Persiana

Back in the 1960’s, Shish Kebab became all the rage in America. Seems like there wasn’t a backyard cookout that didn’t include some version of it. 

 Shish Kebab, and its variant spellings, was used generically by many backyard cooks. The base idea was to alternate an animal protein with other ingredients. Onions were always part of the string. But you’d find “shish kebab” that included tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, bell peppers….even green beans. Each cook had his own special marinade and dipping sauce. 

Frankly, I never liked the idea. Fun, perhaps. But, when you string together meat and assorted veggies, the ingredients rarely cook at the same time. So some part of the dish just wasn’t cooked right.

What Shish Kebab did do, however, was open American eyes to food cooked on a stick. While food cooked that way probably goes back to Neolithic times, impaling a hot-dog on the end of a stick was as far as Americans went, until the Shish Kebab fad raged.   

 As the “food revolution” took hold, the Shish Kebab fad prepared us for the discovery that many cultures have versions of kebabs; often many variations in the same culture.  This is especially true of the countries found in the Mid-East and environs. The region Sabrina Ghayour has dubbed “Persiana.”

Kababs (to use the Persian spelling) are indigenous to that region. They are common as street food, and just as likely to be cooked at home and in restaurants.  As we became more familiar, and acceptant, of global foods, we learned how diverse kababs could be, in terms of ingredients and flavors. More to the point: We discovered that in the homelands of kababs, notably Turkey and Persia, there were significant differences between them and the ubiquitous shish kebab. Among the techniques to keep in mind:

1. Do not mix ingredients, except as flavorings. If you want the meat accompanied by other ingredients, use separate skewers for each one. Thus, you might have one skewer with lamb chunks, another that is nothing but small onions, still a third filled with cherry tomatoes. By doing that, you control the cook time on each ingredient.  In addition, this makes a nicer presentation.

2. Eschew those thin, wire-like skewers. They do not hold the products properly, and the food is likely to spin and twist on them, producing some that is not cooked all the way through, and some that is burned, or near to it.

     Throughout Persiana, skewers are flat. This assures that the food doesn’t spin on them when being turned. Depending on the ingredient, skewer width ranges from a quarter inch up to a full inch, with the wider ones usually being used for meat.

     If you’re going to cook kababs at all often, it pays to invest in flat skewers. The longer the better.  Sure, 23” sounds like a lot of metal, particularly when the actual kabab is only five or six inches long.  But you want skewers that are long enough to bridge the sides of your grill.

     There are exceptions to this. Street vendors do use round wooden skewers. But keep in mind they are giving them away with the food, so there is a cost element.  And, when you cook as many of them as they do, you learn how to control the spin factor.

3. Traditional kababs are cooked quickly, over high heat. Rather than being put on a grate, the skewers actually bridge the grill, and sit barely over the level of the coals. Because of this, they are turned frequently until cooked through. That is, if it takes, say, six minutes altogether, the kababs might sit over the heat only a minute (or even less), before being turned, rather than being cooked three minutes per side.

     Although generally true, this is especially important when using ground meats. If you leave them over the heat for half the cooking time, turning them can become a problem, because the meat isn’t set on one side, and tends to fall apart.

 4. All that said, keep in mind that kabab does not mean cooked on a stick, although that is the most common method. Definitionally, kabab refers to food that is cooked with dry heat, and has no liquid added. So, when looking at the foods of Persiana, you will find dishes, called kababs, which are cooked in the oven, or on the range top in a vessel, as well.

5. As a general rule, due to their cooking method, kababs should be served right off the grill. While they can be kept warm, they suffer from it. And, given their quick cooking time, serving them that way should not present a problem. Just have everything else ready to go.

 Despite #4, when we hear the word “kabab” we think of skewered foods.  So that’s what we’ll look at here, confining them to some of those found in Persia.

