Ingredients:

Seedless olive: 500 gram.

Pomegranate paste: 2 modulus.

Minced walnut: 300 gram.

Lemon juice: 2 tablespoons.

Dried mint: 1 tablespoon.

Dried thyme: 1 tablespoon.

Pomegranate seeds: 2 tablespoons.

Olive oil: 2 tablespoons.

North of Iran marinated olive is preparing with pomegranate paste, walnut, olive oil, local vegetables and additives as same as dried pomegranate seeds. It is better to buy dried pomegranate seeds and tomato paste from the north of Iran until you understand the real taste.  There are some alternative vegetables that they can consume instead of north vegetables…

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How to prepare marinated olive

If the olives were salty or sour soak them for one hour in the water (if it comes to be in the water for more times it will lose its real taste).

Pour olives in the drain and after it lost its additional water pour them in the big bowl.

Mix pomegranate paste, lemon juice, and olives together very well, add the other materials either and after they mixed together very well put the bowl in the refrigerator and let them be cool.

Marinated olive colour

If using more walnut for preparing the marinated olive, the mixture will have the lighter colour and if using more pomegranate paste it will have vice versa result and the marinated olive will have the darker colour.

The Secret History of the World’s Priciest Spice: Persian Saffron

Persian Saffron has a long and colorful history. You may be surprised by how it is made!

What is Persian Saffron?

After hearing a lot about saffron, you might have this question in mind – What really is Persian Saffron?
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, going for up to $16 per gram—and with good reason. It comes from the dried bright orange-red stigmas of the flower Crocus Sativus.
But before you go digging up your spring crocus, know that this variety is special because it’s a triploid: it can’t grow in the wild or reproduce without human intervention. The gorgeous purple flower is painstakingly propagated and harvested by hand, and only on the morning it blooms. The more careful the cultivation, the higher the price.

Saffron Spice

Saffron is used as a spice extensively in Persian, European, North African, Indian, Spanish, Turkish, Moroccan, and Asian cuisines. Its aroma is described by experts as resembling that of honey, with grassy, hay-like, and metallic notes. Saffron’s taste is like that of hay, but with hints of bitter. Even though saffron threads are red, it contributes a luminous yellow-orange coloring to items it is soaked with.

Saffron Crocus

Crocus sativus is commonly known as Saffron Crocus. In both antiquity and modern times, mostly saffron was and is used in the preparation of food and drink. Cultures spread across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas value the red threads for use in such items as baked foods, curries, and liquor.

Saffron Benefits

Saffron contains more than 100 components, but the three most promising appears to be: Crocin which is responsible for its orange color, Picrocrocin which provides its bitter taste, and Safranal which gives its aroma.
Saffron benefits are countless. It has a long history in traditional healing and has been recently recognized for treating respiratory infections and disorders such as coughs and colds, scarlet fever, smallpox, cancer, hypoxia, and asthma. Other targets included blood circulatory disorders, insomnia, paralysis, heart diseases, stomach upsets, gout, chronic uterine haemorrhage, dysmorrhea, amenorrhea, baby colic, eye disorders, digestive stimulant, women menstrual pain, menopausal problems, and depression.It also helps with memory loss, male impotency, encourages oxygen flow, speeds the healing of wounds, and prevents cell death.

Saffron Benefits for Men

Saffron has long been used as an aphrodisiac throughout centuries. In a simple word, benefits of saffron for male is that saffron promotes blood flow which longer and better sexual performances follow as a natural result. Saffron is also very well known to treat blood circulatory disorders and male impotency, but don’t expect to see the result after one use only. You need to add it to your daily regimen and see the result after a while. You’ll be surprised!

Benefits of Saffron During Pregnancy

The followings are the most important benefits of saffron during pregnancy!

  • Hormonal fluctuation will cause mood swings. Saffron has antidepressant properties that help balance your mood.
  • During pregnancy digestive system is very slow and will cause many problems such as bloating, gas, and constipation. Saffron is a digestive stimulant. Saffron targets stomach upsets and sooths acidity.
  • Hormonal surges will cause skin problems and hair fall off. Saffron has properties for removing pimples, easing rashes, and smoothing face and skin tone.
  • Pregnant women with infections or cold cannot take any pharmaceutical medicines in order not to affect their fetus. Saffron has recently been recognized for treating respiratory infections and disorders such as cough and colds. Read saffron side effects

Saffron Benefits for Cancer

A growing number of respected scientists are convinced of the possibility of saffron in curing cancer. Saffron’s pharmacological effects on malignant tumors have been documented in different studies. Saffron has shown promise as a new and alternative treatment for a variety of cancers. Extracts of saffron have been shown to inhibit the formation of tumors and/or to retard tumor progression in a variety of experimental animal systems.

