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Eating
in Iran:
Pleasures of
Persian Cuisine
Persian dine on carpets not tables.
This is a ceiling painting of the
House of the Sardar of Maku
The
traditional Iranian table setting firstly
involves the tablecloth, called sofreh, which
is often generally embroidered with traditional
prayers and/or poetry, and is spread out over
a Persian rug or table. Main dishes are concentrated
in the center, surrounded by smaller dishes
containing appetizers, condiments, side dishes,
as well as bread, all of which are nearest
to the diners. These latter dishes are called
mokhalafat (accompaniments). When the food
has been served, an invitation is made to
all those seated at the sofreh to help themselves.---Wikipedia
To learn much more
about eating in Iran (Persian cuisine) click
here.
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WIranians
shopping in Shiraz Bazaar
Iran Nostalgia: familiar scenes & things
all Iran Peace Corps community members will recognize
Bread baked
in sheets
KaKabob/kebob shops
MeMelons: a vital refreshing
fruit in a desert land....after tea,
serving melon to a guest is an Iranian hospitality
tradition.
Persian language peach is
"holu."
The Latin scientific name Amygdalus persica
indicates the significant connection the fruit
has with Persia (Iran). Despite the fact that
peaches originate in China.
Persian Cookery by
Nassrollah Islami
...a well-used recipe book published in the 1960's
Picnics in the shade near
running water: a much loved pasttime
Pomegranates: an Iranian favorite
cooking ingredient
Drinking hot tea in tiny handle-less
glasses, (getting calloused fingertips)
A Book of Verses underneath the bough
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness--
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!
---from the Rubaiyat
of Omar Khayyam
AA Book of Verses un
My
son, when you are invited to a dinner party,
do not glance too often towards the kitchen,
ot pay too close attention to the direction
from which the food will appear; keep the
reins of restrant in hand, be master of yourself.
Never
be the first to reach for the food, not consider
it proper to begin before the others. Likewise,
never be the last to withdraw your hand from
the platter, lest the guests judge your soul
to be gluttonous, or consider greed your master
and appetite the measure of your personality.
On
such occasions, then, avoid these faults which
I have mentioned, and consider abstention
the prerequisite of patience, firmness and
deliberation.
---Ebn
Moqaffa (eighth century Persia)
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Loerness--
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!C
Learn more about Persian cuisine
and eating in Iran:
New
Food of Life: Ancient
Persian and Modern Iranian
Cooking and Ceremonies by Najmieh Batmanglij
Sample
recipes from Najmieh Batmanglij's
books
Wikipedia:
Iranian Cuisine
Iranian
Food Culture
Photo Credits:
--"Shiraz bazaar" photos by James
P. Blair (National Geographic Magazine,
Jan. 1975)
--"sheet bread," and "picnic"
photos by Roloff Beny and published in Persia:
Bridge of Turquoise, NY Graphic Society,
Boston, 1975.
--Rubaiyat
image from Persian Poetry section of
Wikipedia
--Remaining images by The Food Museum or
public domain from the Internet
Note: all effort has been
to give proper credit and use for educational
purposes only. If anyone notices images
that are copy protected, please contact
us and we will remove them or give proper
credit.
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eace
Corps Connection
P.O. Box 67755
Albuquerque, NM 87193
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