slotted spoon. Taste to make sure the rice grains are (Al dente), then turn off the heat. Pour the rice into the colander to drain and rinse it with some warm water . Set it aside. (For cooking Loobia polo, We mix the drained rice with loobia polo sauce therefore the rice should be al dente and not very soft. Otherwise because of the water in the sauce the rice becomes so soft and eventually becomes sticky.)

Step 7

In a pot heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over a medium heat. Put the tortila bread on the bottom of the pot and add a layer of drained basmati rice on the top of the tortilla bread. Then add a layer of Loobiya polo sauce on the top of the drained rice. Repeat the layers (Rice, Loobia polo sauce ) and form a sort of pyramid. Splash 1 teaspoon of cinnamon on the top of the rice pyramid. Poke three holes With a handle of a wooden spatula or spoon in the rice. Then pour ¼ cup water mixed with 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. Place the lid and let it cook over medium heat for ten minutes. After 10 minutes , Turn the heat to medium-low and place the lid of the pot . Make sure that the lid is on properly. After 40-50 minutes the rice is ready to be served.