Saffron Benefits for Eyes

The reddish-colored zeaxanthin is one of the carotenoids naturally present within the retina of the human eye. For its zeaxanthins property, saffron is also known for reducing the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) of the eyes. Test findings suggest saffron reverses age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in old people. Saffron affects the amount of fat stored by the eye, making vision cells tougher and more resilient. In the relatively small quantities in which saffron is usually consumed, it seems to be a perfectly safe and harmless substance.

Saffron Benefits for Skin

As people are being more aware of benefits of saffron on skin and saffron uses, the usage of this precious spice is now improving just because, saffron is a natural product for its aroma, and it contains removing pimples, easing rashes, and smoothing face and skin properties. Some studies show that saffron can inhibit the growth of some types of skin cancer, as well as another type of tumor called sarcoma. Researchers found that feeding mice with a saffron extract prevented the formation of soft tissue sarcomas.

Saffron Benefits as Antioxidant

Another saffron benefit as antioxidant comes from the intense golden orange color of saffron which hints of its medicinal nature and comes from the carotenoids and beta carotenes (precursor of vitamin A) found in carrots. Benefit of these two components is that they have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Antioxidants protect the body from free radical damage.

Saffron Side effects

There will be no saffron side effects if you follow below instructions especially during pregnancy.

  • If you’ve never taken saffron in your whole life, make sure that you are not allergic to it.
  • You cannot take more than a pinch of saffron (5-10 Sargol threads) for each serving. Safe consumption of saffron is two servings per day. You may mix it in a glass of hot milk. By the time milk get cooler and ready to consume, saffron defuses its components while soaked.
  • Consuming 5 grams of saffron in one day is poisonous and lethal.
  • Pregnant women should consult with their doctors prior to taking saffron. You may take saffron from the 5th month of your pregnancy and on, not earlier.
  • Although saffron has many advantages for you and your baby, taking high volume of saffron could result in miscarriage.

Saffron Uses

Saffron Uses as Medicine: Documentation of saffron’s use over the span of 4,000 years in the treatment of some 90 illnesses has been uncovered and mentioned above under saffron benefits section.
Saffron Uses in Cooking: The saffron uses in food industry are increasing due to its golden color, and exotic aroma. It’s most common function is to color rice yellow, as in risotto Milanese, where its delicate flavor make it the most famous of Italian rice dishes. See our Saffron Recipes
Saffron Uses in Liquor: In Italy saffron’s most common use is in confectionery and liquor industries such as Chartreuse, izarra, and strega. These types of alcoholic beverages rely highly on saffron to provide a flourish of color and flavor.

Saffron Substitutes / Saffron Adulteration

Typical methods include mixing pure saffron threads in extraneous substances like beets, pomegranate fibers, red-dyed silk fibers, or the saffron crocus’s tasteless and odorless yellow stamens or turmeric to add dead weight. Saffron stamens have no culinary properties but will still add the signature yellow color of saffron.
Other methods included dousing saffron fibers with viscid substances like honey or vegetable oil or by artificial colorants and by mixing genuine stigmas of saffron flower with other parts of plants (e.g. some species of grass) artificially colored.
Another method is mixing saffron threads (stigmas) with cheaper substitute like safflower (Portuguese saffron), sometimes referred to as “bastard saffron”, which yield a bright yellowish hue that does not precisely match that of saffron.
Adulteration can also consist of selling mislabeled mixes of different saffron grades.
Spain is producing almost 1 ton of saffron annually but is exporting 100 tons per year 20-30 tons of which to the united states alone. How could it be possible?
High quality Saffron produced in Iran (Persian Saffron) is exported in bulk to Spain. Then the imported Saffron is mixed and reprocessed with lower grade Spanish (La Mancha) and Portuguese saffron (safflower which is often sold as “assafroa”) before being packaged in beautiful designs. It is then re- exported as La Mancha or Mancha saffron at very higher prices to all parts of the world.
However, powdered saffron is more prone to adulteration, with turmeric, paprika, and other powders used as diluting fillers.

Saffron Threads vs. Saffron Powder

Saffron is available both in saffron threads (stigmas) and saffron powder, though the long, deep red threads are usually preferable to the powder for three reasons:

  1. Saffron powder loses it flavor more rapidly
  2. It can easily be adulterated with less-expensive powders like turmeric and paprika.
  3. You cannot prepare dishes to show off the whole saffron threads

Besides you can easily crush the threads into powder for maximum color diffusion in dishes, so we recommend you to buy saffron threads instead of saffron powder.

