Persian food is one of the world's most important and influential cuisines. Iranian cooking is heir to no less than two and a half thousand years of saffron- and rosewater-scented history. The foods of the courts of ancient Persia (as Iran was called until the 1930s) included perfumed stews flavored with cinnamon, mint, and pomegranates; elaborate stuffed fruits and vegetables; and tender roasted meats — dishes that have influenced the cooking of countries as far-flung as India and Morocco. In many ways, Persian food is the original mother cuisine.
Legacy of Empire
The history of Iranian cooking goes back to the sixth century B.C., when Cyrus the Great, the leader of a tribe called the Pars (Persians), created an empire that eventually stretched from India to Egypt and parts of Greece. This vast, unified territory became a conduit of culture and cuisine, and native Persian ingredients such as saffron and rose water were spread throughout the empire. The Persians also traded with the kingdoms of the Far East: Caravans traveling along the Silk Road from China to present-day Syria brought citrus fruits, eggplants, and rice from Asia to the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
The Persian empire eventually fell to Alexander the Great and later to the Arabs (who converted the Persians to Islam), but each successive wave of rulers proved fond of the Persians' flavorful cooking. The Arabs even brought Persia's distinctive sweet-and-sour flavors to North Africa, and in the Middle Ages, Persian techniques such as gilding (painting foods with elaborate gold or silver leaf) traveled to Europe via the Crusades, becoming all the rage at regal banquets.
From the 11th to 15th centuries A.D., Persian culture flourished despite Turkish and Mongol rule. This era saw a flowering of native poetry and art, and its rarified cooking, with rich sauces and pilafs strewn with nuts and dried fruit, became the foundation of the Moghul cuisine of northern India.
Living History
Contemporary Persian cooking wears its heritage on its sleeve. Rice has a place of honor, prepared with a prized, golden crust formed from clarified butter, saffron, and yogurt. Lamb and chicken are marinated and grilled as kebabs, or mixed into stews called khoreshes with fruit and sour ingredients such as lime juice. Cinnamon, cardamom, and other spices are used in great abundance, along with a multitude of fresh herbs, and pickles and flatbreads are served at every meal. Desserts feature rose water and pistachios, and refreshing drinks called sharbats are made from diluted fruit and herb syrups.
For instruction and some Persian recipes, we turned to Najmieh Batmanglij, who's been called "the Julia Child of Persian cuisine."
A Persian Food Icon
Najmieh Batmanglij is not shy about her ambitions. "My goal is to promote Persian food and sell my cookbooks," she declares. But her drive to succeed goes hand in hand with a deep-seated passion for her subject. In Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies, Batmanglij describes how cooking Persian food—"the house fragrant with the smell of onions and garlic...[the air] filled with the captivating aroma of mint and rare spices"—brings back to her "the image of my parents and friends sitting cross-legged on a Persian carpet around the sofreh, a cotton tablecloth embroidered with poems and prayers." In teaching and writing Persian cookbooks, Batmanglij has found a way to simultaneously honor her heritage and fulfill her entrepreneurial dreams.
Born and raised in Tehran, Batmanglij credits her mother for both her culinary talent and her ambitious nature. "I wanted to be a cook, but my mother didn't want me in the kitchen," she recalls. "She would say, 'Get an education—you will have plenty of time to cook later in life.' And she was right. I earned my master's degree in education in the U.S., then returned to Iran, handed my diploma to my mom, and she allowed me into her kitchen." Batmanglij studied with her mother and aunts, soaking up kitchen wisdom and collecting every recipe she learned.
In 1979, Batmanglij and her husband fled the Islamic revolution to the south of France, where they settled in the village of St. Paul de Vence. "I was young, pregnant, had no job, and didn't know the language," she recalls. She decided to bridge the cultural gap by taking French lessons and cooking classes, but found that local chefs were more interested in learning about Persian food than teaching her French cooking. "I translated my recipes into French, and soon had a scrapbook of recipes and information about Persian ceremonies. One of our neighbors convinced me to turn it into a little book, and everyone in our village helped to make that a reality." The book was published in 1984 as Ma Cuisine d'Iran.
