Iranian cuisine comprises the culinary traditions of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,Yarshater, Ehsan Persia or Iran, Persian or Farsi , Iranian Studies, vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) it is alternatively known as Persian cuisine, despite Persians being only one of a multitude of Iranian ethnic groups who have contributed to Iran's culinary traditions.
Iran has a rich variety of traditional dishes,Iran; international context for promoting Culinary Tourism and has influenced many other cuisines over the ages, among them Caucasian cuisine, Central Asian cuisine, Greek cuisine, Levantine cuisine, Mesopotamian cuisine, Russian cuisine and Turkish cuisine. Aspects of Iranian cuisine have also been significantly adopted by Indian cuisine and Pakistani cuisine through various historical Persianate sultanates that flourished during Muslim rule on the Indian subcontinent, most significantly the Mughal Empire.
Typical Iranian main dishes are combinations of rice with meat, vegetables and nuts. Herbs are frequently used, such as parsley, fenugreek, chives, mint, savory and coriander, in their fresh and dried forms. Another consistent feature of Persian cuisine is the abundant use of fruits, in combination with various meats as well as in rice dishes; the most commonly used fruits include plums, pomegranates, quince, prunes, apricots, barberries, and raisins. Characteristic Iranian spices and flavourings such as saffron, cardamom, and dried lime and other sources of sour flavoring, cinnamon, turmeric and parsley are mixed and used in various dishes.
Outside of Iran, Iranian cuisine can be found in cities with significant Iranian diaspora populations, namely London, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Washington metropolitan area, Vancouver, Toronto, Houston and especially Los Angeles and its environs.
History Among the writings available from the Middle Persian scripts, the treatise of Khosrow and Ridag, contains descriptions of food in the Sassanid period. The names of many Iranian dishes and culinary terms can be found in Arabic books.
Ancient Persian philosophers and physicians have influenced the preparation of Iranian foods to follow the rules of the strengthening and weakening characteristics of foods based on the Iranian traditional medicine.
Historical Iranian cookbooks Although the Arabic cookbooks (e.g. Kitab al-Tabikh) written under the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate—one of the Arab caliphates which ruled Iran after the Muslim invasion—include some recipes with Iranian names, the earliest surviving classical cookbooks in Persian are two volumes from the Safavid period. The older one is entitled "Manual on cooking and its craft" (Kār-nāmeh dar bāb e tabbāxī va sanat e ān) written in 927/1521 for an aristocratic patron at the end of the reign of Ismail I. The book originally contained 26 chapters, listed by the author in his introduction, but chapters 23 through 26 are missing from the surviving manuscript. The recipes include measurements for ingredients—often detailed directions for the preparation of dishes, including the types of utensils and pots to be used—and instructions for decorating and serving them. In general, the ingredients and their combinations in various recipes do not differ significantly from those in use today. The large quantities specified, as well as the generous use of such luxury ingredients as saffron, suggest that these dishes were prepared for large aristocratic households, even though in his introduction, the author claimed to have written it "for the benefit of the nobility, as well as the public."
The second surviving Safavid cookbook, entitled "The substance of life, a treatise on the art of cooking" (Māddat al-ḥayāt, resāla dar ʿelm e ṭabbāxī), was written about 76 years later by a chef for Abbas I. The introduction of that book includes elaborate praise of God, the prophets, the imams, and the shah, as well as a definition of a master chef. It is followed by six chapters on the preparation of various dishes: four on rice dishes, one on qalya, and one on āsh. The measurements and directions are not as detailed as in the earlier book. The information provided is about dishes prepared at the royal court, including references to a few that had been created or improved by the shahs themselves. Other contemporary cooks and their specialties are also mentioned.
Staple foods
Rice The usage of rice, at first a specialty of the Safavid Empire's court cuisine, evolved by the end of the 16th century CE into a major branch of Iranian cookery. Traditionally, rice was most prevalent as a major staple item in northern Iran and the homes of the wealthy, while bread was the dominant staple in the rest of the country.
Varieties of rice in Iran include gerde, domsia (literally meaning black-tail, because it is black at one end), champa, doodi (smoked rice), Lenjan (from Lenjan County), Tarom (from Tarom County), and anbarbu.
The following table includes three primary methods of cooking rice in Iran. MethodDescriptionPolow and chelowChelow is plain rice served as an accompaniment to a stew or kebab, while polow is rice mixed with something. They are, however, cooked in the same way. Rice is prepared by soaking in salted water and then boiling it. The parboiled rice (called chelow) is drained and returned to the pot to be steamed. This method results in exceptionally fluffy rice, with the rice grains separated and not sticky. A golden crust called tahdig or tadig is created at the bottom of the pot using a thin layer of bread or potato slices. Often, tahdig is served plain with only a rice crust. Meat, vegetables, nuts, and fruit are sometimes added in layers or mixed with the chelow and then steamed. When chelow is in the pot, the heat is reduced, and a thick cloth or towel is placed under the pot lid to absorb excess steam.KatehRice that is cooked until the water is absorbed completely. It is the traditional dish of Gilan Province.DamiRice that is cooked almost the same as kateh, but at the start, ingredients that can be cooked thoroughly with the rice (such as grains and beans) are added. While making kateh, the heat is reduced to a minimum until the rice and other ingredients are almost cooked. If kept long enough on the stove without burning and over-cooking, dami and kateh can also produce tahdig. A special form of dami is tachin, which is a mixture of yogurt, chicken (or lamb), and rice, plus saffron and egg yolks.