 Recently, Gracoman had posted a recipe and photo spread on his experience with chicken koobideh kebab. If you haven’t seen it, you should take a look. The recipe, itself, is a good one. Plus it serves as a great tutorial on making kababs using ground meat. You can find it here:

http://www.foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/persian-chicken-koobideh-kebab_topic4975.html

For another take on using ground meat for kababs, here is one using lamb:

KABAB E KUBIDEH

(Ground Lamb Kababs)

For kabab:            

2 lb twice-ground lamb or beef or half of each

2 tsp sea salt         

2 tsp black pepper

¼ tsp saffron in 1 tbls rose water                                           

2 tbls sumac

½ tsp baking soda

2 med onions, grated

2 garlic cloves, grated                                                            

Zest of one lime

For the baste:       

½ cup salted butter or olive oil                                              

1 tsp lime juice

Alternate baste:  Heat together 1 tbls pomegranate molasses, 1 tsp thyme, ½ tsp salt, and ½ cup olive oil.

  Mix all the kabab ingredients in a bowl, kneading with hands for about 5 minutes. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours, so mixture tightens up.

 a high, hot, charcoal fire.

 meat into equal lumps, about the size of small oranges. With damp hands, shape each into a 5-inch long sausage, and mold onto a wide, flat skewer. Pinch the two ends to firmly attach meat to skewers. Arrange on a baking sheet, separated from each other. Cover and keep in the fridge. 

 the baste, melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the lime juice. Keep warm.

Arrange the skewers on the fire 3 inches above the coals. After a few seconds, turn the meat gently to help it attach to the skewers and to prevent it from falling off.  Grill the meat for 3 to 5 minutes, turning frequently. Baste just before removing from the fire. Avoid overcooking!

Slide meat onto lavash or pita just before serving. Sprinkle with sumac and lime juice to taste.

As good as they are, ground-meat kababs are, proportionally, the least common of them. Most are made with chunks of meat, such as:

KABAB E TORSH

(Caspian-Style Sweet & Sour Chicken Kababs)

4 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut in 3-inch pieces

 marinade:       

1 large onion, quartered                                                        

1 cup walnuts

1 tbls basil leaves 

1 tbls mint leaves

1 ½ cups pomegranate juice                                                  

2 tbls lime juice

¼ cup olive oil     

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

For glaze:             

1 tbls pomegranate molasses                                                 

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp black pepper                                                                

¼ tsp red pepper flakes (op)

1 tsp golpar          

¼ cup oil, butter, or ghee

Put chicken in a non-reactive container.

Combine all marinade ingredients in a food processor and pulse to grind. Pour over the chicken, toss, and marinate for at least 24 hours or up to 3 days in the fridge.

In a saucepan, combine glaze ingredients and keep warm on very low heat until ready to use. Prepare a very hot grill.

Thread 4-5 chicken pieces onto each skewer, leaving at least 2 inches free at the top.  Place the skewers on the grill and cook 1-2 minutes per side, turning frequently. The chicken should be seared on the outside and juicy on the inside. Baste both sides immediately with the glaze.

As noted above, seafood can make incredible kababs. Just be sure and watch your cooking time; even for kababs they cook very quickly. If you can’t find bitter orange juice, you can make a reasonable facsimile by mixing regular orange juice and lime juice in a 3:1 ration. In this case, that works perfectly with ¾ cup OJ, and ¼ cup lime juice.

KABAB E MAHI BA NARENJ

(Fish Kababs with Bitter Orange)

thick skinless swordfish or salmon filets, in 2” cubes

For marinade:      

  2 onions, grated                                       

5 garlic cloves, minced

1/2, butter, or ghee                         

1 cup bitter orange juice* or  pomegranage juicev                           

1 tsp grape molasses                                     

1 tsp sea salt                                            

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp p golpar

Rinse fish and pat dry. Put the cubes in a non-reactive container and add all the marinade ingredients. Toss well, cover, and marinate for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours in the fridge.

Preheat the grill and slide fish cubes onto skewers. Grill the fish until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Finally, we have a kabab that gets cooked in a pot, as mentioned above. But it still uses skewers, for effect and flavor.  Unfortunately, the skewers used in the actual recipe are branches cut from a fig tree. Good luck with that one! But, because they do serve as portion control, I used small bamboo skewers.

Be sure and use the lowest heat you can. And monitor it as it cooks, because too much heat can cause the onions to burn.

