The New Persian Kitchen (29 page)
Read The New Persian Kitchen Online
Authors: Louisa Shafia
cardamom coffee
serves 1
makes 8 cups
makes 2 cups tea mix
sekanjabin
makes 5 cups concentrate, enough for twenty 1-cup servings of tonic
pickles and preserves
In Iran, coffee is known as
ghahveh Turk
, or Turkish coffee, because it’s prepared and drunk in the Turkish style: sweet, dark, and thick with coffee grounds. Like Persian tea, Persian coffee is often flavored with cardamom. Try adding cardamom to your morning brew—the combination of peppery-sweet cardamom with bitter coffee (or black tea) is simply sublime, especially when topped off with a splash of milk or cream. I recommend starting out with just ¼ teaspoon of cardamom per cup, but you can boost the flavor by adding more.
ghahveh Turk
, or Turkish coffee, because it’s prepared and drunk in the Turkish style: sweet, dark, and thick with coffee grounds. Like Persian tea, Persian coffee is often flavored with cardamom. Try adding cardamom to your morning brew—the combination of peppery-sweet cardamom with bitter coffee (or black tea) is simply sublime, especially when topped off with a splash of milk or cream. I recommend starting out with just ¼ teaspoon of cardamom per cup, but you can boost the flavor by adding more.
serves 11 tablespoon whole or ground coffee beans
3 whole cardamom pods, or ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
6 ounces hot water
If you’re starting with whole coffee beans, combine the coffee beans and cardamom pods in a coffee grinder and grind finely. If you’re starting with ground coffee, combine the coffee with the ground cardamom.
Brew the coffee as you normally would. Add milk or sweetener, if desired, or pour over ice.
Coffee, A Heavenly Brew
naturally sweet dried lime teaAlthough tea is the preferred hot beverage in Iran, coffee was once as popular there as it is throughout the West today, consumed liberally and propagated through a lively culture of coffeehouses that gave Persian men a place to assemble and exchange ideas. Coffee first appeared in Iran some time between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, reportedly discovered by a sheikh of the Sufi Muslim faith who had sampled it while traveling in Ethiopia, where coffee originates. Noting its energizing effects, he brought it north to Yemen to aid the Sufi mystics in their marathon whirling dervish dances, and from there its appeal spread to Sufi communities in Iran and throughout the Middle East. Over time, coffee would be widely embraced by secular Persians as well, and even praised by doctors for its medicinal uses. Coffee remained immensely popular until black tea—easier to source from nearby China and to cultivate locally—became Iran’s eye-opener of choice in the nineteenth century.
When I first tasted this lime-scented tea in an Arabic restaurant in Brooklyn, I couldn’t get over how sweet it was, though the server insisted that there was absolutely no sugar in it. He was right: the tea is naturally sweetened by the dried limes. Lime tea is very refreshing served over ice, which gives it a more mild, diluted flavor, but I like to drink it hot, too. If you find the flavor too intense, just dilute the tea with more water. It also makes a deliciously bittersweet addition to cocktails. Use it much as you would lime juice or lemonade in cocktails like a margarita or a gimlet.
makes 8 cups4 dried limes
1 cup hot water
7 cups cold water
Ice cubes (optional)
Soak the limes in the hot water for 15 minutes. Drain off the water into a pot. Add the cold water and bring to a boil.
Pierce the limes several times with a fork, or make incisions in them with a paring knife. Add the limes to the boiling water and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. The water will turn a very subtle green from the limes. Press the limes against the side of the pot to extract as much liquid and flavor as possible, then remove. Drink the tea warm or serve over ice.
winter orchard teaA jar of quince and orange tea is like a miniature garden. Close your eyes and take a deep breath of its honeyed bouquet and be transported to a lush, blooming oasis. Intoxicating rose petals make this tea distinctly Persian—an inspiration from my friend Nini, whose Tay Tea line boasts a blend called Persian Rose—while the cloves conjure the sweet scent of
Christmas. Make this tea in winter, when quinces and oranges are in season, by simply drying the peels. Mix the blend with black tea leaves for a bittersweet, caffeinated boost. To serve, place about 2 teaspoons of the tea in a small tea ball and steep it in a mug of hot water for 3 to 5 minutes.