Bread Second only to rice is the production and use of wheat. The following table lists several forms of flatbread and pastry bread commonly used in Iranian cuisine. Lavash: Thin, flaky, and round or oval. It is the most common bread in Iran and the Caucasus. Sangak: Plain, rectangular, or triangle-shaped leavened flatbread that is stone-baked. Taftun: Thin, soft and round-shaped leavened flatbread that is thicker than lavash. Qandi bread: A sweet bread, sometimes brioche-like and sometimes flat and dry. Barbari: Thick and oval flatbread; also known as Tabrizi, referring to the city of Tabriz. Baguette: A long, narrow French loaf, typically filled with sausages and vegetables. Sheermal ("milk-rubbed"): A sweet pastry bread, also widely known as nan-e gisou Komaj: A sweet date bread with turmeric and cumin, similar to nan e gisu.
Fruits and vegetables The agriculture of Iran produces many fruits and vegetables. Thus, a bowl of fresh fruit is common on Iranian tables, and vegetables are standard side dishes in most meals. These are not only enjoyed fresh and ripe as desserts but are also combined with meat as accompaniments to main dishes. When fresh fruits are not available, a large variety of dried fruits such as dates, figs, apricots, plums and peaches are served instead. Southern Iran is one of the world's major date producers, where some special cultivars such as the Bam date are grown.
Vegetables such as pumpkins, spinach, green beans, fava beans, courgette, varieties of squash, onion, garlic and carrot are commonly used in Iranian dishes. Tomatoes, cucumbers and scallion often accompany a meal. While the eggplant is "the potato of Iran", Iranians are fond of fresh green salads dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, chili powder, and garlic powder.
Fruit dolma is probably a specialty of Iranian cuisine. The fruit is first cooked, then stuffed with meat, seasonings, and sometimes tomato sauce. The dolma is then simmered in meat broth or a scallion sweet-and-sour sauce.
Verjuice, a highly acidic juice made by pressing unripe grapes or other sour fruit, is used in various Iranian dishes. It is mainly used within soup and stew dishes, but also to simmer a type of squash dolma. Unripe grapes are also used whole in some dishes such as khoresh-e ghooreh (lamb stew with sour grapes). As a spice, verjuice powder (pudr-e ghooreh) is sometimes reinforced by verjuice and then dried.
Typical spices
Advieh or chāshni refers to a wide variety of pungent vegetables and dried fruits that are used in Iranian cuisine to flavor food.
One of the traditional and most widespread Iranian spices is saffron, derived from the flower of Crocus sativus. Rose water, a flavored water made by steeping rose petals in water, is also a traditional and common ingredient in many Iranian dishes.
Persian hogweed (golpar), which grows wild in the humid mountainous regions of Iran, is used as a spice in various Iranian soups and stews. It is also mixed with vinegar into which broad beans are dipped before eating.
Some other common spices are cardamom, made from the seeds of several Elettaria and Amomum plants; shevid, an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae; mahleb, an aromatic spice made from the seeds of Prunus mahaleb; and limu amani, dried lime.
There are also several traditional combinations of spices, two of which are arde (tahini), made from toasted ground hulled sesame seeds, and delal sauce, made of heavily salted fresh herbs such as cilantro and parsley.
Typical food and drinks Typical Iranian cuisine includes a wide variety of dishes, including several forms of kebab, stew, soup, and pilaf dishes, as well as various salads, desserts, pastries, and drinks.
Main course
Kebab
In Iran, kebabs are served either with rice or with bread. A dish of chelow white rice with kebab is called chelow kabab, which is considered the national dish of Iran. The rice can also be prepared using the kateh method, and hence the dish would be called kateh kebab.
The following table lists several forms of kebab used in Iranian cuisine. Kabab koobideh: Barbecued ground lamb or beef, mixed with parsley and onion. Jujeh kabab: Grilled chunks of chicken; one of the most common dishes in Iran. Kabab barg: Barbecued and marinated lamb, chicken or beef. Kabab torsh: Traditional kebab from Gilan and Mazenderan, marinated in a paste of crushed walnuts, pomegranate juice, and olive oil.Kabab bakhtyari: Mixture of barbecued fillet of lamb (or veal) and chicken breast.Chenje: Skewered and grilled cubes of meat. Iranian equivalent of shish kebab. Shashlik: A popular form of shish kebab. In Iranian cuisine, shashlik is usually in form of large chunks.Kabab tabei: Homemade grilled meat, prepared on the pan. Bonab kababi: A type of kebab that is made of ground mutton, onion, and salt in the city of Bonab.
Stew Khoresh is an Iranian form of stew, which is usually accompanied by a plate of white rice. A khoresh typically consists of herbs, fruits, and meat pieces, flavored with tomato paste, saffron, and pomegranate juice. Other non-khoresh types of stew such as dizi are accompanied by bread instead of rice.
Several Iranian stew dishes are listed within the following table.