A note on Persian food

by Guest Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:57 pm

1. There seems to be no usage of chili in persian food. One remembers that in the Ain I Akbari of Abul Fazl there is no mention of chili in the various recipes given for foods prepared in the royal kitchens of Emperor Akbar. And indeed chili made its first appearance in India after Akbar's death.

2. The various flatbreads and also sweets like jalebi are of better quality in a persian establishment than in an Indian one when it comes to North America.

by Guest Sun Mar 24, 2013 11:04 pm

When it comes to persian breads I like the taftoon and the sanghak. There is also lavash which is not bad and then there are various other breads as well.

by Guest Sun Mar 24, 2013 11:24 pm

And oh yes, Persians claim that they make the best rice. And one has to say that the rice in a persian restaurant is very flavorful.

by Merlot Daruwala Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:41 am

Rashmun wrote:1. There seems to be no usage of chili in persian food. One remembers that in the Ain I Akbari of Abul Fazl there is no mention of chili in the various recipes given for foods prepared in the royal kitchens of Emperor Akbar. And indeed chili made its first appearance in India after Akbar's death.

What is the connection between Persian cuisine and the food in Akbar's court? There might be a closer connection to Turkish cuisine given the Mughals' Central Asian roots.

Rashmun wrote:2. The various flatbreads and also sweets like jalebi are of better quality in a persian establishment than in an Indian one when it comes to North America.

I tried Persian cuisine at the much-acclaimed Lala Rokh in Boston some years back but came back unimpressed. The low-key Afghan food at Helmand in Cambridge, I thought, was much better.

by Guest Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:57 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
Rashmun wrote:1. There seems to be no usage of chili in persian food. One remembers that in the Ain I Akbari of Abul Fazl there is no mention of chili in the various recipes given for foods prepared in the royal kitchens of Emperor Akbar. And indeed chili made its first appearance in India after Akbar's death.

What is the connection between Persian cuisine and the food in Akbar's court? There might be a closer connection to Turkish cuisine given the Mughals' Central Asian roots.

Rashmun wrote:2. The various flatbreads and also sweets like jalebi are of better quality in a persian establishment than in an Indian one when it comes to North America.

I tried Persian cuisine at the much-acclaimed Lala Rokh in Boston some years back but came back unimpressed. The low-key Afghan food at Helmand in Cambridge, I thought, was much better.

With respect to persian food, as with all foods, the establishment you are eating in matters a lot. Check out this review of persian food:

http://www.shantanughosh.com/2010/09/hot-as-hell-in-houston.html

----
The absence of chilli in persian food and also in Mughal food at the time of Akbar was interesting I thought. Further a lot of persian food (and also afghan food) seems similar to Kashmiri food. Of course there are subtle differences as in the spices used but despite this there seems to be a similarity in the way the food is prepared. Further most of the persian flatbreads are also to be found in Kashmir. Scroll down to read the last paragraph on Kashmiri breads all of which are also persian breads:

http://www.shantanughosh.com/2007/11/not-just-parathas.html

by Merlot Daruwala Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:30 am

Rashmun wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:
Rashmun wrote:1. There seems to be no usage of chili in persian food. One remembers that in the Ain I Akbari of Abul Fazl there is no mention of chili in the various recipes given for foods prepared in the royal kitchens of Emperor Akbar. And indeed chili made its first appearance in India after Akbar's death.

What is the connection between Persian cuisine and the food in Akbar's court? There might be a closer connection to Turkish cuisine given the Mughals' Central Asian roots.

Rashmun wrote:2. The various flatbreads and also sweets like jalebi are of better quality in a persian establishment than in an Indian one when it comes to North America.

I tried Persian cuisine at the much-acclaimed Lala Rokh in Boston some years back but came back unimpressed. The low-key Afghan food at Helmand in Cambridge, I thought, was much better.

With respect to persian food, as with all foods, the establishment you are eating in matters a lot. Check out this review of persian food:

http://www.shantanughosh.com/2010/09/hot-as-hell-in-houston.html

I failed to see anything exclusively Persian in what he ate, other than the names. The Doogh sounds no different from the Ayran found all over the Middle East. Mast Khair is just Persian for Tzatziki. And the kubideh is like any kebab you get in the middle-east, except for that vague reference to "Persian" spices. Other than this, he had hummus and "persian" tea.

You can see more distinctly Persian items in the Lala Rokh menu.

Rashmun wrote:The absence of chilli in persian food and also in Mughal food at the time of Akbar was interesting I thought.

Why? Chilli (and potato) reached the Indian sub-continent only in the 17th or 18th century through the Portuguese. It must have reached Persia even later. It's a testament to Indian cuisine's innovativeness and adaptability that it embraced this exciting condiment so wholeheartedly that a sans-chilli regime is unthinkable today. Persian cuisine, OTOH, still remains rooted in its pre-modern tradition.

by Guest Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:41 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
Rashmun wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:
Rashmun wrote:1. There seems to be no usage of chili in persian food. One remembers that in the Ain I Akbari of Abul Fazl there is no mention of chili in the various recipes given for foods prepared in the royal kitchens of Emperor Akbar. And indeed chili made its first appearance in India after Akbar's death.

What is the connection between Persian cuisine and the food in Akbar's court? There might be a closer connection to Turkish cuisine given the Mughals' Central Asian roots.

Rashmun wrote:2. The various flatbreads and also sweets like jalebi are of better quality in a persian establishment than in an Indian one when it comes to North America.

I tried Persian cuisine at the much-acclaimed Lala Rokh in Boston some years back but came back unimpressed. The low-key Afghan food at Helmand in Cambridge, I thought, was much better.

With respect to persian food, as with all foods, the establishment you are eating in matters a lot. Check out this review of persian food:

http://www.shantanughosh.com/2010/09/hot-as-hell-in-houston.html

I failed to see anything exclusively Persian in what he ate, other than the names. The Doogh sounds no different from the Ayran found all over the Middle East. Mast Khair is just Persian for Tzatziki. And the kubideh is like any kebab you get in the middle-east, except for that vague reference to "Persian" spices. Other than this, he had hummus and "persian" tea.

You can see more distinctly Persian items in the Lala Rokh menu.

Rashmun wrote:The absence of chilli in persian food and also in Mughal food at the time of Akbar was interesting I thought.

Why? Chilli (and potato) reached the Indian sub-continent only in the 17th or 18th century through the Portuguese. It must have reached Persia even later. It's a testament to Indian cuisine's innovativeness and adaptability that it embraced this exciting condiment so wholeheartedly that a sans-chilli regime is unthinkable today. Persian cuisine, OTOH, still remains rooted in its pre-modern tradition.

This is the menu in the Kasra where he ate:

http://www.kasrahouston.com/KASRA/MENU.html

Some of the dishes seem a little different. For instance the sauce in the fesenjan. The chicken itself is similar to chicken tikka. Also, the chicken in chicken barg is the same--like chicken tikka. It is wonderfully spiced but there is something missing (for an Indian) when you first eat it and that something is the complete absence of chilli. After a while I got used to it but I know this Pakistani girl who prefers not to go to persian eating places because she finds the food bland due to the absence of chilli.

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