Christmas. Make this tea in winter, when quinces and oranges are in season, by simply drying the peels. Mix the blend with black tea leaves for a bittersweet, caffeinated boost. To serve, place about 2 teaspoons of the tea in a small tea ball and steep it in a mug of hot water for 3 to 5 minutes.
makes 2 cups tea mix3 oranges
2 quinces
1 tablespoon dried rose petals or dried whole rosebuds pulled apart and stems removed
5 whole cloves
¼ to ½ cup black tea leaves, depending on your taste (optional)
Scrub the fruits and dry them thoroughly. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the oranges carefully so that only the orange part of the rind is removed, and not the bitter white part. Cut the quinces into thin strips, all the way down to the core, using the entire fruit.
Lay the orange peel and quince shavings on a cooling rack, screen, or baking sheet, and dry for 48 hours in a warm place, like the stove top. Mix the orange peels and quince with the rose petals and cloves. If you want a caffeinated tea, add the black tea leaves to the mix. Store in an airtight glass container at room temperature.
Watermelon, Mint, and Cider Vinegar Tonic
sekanjabin
This refreshing mixture of nourishing cider vinegar and juicy watermelon is restorative and hydrating on a hot day. The mixture of vinegar and sugar is a time-honored Persian
sharbat
, or fruit essence drink, that’s also used for dipping crisp romaine lettuce leaves in warm weather, another distinctly Persian way to hydrate. Just put a bowl of this beverage alongside a plate of romaine leaves and that’s it: your salad is complete! Use raw, unfiltered cider vinegar to complement the taste of the watermelon.
sharbat
, or fruit essence drink, that’s also used for dipping crisp romaine lettuce leaves in warm weather, another distinctly Persian way to hydrate. Just put a bowl of this beverage alongside a plate of romaine leaves and that’s it: your salad is complete! Use raw, unfiltered cider vinegar to complement the taste of the watermelon.
makes 5 cups concentrate, enough for twenty 1-cup servings of tonic3 cups water, plus more to serve
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup good-quality honey
6 cups coarsely chopped watermelon
1 cup tightly packed fresh spearmint
1 cup cider vinegar
Ice cubes
Sliced watermelon, sliced unwaxed cucumber, and spearmint, for garnish
Bring the 3 cups water and the salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the honey, stir to dissolve, and remove from the heat.
Combine the watermelon and mint in a large bowl. Stir in the honey-water and let cool to room temperature, then add the vinegar. Steep the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours or up to overnight.
Strain the mixture and eat the watermelon chunks, if desired. Pour the concentrate into a clean glass jar, and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To serve, pour ¼ cup of the concentrate into a glass over ice and dilute with ¾ cup water. Garnish with the watermelon, cucumber, and mint.
Evoking
the legendary “walled gardens” of ancient Persia, the shelves of Persian grocery stores are lined with brilliantly colored bottles of preserves, from date molasses and bitter orange jam to grape syrup and carob paste. Meanwhile, the pickle section is full of strange concoctions like garlic and tiny grapes in brine, or the crushed whirl of green, white, and orange that is
torshi
, the sharply acidic pickle mix of vegetables and herbs that’s one of Iran’s essential condiments. In the rose water aisle, you’ll find fleets of gleaming glass bottles with bright pink, red, and green labels, as if announcing the fragrant flowers captured inside.
the legendary “walled gardens” of ancient Persia, the shelves of Persian grocery stores are lined with brilliantly colored bottles of preserves, from date molasses and bitter orange jam to grape syrup and carob paste. Meanwhile, the pickle section is full of strange concoctions like garlic and tiny grapes in brine, or the crushed whirl of green, white, and orange that is
torshi
, the sharply acidic pickle mix of vegetables and herbs that’s one of Iran’s essential condiments. In the rose water aisle, you’ll find fleets of gleaming glass bottles with bright pink, red, and green labels, as if announcing the fragrant flowers captured inside.
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