Iranian Recipes and
Country Links
Iranian or Persian cooking has
something in common with the cuisine of other Middle Eastern countries.
However, it has its own character to an extent matched by few, if any,
other nations in the region.
This is not surprising as Iranians are
Persians, who had developed a sophisticated cuisine long before they
were conquered by Arabs, who ever since have governed most of the rest
of the Middle East and largely determined its cookery.
Iranian Recipes on the Web
Brief Overview
For a brief characterization of Iranian cuisine, see www.farsieats.com.
The site has a worldwide directory of Persian
restaurants: Iran, Europe, US (by state) and Brazil (1 restaurant). It
has a few recipes.
New: IranDokht 11/16/03
This extensive site (see below for description) has a
small section on Persian Cooking.
Iranian Recipe Portal
Some 17 recipe sites are listed by www.dmoz.org.
Go to Cooking, then World-Cuisine, then Middle Eastern, then
Persian.
Knowledge Hound
Here is another impressive portal, with
numerous sites.
Go to
www.khound.com, select Cooking, then Middle Eastern Cuisines,
scroll down to Iran.
Iranian Recipes in Books
A number of Persian cookbooks are available
from Amazon, many well described and highly rated in customer
reviews.
Go to www.amazon.com.
Search in books. Best search term is probably "Iranian
cooking."
Najmieh Khalili Batmangli
The Julia Child of Iranian cooking would seem
to be Najmieh Khalili Batmangli. She has a tome, and a smaller
introductory book. Customer reviews on Amazon tell us all we probably
need to know about these.
The Legendary Cuisine of Persia by Margaret
Shaida
Batmangli's small book was temporarily out at
Cody's, so I bought "The Legendary Cuisine of Persia" by
Margaret Shaida. I am happy with this purchase. Shaida is particularly
strong, perhaps uniquely so, on the history of the cuisine. She
describes the general history, and also traces specific ingredients such
as eggplant and spinach.
At various times in history, Persian cooking
has influenced other countries, and in turn been influenced by them. In
a certain locality in India, where Persian cuisine has been greatly
influenced by the Indian, it emerges as not so spicy, and more
sour.
Margaret Shaida is true to the Iranian
traditions. Many of her ingredients, such as celery, eggplant, parsley,
and mint, are readily available. For other Iranian standbys, such as
verjuice, sour grapes, barberries, and Persian pomegranate paste, you
will need to be near a Middle Eastern store.
A Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia
Roden
Don't forget Claudia Roden. Her book has a few
Persian recipes, placing them nicely in the spectrum of Middle East
cooking. There is a whole section of Persian Khoreshtha, or Sauces
(we call them stews).
In my experience her recipes are generally
clear, and she uses commonly available ingredients. Her recipe for the
distinctive Persian light, fluffy rice makes it seem a not unreasonable
undertaking, even for a busy home cook.
Information About Iran
Iranian American Websites
Journalist Jonathan Curiel has provided brief
descriptions of various sites originated by Iranians in the US,
primarily California. The sites are intended to be viewed by people in
Iran, as well as by other Iranian Americans. Www.iranian.com
seems a good place to start.
For other sites, go to www.sfgate.com.
Search in Archive. In Byline, type in Jonathan Curiel. In Keywords, type
in Iran. Select 6/20/03 article "North American Media . . ."
Curiel has a number of interesting articles
about the Middle East.
New: IranDokht 11/16/03
This is a very large site for and about Iranian
women. There are sections for Mother, Teen, Working Woman, Progressive
Woman, Domestic Goddess, and more. News and other links are
provided.
www.irandokht.com.
News About Iran
See www.iranexpert.com.
Also www.tehrantimes.com.
History
A good place to start on Persian history,
beginning with the Aryans in 1500 BC, is www.encyclopedia.com.
On the home page, search for Iran.
A search in google for "Iran History"
provides additional listings.
For an historical timeline go to www.mage.com/TLbody.html.
Maps
University of Texas at Austin
This remains our primary source for maps.
www.lib.utexas.edu/maps.
Click on Middle East, then Iran for a number of maps: political, relief,
cities.
