Persian Cooking: A Table of Exotic Delights
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
PERSIAN COOKING: A TABLE OF EXOTIC DELIGHTS is collection of 322 authentic recipes from the world's oldest cuisine. Clear and concise instructions make the dishes turn out exactly as they are supposed to.
Persian cooking is based on lamb, fruits, vegetables and grains, used in subtle and varied combinations. The food is neither highly spiced nor hot but seasoned with herbs. It is very nutritious. Many of the dishes are suitable for vegetarians and in many others, meat may be easily omitted. The dishes can be made from ingredients found in almost any market. A guide to speciality stores where hard-to-find ingredients, which are used in a few dishes, can be found is also included.
Rice preparation, which has often been observed defines the quality of the Persian chef, is covered in detail.
Half Persian and half English, Nesta Ramazani has lived in both countries, making her uniquely qualified to offer these recipes. During a one year return visit to Iran she picked the brains of both professional chef and housewife. She also consulted Rosa Montazemi's classical Persian language cookbook, Honar-e Ashpazi. Back in America, she tested and tried out the hundreds of dishes and rendered the recipes to exact American measurements and timing.
The author observes: "Here is a culinary art so highly developed that the most lowly vegetable can taste divine, every meal can be a gastronomic treat, every cook a creative artist."
Mrs. Ramazani also includes a historical and cultural introduction to the food of Persia. The background of many of the dishes are also explained through engaging anecdotes.
Included are: 322 recipes from all regions of Iran: soups, ashes, stews (khoresht and khorak), dolmehs, boranis, vegetables, salads, rice dishes (pollos and chelos), kababs, breads (nan), sweets, desserts, sharbats and pickles (torshis). Photographs of prepared dishes. A short dictionary of Persian culinary terms. A guide to grocery stores outside of Iran where hard-to-find ingredients may be obtained. A historical and cultural guide to Persian cuisine.
From the Inside Flap
If Scheherazade had to depend on her culinary imagination to persuade the King to spare her, she doubtless would have told him about recipes such as these. There is a succulent dish, she might have begun, called Shirin Pollo, wherein rice is enfolded with strips of chicken, sweetened orange peel, pistachios and almonds. . . . On nights to follow she might whet his appetite with Fessenjoon, chicken stewed in pomegranate syrup and walnuts, or Meat and Parsley Soup with Green Plums, Roast Partridges in Cream, Lamb Hearts with Cinnamon or Cranberry and October Bean Soup.
After she had delved into the kookoos (souffls), the kebabs, the dolemahs, the game birds, vegetables, salads, breads and pickles, she might turn to the sweetsElephants Ears, Persian Marzipan, Sweet Fingers, the sherbets and cold sweet drinks. She would soon have the King eating out of her hand, for Persian cuisine offers something for even the most sophisticated of gourmets in search of new epicurean delights.
The oldest cuisine known to man, Persian cooking is based on lamb, fruits, vegetables and grains, used in subtle and varied combinations. The food is neither highly spiced nor hot but seasoned with herbs. It is very nutritious and very economical requiring minimum amounts of meat. Many dishes are easy to prepare ahead of time and well suited to reheating-they make good leftovers.
As Mrs. Ramazani writes: Here is a culinary art so highly developed that the most lowly vegetable can taste divine, every meal can be a gastronomic treat, every cook a creative artist.
Persian Cooking: A Table of Exotic Delights
Persian Cooking: A Table of Exotic Delights,Nesta Ramazani,Ibex Publishers,0936347775,Cookery, Iranian,Cooking,Cooking / Wine,Regional & Ethnic - General,Regional & Ethnic - Middle Eastern,National & regional cuisine,Persian Empire
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