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Iranian Cuisine Quotes

Browse 20 quotes about Iranian Cuisine.

Iranian Cuisine Quotes

“Scatter the herbs across the table, sit together, and pick off the tender stems and leaves. There is a meditative rhythm and ritual to it all. It's one of those rare times we are asked to slow down, and we are able to converse, to commiserate, to gossip, to air out grievances, to share secrets and dreams. Life happens in these spaces, amid a field of greens.”

FoodIranFood WritingPersianPersian CuisineIranian Cuisine
Book:Bottom of the Pot: Persian Recipes and Stories
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“When I first moved out on my own, whenever my mom visited she would fill my freezer with individual containers of various stews, kookoo [Persian frittatas], aash [soups], and rice dishes.... These days when I visit my mom, I try to fill her freezer with some of these same favorites. The cycle always comes full circle. Hopefully with a packed freezer ready to serve, feed, and comfort.”

FoodCookingIranComing Of AgeParents And ChildrenPersianPersian CuisineIranian Cuisine
Book:Bottom of the Pot: Persian Recipes and Stories
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“These are the kinds of stews that bring us running to the family table. Whether the table is firmly planted in its destined place or lingering somewhere in between. The kind of stew that bridges the path to a new continent, a new country, a new life, a new kitchen with its own stories to tell.”

FamilyFoodCookingImmigrationIranPersian CuisineIranian Cuisine
Book:Bottom of the Pot: Persian Recipes and Stories
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“Growing up it seemed like all Iranians naturally knew which foods fell into which category, and meals were subconsciously, or at times consciously, due to illness or the weather, designed around this hot and cold concept. Out of respect to the scientists and doctors in our family I will say that none of this is based on hard science, but even the doctors in the family agree that if it brings comfort (like a warm bowl of. . . soup), then that is all the more reason to embrace it.”

FoodComfortCookingIranPersianPersian CuisineIranian Cuisine
Book:Bottom of the Pot: Persian Recipes and Stories
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“. . . Baba filled the void the only way he could think of: a faceoff with the two-burner stove, the two pots, and a heaping bag of sabzi--fresh herbs. The permanent lumps lodged in our throats were temporarily soothed by a steaming pot of khoresh ghormeh sabzi--fresh herb stew. The royalty of all Persian stews.”

FatherFoodDaughterCookingParentingIranPersianImmigrantPersian CuisineIranian Cuisine
Book:Bottom of the Pot: Persian Recipes and Stories
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“So we improvised and made do, substituting where possible, always with an eye out for the postman and packages from Iran. Packages bursting with dried herbs and spices, well-traveled scents and secrets from home. Envelopes with a few perfunctory words from family (lest officials be monitoring them) and a photograph or two pulled from all the picture albums that were left behind. Substitutes for all the loved ones that were left behind.”

FoodCookingImmigrationIranSpicesPersianPersian CuisineIranian Cuisine
Book:Bottom of the Pot: Persian Recipes and Stories
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“At only nine in the morning the kitchen was already pregnant to its capacity, every crevice and countertop overtaken by Marjan's gourmet creations. Marinating vegetables ('torshis' of mango, eggplant, and the regular seven-spice variety), packed to the briny brims of five-gallon see-through canisters, sat on the kitchen island. Large blue bowls were filled with salads (angelica lentil, tomato, cucumber and mint, and Persian fried chicken), 'dolmeh,' and dips (cheese and walnut, yogurt and cucumber, baba ghanoush, and spicy hummus), which, along with feta, Stilton, and cheddar cheeses, were covered and stacked in the enormous glass-door refrigerator. Opposite the refrigerator stood the colossal brick bread oven. Baking away in its domed belly was the last of the 'sangak' bread loaves, three feet long and counting, rising in golden crests and graced with scatterings of poppy and nigella seed. The rest of the bread (paper-thin 'lavash,' crusty 'barbari,' slabs of 'sangak' as well as the usual white sliced loaf) was already covered with comforting cheesecloth to keep the freshness in. And simmering on the stove, under Marjan's loving orders, was a small pot of white onion soup (not to be mistaken for the French variety, for this version boasts dried fenugreek leaves and pomegranate paste), the last pot of red lentil soup, and a larger pot of 'abgusht.' An extravaganza of lamb, split peas, and potatoes, 'abgusht' always reminded Marjan of early spring nights in Iran, when the cherry blossoms still shivered with late frosts and the piping samovars helped wash down the saffron and dried lime aftertaste with strong, black Darjeeling tea.”