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This graph, based on FAO statistics, shows the percentage of Persian saffron exports in the global market.

Persian saffron and other saffron differences:

  • Persian Saffron threads are all vivid crimson color with a slightly lighter orange-red color on the tips. This indicates that it’s not cheap saffron that has been tinted red to look expensive
  • Aroma is strong and fresh.
  • No broken-off debris collected at the bottom of container.
  • No other yellow or white plant parts mixed in with the red threads.
  • Fresh and current season’s threads.
  • Persian Saffron threads are dry and brittle to the touch.

Other saffron:

  • Saffron threads displaying telltale dull brick red coloring which is indicative of age.
  • Aroma is musty.
  • Broken-off debris is collected at the containers bottom, indicative of age-related brittle dryness.
  • Yellow and white plant parts are not separated from the stigmas to add dead weight.
  • Not a current season threads.
  • Have moister trapped inside for adding dead weight

 

Abgoosht is one of the most traditional Iranian foods. It is also called Dizi, which refers to the traditional stone crock pots it is served in. Whether you call it Abgoosht or Dizi, you should absolutely try this very traditional Persian recipe, which is often a favorite among the Iranian people.

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Abgoosht means “Meat Juice” (ab stands for water and gusht for meat). Abgoosht is a hearty soup or a juicy stew which is traditionally prepared with lamb, chickpeas, white beans, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes. Hundreds of years ago Abgoosht was made with lamb and chickpeas. However, later on when new foods such as potatoes and tomatoes were introduced to Iranian Cuisine, the recipe had some changes.

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Serving Abgoosht

Serving Abgoosht has a special custom. First the broth is poured in a bowl and served with small pieces of bread soaked in it called, Tileet. Tileet is a soup made with this flavorful broth tossed with bite-size pieces of flat bread. The bread soaks up the broth and all of its flavor. Tileet is served alongside Abgoosht and it literally melts in the mouth. Then the remaining ingredients such as potatoes, beans, chickpeas and lamb are mashed up to a mashed-potato type consistency and served separately alongside with the broth. Traditionally, Iranians use a goosht-koob (literally meat mortar) to serve the crushed solid ingredients along with onions, torshi, yogurt, and sabzi khordan (fresh herbs).

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Abgoosht was a meal favored by poorer classes. However, with the introduction of new ingredients in Persian cuisine, this modest meal was improved and became a very popular, comforting dish savored by all Iranians.
Sangak noon is an excellent choice of bread to serve with abgoosht. Traditionally, people eat this dish as they sit on the floor, on a Persian rug, with their legs crossed around a sofreh (tablecloth) placed on the rug.

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Abgoosht Recipe

Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Persian
Servings8 people
AuthorVera Abitbol

Ingredients

  • 3 lb beef or lamb shank , cut into pieces
  • 2 onions , diced
  • 3 cloves garlic , crushed
  • 2 cups chickpeas (previously soaked for 8 hours)
  • 2 cups white beans (previously soaked for 8 hours)
  • 1 lb small potatoes , peeled and halved
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 dried limes (limoo amani) or 2 freshly squeezed lemons
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 lb tomatoes , peeled, seeded, and diced
  • 1 green bell pepper , diced
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Salt
  • Pepper

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Instructions

  1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and white beans.
  2. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
  3. Brown the onions in a thick-bottomed pot over low-medium heat. Add the meat.
  4. Poke the Persian limes and add them (or the lemon juice) to the meat.
  5. Add the beans, chickpeas, garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, and 6 cups of boiling water. Stir well.
  6. Cover and simmer over low-medium heat for 2h30.
  7. At the start of cooking, check the contents of the pot and remove any foam that may eventually surface.
  8. After 2h30, add the tomato paste and mix well. Then add the fresh tomatoes and the green bell pepper.
  9. Add the potatoes and season the seasoning. Cover and cook again for 2 hours on low heat.
  10. Once the cooking is finished, place a very fine strainer on a large deep bowl to collect all the broth.
  11. Pour the broth into the pot and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
  12. Two possibilities :- Reduce all solids to puree – Serve the solids as they are and crush them or not with a fork.

  13. Serve broth and solids separately.

 

Ardebil black halva is one of the Iranian sweets that is prepared in Ardebil province.

Ardebil Halva is preparing from the mixture of flour, wheat germ, water, butter, spices and natural honey extract.

Ardebili women prepared black halva at home and made them in the circle shape and keep them as food for the cold weather of winter base on energy generation of them.