That same year, the couple moved again, this time to Washington, D.C., where they founded Mage Publishers, a small company dedicated to promoting Persian culture in the U.S.. Batmanglij translated her book into English, calling it Food of Life, and it garnered rave reviews in food publications across the country. She also continued teaching, first at home, and eventually at prestigious venues such as the Culinary Institute of America. "I love to share," she explains. "I teach about the foundations and philosophy of Persian cooking, which, like Chinese, is based on the balancing of elements such as hot and cold." Her most recent classes focus on Silk Road cooking, examining the links between the cuisines of China, India, Iran, and other countries connected by that ancient trade route.
We couldn't think of a better person to introduce the joys of Persian cuisine, so we asked Batmanglij to walk us through some of her recipes.
A Few Essential Persian Dishes
Fresh Herb Kuku
This thick, fluffy omelet may be eaten hot or cold and keeps well in the fridge. Kukus are traditionally made on the stovetop, but my oven version is much simpler. A fresh herb kuku such as this one is often served at Nowruz, the new year. The green herbs symbolize rebirth, and the eggs, fertility and happiness for the year to come.
Lamb Kabab
Pomegranate Khoresh
Saffron Steamed Rice
Key Terms
Chelow - This basic rice dish is served with nearly every Iranian meal. Fragrant, long-grained varieties (basmati makes a good substitute) are cooked with saffron, roghan (ghee, or clarified butter), and yogurt to produce a dome with a rich, golden crust. The crust, called the tahdig, is by far the most important part of the dish—so prized that it is often presented to guests as a token of hospitality. If chelow is not served at a meal, often its place will be taken by a polow, a more elaborate version in which the rice is layered with meats, vegetables, and fruits such as sour cherries. This dish has descendants across the globe, whose relationship can be traced through etymology: The medieval Persian pulaw became the Turkish pilav, the American pilaf, the Russian plov, the Indian pulao, and even, via Africa, the Caribbean perloo.
Hospitality - The importance of hospitality in Iranian culture cannot be overstated. In ancient times, a host would not eat with guests, remaining standing and keeping careful watch to ensure that they were well served. In modern Iran, this ideal is expressed through abundance—meals always include more food than is needed, in case guests drop by. The table is filled with plates, including mezelike small dishes such as kukus (fluffy omelets), lavash and other flatbreads, soups, salads, and a fetalike farmer's cheese accompanied by scallions and fresh herbs.
Iran - "Iran" is what Iranians call their country in their own language. "Persia" is what it's historically been called by the West. In the 1930s, with the restoration of the Shah after British and Russian domination, Persia officially changed its name to "Iran" for all diplomatic interactions.
Nowruz - The Persian New Year, Nowruz is the biggest holiday of the year. Celebrated on the first day of spring, it's a rebirth festival that dates back to pre-Islamic times. Various foods communicate the themes of the holiday. Wheat or lentil sprouts are grown to symbolize renewal, and a special table is set with seven (a sacred number) traditional dishes and other symbolic items such as eggs for fertility. In preparation for Nowruz, Iranians "start fresh" by cleaning their houses and buying new clothes. On the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, they light bonfires to banish bad luck and welcome the return of the sun, and children dress in shrouds that hark back to the belief that the spirits of the dead visited on this night (a tradition related to the American Halloween). On the 13th day of the new year, Iranians celebrate at picnics and eat noodle soups, which represent the unraveling of life's knotty problems.
Zoroastrianism - The prophet Zarathustra, born sometime between 1700 and 600 B.C. (scholars disagree on the date), was the founder of a religion that emphasized ethics, positive thinking, and monotheism. Zoroastrianism became the state religion of the first Persian empire in the sixth century B.C., and spread throughout the region. Though Islam eventually supplanted it, pockets of Zoroastrians persist to this day, and numerous Zoroastrian beliefs underlie Iranian culture. In cooking, the Zoroastrian duality of good versus evil is expressed in the balancing of sweet and sour flavors. Foods are also classified as either "hot" or cold," and eaten in varying quantities in order to balance one's constitution.