KABAB DIG E SHIRAZI

(Shirazi-Style Pan Cooked Lamb Kabab(

2 lbs boned leg of lamb cut in 2-inch cubes

5-6 fig branches (or wood skewers) short enough to fit your cooking pan

½ cup oil, butter, or ghee

2 medium onions in thin rings

1 tbls sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

Zest of two limes

½ tsp ground saffron dissolved in 2 tbls rose water or hot water

4 garlic cloves, chopped

½ tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

½ tsp grape molasses or sugar

4 kifir lime leaves, crushed (or sub 1 tsp ground dried lime)

2 large tomatoes, peeled and sliced

1 tsp ground cardamom

For garnish:

5 fig leaves, washed (or just use lavash or other flat bread)

Juice of one lime

1 cup plain yogurt, drained

Bunch fresh basil

Bunch of spring onions, chopped

Rinse the lamb, drain, and pat dry.  Thread each fig branch or skewer with 5 pieces of lamb and set aside.

Grease a wide, shallow pan with ¼ cup of the oil. Arrange the onions rings in a layer in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a few drops of the saffron/rose water.

Put the kababs skewers side-by-side on top of the onion rings and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, the balance of the saffron water, lime zest, garlic, red pepper flakes, rape molasses, cardamom, and lime leaves. Arrange the tomato slices on top, Sprinkle with the rest of the salt and pepper, and drizzle with the rest of the oil.

Cover tightly and cook over low heat for 2 ½-3 hours, or until lamb is tender. Adjust seasoning. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Line a serving platter with fig leaves of bread and arrange skewers on top. Pour the pan juices over the kababs. Sprinkle with the chopped onion and basil, and drizzle with fresh lime juice

Here are some additional Persian salads:

GARVURDAGI SALATIASI

( Tomato Salad w/Pomegranate Molasses)

This is a very popular salad in Persia and Turkey, both of which claim it as their own. Once you try it, both the popularity and the claims are understandable.

1 lb 5 oz tomatoes (cherry preferred)                                    

2 long green peppers or one bell, cut in rings or thin slices

1 large red onion, halved and cut in thin half moons

2 tsp sumac plus extra for sprinkling                                    

4 tbls pomegranate molasses

Sea salt                 

Extra virgin olive oil

3 ½ oz walnut pieces for garnish

Halve cherry tomatoes or rough chop whole tomatoes.

 Arrange the tomatoes, pepper rings, and onion on a flat serving plate. In another bowl combine the sumac, molasses, salt, and a drizzle of olive oil and give them a good mix. Drizzle the dressing evenly over the salad. Garnish with the walnuts and a little sprinkling of sumac and serve.

BORANI E BAGALA

(Yogurt and Fava Bean Salad)

Yogurt based salads---we’d more than likely call them dips---are many and varied in Persian cuisine. What varies are the various additions and flavorings.  In this case, fava beans are the main additional ingredient.

     Frankly, even in season, I prefer the frozen kind, because fresh favas are an absolute pain to prep. 

3 lbs fresh fava beans or 1 lb frozen                                      

`1/4 cup oil

1 onion, sliced     

4 garlic cloves, chopped

½ tsp sea salt        

½ tsp black pepper

2 tbls lime juice    

½ cup fresh dill, chopped

1 cup plain yogurt

 Prep favas: if fresh, shuck and remove inner skins. If frozen, remove inner skins.

 Heat the oil in a wide skillet until hot. Add the onion, garlic, fava beans, salt and pepper. Sauté for a few minutes.

Add ½ cup water, bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5-10 minutes or until fava beans are tender.

Add the lime juice and dill. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a serving bowl, mix the yogurt and fava mixture and season to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving.

CACIK

(Cucumber Garlic & Dill Yogurt)

 From the eastern Med. to the Pacific Ocean, just about every country has its own version of a cucumber/yogurt salad.  We’re perhaps most familiar with the Greek tzatziki, and the Indian riata. But other versions abound.

     This is another recipe shared by Persia and Turkey, with even the name used by both countries; at least along the border areas. 

1 large cucumber, grated                                                       

2 cups Greek yogurt or regular yogurt well drained

1 plump garlic clove, minced                                                

¾ oz dill, finely chopped

Salt & pepper to taste                                                            

Olive oil for drizzling

Carefully squeeze out and discard excess water from the grated cucumber. Transfer to a Mixing bowl and mix in the yogurt.

Add the garlic and dill, mix well, and season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

SALAT E ADAS

(Lentil Salad)

Lentils used as a salad are endemic to the region, ranging from cooked lentils simply dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, to lentils mixed with rice or bulger, to all sorts of other combinations.