Black halva is one of the most important traditional food and souvenirs of Ardebil.

This food base on natural honey and butter of that and also the way of preparing can remain in average weather can remain for four months without rot.

You can make it as same as the first day of preparing by giving a little heat to it.

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How to prepare Black Halva?

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour: 500 gram.

Walnut Brain: 300 gram.

Sugar: 400 gram.

Grape sap or Date sap: 750 gram.

Spice (Black pepper, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Turmeric, Cloves, Ginger, Cumin): necessary amount.

Solid oil: 300 gram.

(Serve for 8 – 10 people)

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  1. Soak wheat for 2-3 days and wait until it has sprouted.
  2. Crush wheat and then mix it with a little water.
  3. Pour it in the smoother.
  4. Mix flour with wheat water and make a dough.
  5. Add walnut brain and spices.
  6. Put the mixture on the heat and let them boil several times.
  7. Add oil and stir them up and wait until the colour of dough change to golden and don’t stick to the spoon.
  8. Now remove it from the heat and add ready syrup and stir them up. (Wait until dough give the taste of syrup)

This kind of Halva must have the dark colour and peppery taste.

Enjoy it!

 

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Ingredients:

Meat: 300 gram

Almond slice: 150 gram

Egg: 5 numbers

Salt: necessary amount

Saffron: necessary amount

Oil: necessary amount

(Serve for 5-6 people)

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How to prepare Ardebili Almond stew?

Cut meats in size that they are suitable for stew.

Pour water on meats and give time to them and let them bake.

Fry onions and add half cooked meat with salt, turmeric, the little pepper, saffron and almond slices to it and roasting all of them together on the frying pan.

At the end put egg yolk without stir on the meat and let them bake.

It is possible to put some slices of almond on the egg yolk either.

You can eat this stew with both bread and rice.

Enjoy it!

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Ingredients:

Dough Tarkhineh: Four modules

Onion: One number (big size)

Oil: A little only for fry (onion, mint, garlic, mint)

Soup vegetables: Half a kilogram

Lentil: Two modules

Salt, Turmeric, Balck Pepper: Necessary amount

Curd: Necessary amount

Mint and Hot Garlic: If you want

Qarqorout: Only a little

(Serve for 4-5 people)

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How to prepare Dough Tarkhineh Soup?

  1. Bake lentil separately and put it aside.
  2. Put Tarkhineh in the dish and pour cold water on it until its Grains that they stick together break apart from each other. (do this step in the pot that you consider for baking soup)
  3. Fry onion in oil and let it come to be in golden colour after that add little Turmeric to it.
  4. Add Tarkhineh with water, soup vegetables, salt and pepper to the soup. Make the heat under pot low and wait until soup vegetables prepare.
  5. Now add baked lentil and Qarqorout to the soup and wait until your food prepare.
  6. At the end add a little curd to the soup.
  7. In the time of serving you can decorate your soup with curd, hot garlic, hot onion and hot mint.

Ingredients

Baking Powder: half of teaspoon

Cardamom Powder: 1 teaspoon

Sugar Powder: 1 teaspoon

Egg yolk: 2 numbers

Yogurt: 250 gram

Sugar powder: 2 module

Liquid Oil: necessary amount

Flour: necessary amount

(For eight persons as sweet)

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How to prepare Yazd Qotab?

Mix oil and sugar powder with the electronic mixture until they pale.

Add egg yolk and mix them whole together with the electronic mixture.

Add cardamom powder, baking powder, and yogurt to the mixture.

Add flour little by little to the mixture and pay attention until dough is not sticking to your fingers.

Wide dough on the surface that it has powder.

Cut dough with cake mold.

Full inside your dough with materials of the middle of Qotab (walnut powder, almond powder, sugar powder and cardamom).

Stick around your dough with the fork and pay attention until materials don’t come out of it.

Fry them and after the colour of them change to the bright brown get them out of the oil.

Put Qotabs on the dish of sugar powder.

How to prepare Amaj Soup?

This food is for the Hamedan traditional food in Iran country.

Ingredients

Aamaj: One modulus

Soup vegetables (Torre, Scallion): 500 grams

Fried onion: Two tablespoons

Garlic: Three Berries

Lentil: 150 grams

Cowpea: 150 grams

Egg: One number

Salt, Pepper, Turmeric: Necessary amount

Put the Cowpea that you make it wet for one last night with one liter, of water and a little salt on the heat until it bakes for half an hour. Add lentil and after it comes to be a little soft, fry onion with Turmeric and burn them together and add them, both to the vegetables and garlic.