FoodKitchenVegetablesSpicesHerbsCafeIranian CuisineMarjan Aminpour
Book:Pomegranate Soup
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“We stop at a petrol station on the road to Tehran. Not only do they have packets of the original custard creams, but orange and banana flavor too. The existence of banana-flavored custard creams is something I am rather pleased to know about. The first thing I eat in Iran is white cheese, dry and crumbly, on white plates decorated with pink roses. A sheet of flatbread folded like a book. There are coarsely ground walnuts and a glass bowl of pomegranate molasses, sticky as treacle.”

TreatsAppetizersIranian Cuisine
Book:A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts
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“He got to Tajrish Square. He had given instructions to Tara to be right next to the jigar forooshi, a liver and kidney store, a delicacy Iranians have been delighting in for centuries. The real Liver King resides in Iran. Not on TikTok. The authentic liver kings and queens have known about the health benefits of eating raw organs for thousands of years.”

IranianLiverIranian CuisineTiktokFood In IranIranian FoodLiver KingThe Liver King
Book:Tajrish
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“The cuisine of Northern Iran, overlooked and underrated, is unlike most Persian food in that it's unfussy and lighthearted as the people from that region. The fertile seaside villages of Mazandaran and Rasht, where Soli grew up before moving to the congested capital, were lush with orchards and rice fields. His father had cultivated citrus trees and the family was raised on the fruits and grains they harvested. Alone in the kitchen, without Zod's supervision, he found himself turning to the wholesome food of his childhood, not only for the comfort the simple compositions offered, but because it was what he knew so well as he set about preparing a homecoming feast for Zod's only son. He pulled two kilos of fava beans from the freezer. Gathered last May, shucked and peeled on a quiet afternoon, they defrosted in a colander for a layered frittata his mother used to make with fistfuls of dill and sprinkled with sea salt. One flat of pale green figs and a bushel of new harvest walnuts were tied to the back of his scooter, along with two crates of pomegranates- half to squeeze for fresh morning juice and the other to split and seed for rice-and-meatball soup. Three fat chickens pecked in the yard, unaware of their destiny as he sharpened his cleaver. Tomorrow they would braise in a rich, tangy stew with sour red plums, their hearts and livers skewered and grilled, then wrapped in sheets of lavash with bouquets of tarragon and mint. Basmati rice soaked in salted water to be steamed with green garlic and mounds of finely chopped parsley and cilantro, then served with a whole roasted, eight kilo white fish stuffed with barberries, pistachios, and lime. On the farthest burner, whole bitter oranges bobbed in blossom syrup, to accompany rice pudding, next to a simmering pot of figs studded with cardamom pods for preserves.”

RiceSpicesHerbsFigsPersian CuisineIranian Cuisine
Book:The Last Days of Café Leila
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“What is the best thing you've ever eaten?" Poulet rôti. I was sure that my mother was going to say the poulet rôti from L'Ami Louise in Paris because she'd sat next to Jacques Chirac there and he'd said that since she was a chef, perhaps she would cook something for him. And so she did. She went right back into the kitchen and whipped up something fabulous. After that, they used goose as well as duck fat when frying their potatoes, because it had been her way. I mouthed Poulet rôti into the pillow. But my mother was quiet. She could have made conversation, little noises while she was thinking. But she didn't. Lou didn't care. "Masgouf," she said. "From an Iraqi restaurant that's closed now." I sat up. I opened my mouth. I almost yelled, What? But she was still talking. "I went there with her dad years and years ago." I imagined her jerking her thumb in the direction of my room. "The company was like watching paint dry, but the food was fantastic. Out of this world." "And?" Lou said. "And," my mother said, "I went back a couple of years ago, just to see, and it was closed up. Totally empty and sad. One silver tray sat in the middle of the place, I remember. Broke my heart to pieces." "Masgouf?" Lou said. I was already out of bed, sockless and by the bookshelf, ripping through the index of The Joy of Cooking, then Cook Everything, then, finally, Recipes from All Over. I found it. "'Traditional Iraqi fish dish, grilled with tamarind and/or lemon, salt, and pepper,'" I whispered, shocked. "It was heaven," my mother said. "Literally heaven. I've tried to replicate it, I can't tell you how many times." For a second, I saw spots. I would have bet my life on it- on the poulet rôti. "You know how they say that life imitates art?" my mother said. "Well, life imitated masgouf. The fish was so good, so tender, and we ate it with our fingers. For a little while, I convinced myself that life could be so simple." Which meant happiness. Masgouf was my mother's happiness.”

HappinessFood For ThoughtFavoriteIranian CuisineBest Thing
Book:Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots
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“Iran is a country that needs to be discovered. At the age of large international travel corporations losing their attractiveness, you can go to the local tour operators and get in touch with them. They also provide you with insiders' information about the country and its attractions - tangible and intangible. Read more at "Destination Iran Blog". DestinationIran.com is one such company with more than 20 years of experience.”

Iranian CuisineIrantourismIrantoursPrivatetours
Author:Rahman Mehraby
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