     I particular like this one because of the complexity of flavors added by the various veggies.

1 cup brown or French lentils                                                

For Dressing:        

1 cup spring onions, chopped                                                

2 garlic cloves, grated

2 tbls rice vinegar or lime juice                                             

½ cup olive oil

1 tsp sea salt         

½ tsp black pepper

2 tsp ground cumin                                                                

 For Salad:             

2 tbls cilantro, chopped                                                         

1 large carrot, diced

2 Persian cukes or one English, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk, diced                                                              

½ yellow bell pepper, diced

½ red onion, diced

 Place lentils in a medium-heavy saucepan. Pour in 4 cups water and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 30-45 minutes until tender but not mushy.

In a salad bowl, combine all ingredients for the dressing and whisk well.

Add lentils and rest of salad ingredients to the dressing. Toss thoroughly. Serve over a bed of green leaf lettuce with toasted flat bread.

BATINJAN AL RABIB

(Smoked Eggplant Salad)

Here we have a salad that is endemic to the whole region. You’d find it, virtually unchanged, in all the lands of the old empire, in modern Persia, throughout the Arabian Peninsula, parts of India, and into North Africa.

     The names change, but the salad doesn’t. For example, while mostly known by the Arabic name, batinjan al rabib, the same salad, in Turkey, is called patlican, which often has, in the Turkish manner, chopped tomatoes added. By whatever name, however, it’s delicious.

4 large eggplant, about 1 pound each

½ red bell pepper, finely diced

½ green bell pepper, finely diced

4-5 tbls extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of 1 ½ lemons or limes

Salt and pepper to taste

A small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped.

Prick the eggplants with a fork. Over hardwood coals or charcoal, blister the eggplants until charred and blackened and the flesh has softened completely but not turned mushy. Allow them to cool, slice in half and scrape out the flesh with a spoon. Drain any excess liquid, and roughly chop the flesh into small chunks.

Transfer the eggplant to a bowl and mix in the peppers.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil with the garlic, citrus juice, salt and pepper. Stir it well until the ingredients are well blended. I actually mix the ingredients in a small jar, and shake it well to blend them evenly.

Pour the dressing over the eggplant, add the parsley, and mix together.

We often run into a problem, when dealing with global culinary matters, in that we try---perhaps without even realizing it---to force food descriptions into the familiar Western mode of courses and categories.

 Thus, we tend to think of a meal as an appetizer, followed by a soup or a salad, followed by a main dish (or dishes) accompanied by appropriate side dishes, followed by a sweet or dessert. 

Non-Western meals often do not follow  this progression, nor do the individual dishes fit into our familiar rubrics.  Sure, soup is soup the world around.  But what, exactly is a salad? And what place does it take in the meal? Is a salad, a dip, and a spread the same thing? And, if not, how do they differ?  Similarly, is there a difference between a braise, a ragout, and a stew? And, while we’re at it, just what differentiates a stew from a soup? Same goes for main course egg dishes.  If we say “omelet,” for instance, a certain image comes to mind.  But is a French-style tri-folded omelet the same as a frittata? Not hardly.

The point is, we often use those, and similar food concepts, to suggest what a “foreign” dish is, and where it fits in terms of service.  Certainly, unless we steep ourselves in the language and mores of the culture, that’s about the best we can do.

I bring this up because we’re about to depart from food categories as we normally think of them; either because, as above, it’s a close as we can come, or because the concept is much broader than we usually use it.   

 With that in mind, this is a good place, I feel, to talk about Persian food service, to help put the rest of this exploration into perspective.

 Although modern Iranians, particularly those living in urban areas, now dine at tables, and use the same sorts of dishes and flatware as we do, this is not the traditional way.  Historically, Persians ate on the floor, not off of tables.

 Keep in mind that the floors would be covered by those gorgeous Persian carpets. In the first place, they’d have to be protected from spills and drips. And, in the second place, carpets, as such, do not make a very good platform for supporting service dishes.

 To resolve those issues, coverings---called sofreh---would be used. First the carpet would be blanketed by a leather sofreh.  This prevented damage to the carpet, and provided the stable base needed.  In turn, the leather sofreh would be covered by a cloth one.  Originally those were always woven of cotton, but other materials are used nowadays as well.

