Ingredients guide
Persian cooking doesn’t need much, but it needs the right things: real saffron, dried limes, barberries, kashk, a jar of sumac and a mountain of fresh herbs. This is my guide to the Persian pantry: what each ingredient is, how to use it properly, and which of my recipes to try it in.
Saffron (zafaran)
The red-gold thread at the heart of Persian food, and Iran grows most of the world’s supply. A little goes a long way: a quarter teaspoon of ground saffron colours and perfumes rice for four.
- Grind it in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of sugar, which helps break the threads into a fine powder.
- Bloom it on ice. My way: sprinkle the ground saffron over 2 ice cubes and let them melt slowly somewhere warm. The slow melt draws out more colour and aroma than hot water.
- Spot the fakes. Real threads are deep red, a little trumpet-shaped at one end, and release their colour slowly in water, turning it gold. If the water turns red straight away, or the “threads” are thin flat petals, it isn’t saffron.
Try it in: Polo Zaferooni, Tahchin, Sholeh Zard.
Dried limes (limoo amani)
Small limes dried in the sun until hard and dark. They give stews a deep, sour, almost smoky flavour that nothing else can copy. Pierce them a few times with a knife before adding them whole, so the sauce gets inside, or use them ground. Taste one before serving: if a lime is very bitter, take it out.
Try it in: Ghormeh Sabzi, Abgoosht, Khoresh-e Khalal.
Barberries (zereshk)
Tiny, ruby-red and very sour berries. Pick through them for stalks, rinse and drain, then fry them for just a minute in butter with a little sugar: they burn in seconds, so stay with the pan. Keep them in the freezer and they’ll last for months.
Try it in: Zereshk Polo ba Morgh, Tahchin, Koofteh Tabrizi.
Kashk
A tangy, salty fermented dairy product, sold in jars as a thick liquid. It’s the creamy drizzle on top of Persian soups and aubergine dishes. Stir it before using and thin it with a little warm water if it’s very thick. If you can’t find it, thick yogurt with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt is the nearest swap, though not the same.
Try it in: Ash-e Reshteh, Kookoo Bademjan, Kaal Joosh.
Sumac (somagh)
Dried, ground red berries with a bright lemony tang. On every Persian table next to the kabab and rice, and one of the seven items on the Nowruz haft-sin.
Try it in: Kabab Koobideh, Kabab Torsh-e Tabei.
Pomegranate molasses (rob-e anar)
Pomegranate juice boiled down to a thick, dark, sweet-sour syrup. Look for one with just pomegranate in the ingredients. It’s what makes the stews and kababs of northern Iran so tangy.
Try it in: Khoresh-e Fesenjan, Kabab Torsh, Nardoon.
Dried fenugreek leaves (shanbalileh)
The secret of Ghormeh Sabzi’s unmistakable smell. Use dried leaves, not the seeds, and go easy: too much turns a stew bitter.
Try it in: Ghormeh Sabzi, Sabzi Polo Semnani.
Golpar
Ground seeds of Persian hogweed, often sold as “angelica”. Earthy and a little bitter, it’s sprinkled on pomegranate seeds, broad beans and pickles.
Try it in: Torshi Makhloot, Gerde-Bij.
Verjuice (abghooreh)
The sour juice of unripe grapes, gentler than lemon. Iranians use it in salads and stews and to brighten anything rich.
Try it in: Salad Shirazi.
Rosewater (golab)
Distilled from Damask roses, most famously around Kashan. Buy a good one and use it by the teaspoon: it should smell of roses, not perfume.
Try it in: Sholeh Zard, Sharbat-e Anar.
Advieh
A Persian spice blend, and every family has its own. A typical mix is cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg and dried rose petals: warmer and more fragrant for rice, earthier for stews. Add it towards the end of cooking so it stays aromatic.
Fresh herbs (sabzi)
Persian cooking uses herbs by the bunch, not the pinch: parsley, coriander, dill, chives and mint, chopped fine and often fried until dark and fragrant. A plate of fresh herbs, sabzi khordan, sits on the table at almost every meal.
Try it in: Kookoo Sabzi, Sabzi Polo ba Mahi, Ghormeh Sabzi.
Where to buy them
Persian and Middle Eastern grocers stock everything here, and most big cities have one. Many of these ingredients are now in large supermarkets and online too. For saffron, buy from a shop you trust, and buy threads rather than powder so you can see what you’re getting.
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