After a little boiling pours 2 cups of cold water and adds Amaj. Stir constantly until Amajs don’t stick to each other.

After about ten-minute watch measurement of Salt and Pepper.  Break an egg and add it little by little and stir until it bakes. At the end pour the materials on the dishes and decorate it with Hot Mint.

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Tip

The special vegetables of this soup are contained (Torre, Savory, and Purple Tabriz Basil)

Basil Properties

Basil is full of Carotenoids such as Beta-carotene that it can conversion to the A vitamin inside the body. Beta-carotene has more Antioxidants properties in compare with A vitamin inside the body because not even protects cells against free radical damages but also it is preventing from oxidation blood cholesterol by free radicals in the blood vessels.

With not oxidizing, cholesterol is not creating in the blood vessel walls and therefore it is preventing the creation of atherosclerosis, clogging of the vessels and also heart attack.

Basil is the good source of magnesium. This plant with creating relax in the muscles and blood vessels is come to be the reason of strengthens the cardiovascular system, improved blood flow in the veins and decrease the risk of irregular heart rhythms and cardiovascular spasms.

 

How to prepare Halva Zardeh?

Ingredients

Yolk: 10 numbers

Powder of Sugar: ¼ of glass

Rosewater: ½ of glass

Oil or Butter:  3 Tablespoons

Pulverized Saffron: 2 Tablespoons

The appearance of Halva Zardeh is similar to Porridge, with this kind of change that it has the yellow willing to orange colour and it is tougher and thicker.  This delicious dessert is usually serving in the cold shape and that is the popular dessert of Hamedan.

Mix Yolk and sugar with each other very well until the mixture gives the vermiform colour and give a little puff. Take out the pan and pour butter inside it then give heat. Add Yolks to the butter and rile them on the low heat. After 5 minutes that the materials are coming to be little tough mix Rosewater and Saffron that they dissolved in boiling water together and add them to the materials that they are inside the pan and rile them all together. After 10 minutes that they are boiling on the low heat put it in the refrigerator until it comes to be tough.

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Point:

If after getting out of Halva from the refrigerator it was loose you can put it once again in the oven and then place it another time in the refrigerator and let it be tough. For decorating it you can consume cinnamon and pistachio powder.

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Dogberry with the scientific name of Cornus mas is a tall shrub or small deciduous tree that is from the flowering dicotyledonous plants and Dogberry family. The tall of this tree in Iran is about 8 meters and its diameter is about 15 to 19 cm. This plant is the native of West Asia to Southern of  Europe (Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, South West Asia and Southern Europe). The fruit of this tree calls Dogberry.

The trunk of this tree is brown. The leaves of this tree are in the Oval shape (Egg shape ) with a pointy end and the back of the leaves are pale. Each leaf has three to five leaf veins. Flowers of this plant are small, yellow and preterm and they are appearing on the tree in the winter. The fruit of this tree is hanging shaft and it is stretched in the oval shape and the colour of that is the intense red colour with the length of approximately 12 mm. This kind of tree is growing in Arasbaran (Kaleybar) and Hir (Qazvin) in Iran.

The fruit of Dogberry has the sour taste. From the ripe fruit of this plant compotes and jams are produced or it is consumed in the form of the Dehydrated shape such as dried sour cherry.

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Dogberry Festival

Kaleybar because of its especial place that is located in between of the tall mountains has the special weather, this kind of weather is very suitable for growing the Dogberry. It could be argued that this plant is the symbol of identity of Kaleybar. In the end of the summer, the ripe Dogberries are selling in the most shops around the main street. In the recent years, the Kaleybar governor with a holding of Dogberry Festival has attempted to promote the commercial production and marketing.

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Dogberry medicinal properties

According to the obtained results in a recent study, has been said that consume the Dogberry fruit has antidiabetic effects and it can improve the changes of the pancreas during the diabetes sickness that these effects are maybe due to the anthocyanin and other antioxidant compounds that they are found in this fruit. Other medicinal properties of  Dogberry also been extensively studied and reported in specialized magazines.

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Dogberry wood

Dogberry wood has high density and unlike the other woods, it is not immersed in water. So because of this characteristic, this kind of wood in making a bunch of tools and car parts has great values. After the seventh century BC, the Greeks used charcoal wood in making spears and bows. Extensive use of charcoal wood in Weaponry made this word as the synonym of the spear. Until some years ago this kind of wood was selling in the Ahar city. From there that most of these woods are coming from the Arasbaran forest the government made bought and sell them limit to protect nature.

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