 The cloth sofrehs were often highly decorated, not only with designs, but with poems, prayers, and quotes from the Q’uran.  Modern Iranians still use sofrehs as table coverings.

The food, itself, was served family style, with all of it laid out on the sofreh at one time. In addition to everything else, there would always be bread, bowls of melon and other fruits, and plates of raw herbs and greens.

 Diners would help themselves to whatever they liked, using their right hands only. Often a piece of bread was used to clasp the food.  But, just as often, just the bare fingers would serve. 

 Day-to-day Persian life is ruled by “taarof,” a complex system of etiquette and politeness, which shows up at meals more than anywhere else. I’m not going to detail taarof. If you’re interested, there is plenty of information available on the web. But, if you’re ever invited to a Persian home for a meal, it would behoove you to learn at least the basics of taarof.

 All of which leads us to the next food grouping: Salads.

 Persian salads---of which several would usually appear on the sofreh---are incredibly diverse in terms of ingredients and textures.  They include dishes we’d easily class as salads. But there are others that we’d think of more as dips or spreads. Sometimes salads are casserole-like dishes as well. 

Be that as it may, here is a representative selection.

RADISH, CUCUMBER & RED ONION SALAD

WITH MINT & ORANGE BLOSSOM DRESSING

 I decided to lead with this one because it’s one of those that we would instantly think of as a salad. When we made it, I substituted pistachios for the pine nuts, but either will work.

½ lb radishes, very thinly sliced                                            

1 cucumber           

2 small red onions, halved and thinly sliced in half moons

 2 ½ oz pine nuts, toasted

For the dressing:  

1 tbls runny honey

1 ½ tsp orange blossom water

Juice of one lemon                                                                

4 tbls olive oil

Sea salt                 

Black Pepper

1 ½ oz (approx.) mint leaves, coarsely chopped

Put the radishes in a large bowl. Peel, deseed, and thinly slice cucumber in half-moons. Add to bowl, along with the red onions. Give everything a good mix.

 Make the dressing. In a separate bowl, put the honey, orange blossom water, and lemon juice and stir until the honey has dissolved; then add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped mint. Pour the dressing over the salad, coating all the ingredients well, then add the pine nuts. Toss the salad one last time and serve immediately.

SALAD E NOKHOD

(Chickpea Salad)

This surprisingly refreshing salad would be at home just about anywhere in the Mid-East. An interesting side-light, however, is that Persians think of tomatoes as fruit, and often use them that way.

12 oz cooked chickpeas (or start with 1 cup dried)

6 tbls olive oil      

1 tbls cumin seeds

1 onion, chopped 

1 garlic clove, chopped

½-inch ginger root, grated

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp red pepper flakes (opt)

Juice of one lime  

1 tbls tomato paste

1 tomato, peeled & diced

2 cups basil or cilantro

Soak dry chickpeas overnight, then cook in boiling water until tender, about 1 ½ hours.

Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin and toast for a minute. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the pepper flakes, lime juice and tomato paste and sauté another 5 minutes.

Add the chickpeas, fresh tomato, and herbs. Stir well, transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil on top, and serve over a bed of green salad with flat bread.

MAST O MUSIR

(Yogurt and Shallot Dip)

Musir---Persian shallots---are an allium unique to Persia. Sort of a cross between leeks and shallots, they are found nowhere else.  If you can’t find them (they’re available, dried, at Mid-East markets and on-line), use regular shallots, but cut back on the quantity.

1 ½ cups musir (Persian shallots)                                          

4 cups plain yogurt, drained

1 tsp sea salt         

½ tsp black pepper

1 tbls dried mint   

1 tsp dried tarragon

Soak the musir in cold water for 3 hours or up to overnight. Drain, rinse in cold water, pat dry, and chop finely.

 Combine the musir with the yogurt, salt, pepper and mint. Chill in fridge at least 15 minutes before serving.

 SALAD E ZEYTOUN O GERDU

(Caspian Olive Salad)

 A regional salad from the Caspian Sea region, it reflects the Persian penchant for sweet & sour.  If you can’t find pistachio oil (I couldn’t), walnut or almond oil will serve just as well.”