mast o khiar (persian yogurt and cucumber dip)

This is good. I mean, this is really, really good. & it’s actually healthy.

My favorite snack last week. Scooped this up with some rice-and-nut crackers. A little sweet, a little savory, and very cooling from the mint and yogurt. Perfect snack for a hot August day!

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4 cups plain yogurt
2 cups chopped or grated cucumber
2 tbsp dry mint
1/2 cup chopped nuts, like walnuts (pecans were good, too)
1/2 cup raisins
salt and pepper, to taste
(optional: sprinkle dried rose petals over the top for a floral flavor and/or a fancy look)

mix, refrigerate at least 30 mins, and serve with anything to dip, like lavash or pita bread, crackers, or veggies.

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adapted by friedsig from unicorns in the kitchen

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Unicorns in the Kitchen says that the raisins and nuts have a warming nature, and the yogurt and mint has a cooling nature, so this dish is balanced. (She is from Iran and lived in Turkey, so she knows what she’s talking about, unlike me!)

Of course, once I made this recipe and thought, “How have I never heard of this before?!” I realized I HAD posted a very similar recipe to this five years ago, as abdoogh khiar (5-minute cold cucumber yogurt soup). I am not sure that I think of this as a soup, but what differentiates a soup and a dip? Is it consistency? Is this veering too close to the “is a hot dog a sandwich?” debate?

Thanks to Unicorns in the Kitchen for this amazing recipe. Definitely my new favorite way to use endless summer cucumber gifts from the coworkers whose gardens weren’t completely destroyed by a freak hail storm!

If you’re one of those people with the incredibly lucky “problem” of working from home during COVID-19 and being allowed to snack all day, this is the kind of healthy snack that you can chomp on mindlessly all day. (Also… if this is a problem for you… is your job hiring?)

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What if you don’t like fruit and nuts? If you’re into the cooling, high-summer “cucumber and plain yogurt” vibe, this fennel and cucumber salad is delicious. If you are looking for something warming, though, I highly, highly recommend this Sichuan cucumber salad! If you want something that tastes like a Jersey sub sandwich, and has a mixture of those cooling and warming flavors, this charred onion and cucumber salad has that flavor that would be perfect on a sandwich!

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torshi tareh (persian sour spinach)

200 g fresh cilantro/coriander, finely chopped
250 g fresh spinach, finely chopped (or any dark leafy greens)
2 tablespoons dried mint
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
5 eggs
lemon juice or grape verjuice, to taste
canola oil and butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 1/2 cups water
salt & pepper to taste

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heat onions in oil. when golden, add garlic and turmeric powder and saute for 1 minute.
add spinach and saute a few minutes. add cilantro, water, salt, pepper, and simmer over med-low til cooked.

dissolve flour in 3 tablespoons of cold water; pour it into the stew and stir. Add butter and lemon juice to taste (you want it sour!) and stir well.

crack the eggs into the center of the pot, do not stir.

cover the pot and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Then stir gently, cover the pot and cook until the eggs are set.

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recipe by cookingandcooking

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A great, simple way to switch up your dark leafy green routine! Great served with other Persian food, like Shirazi salad, cold cucumber yogurt soup, or lentil & butternut squash stew. I ate it with rice and plain yogurt as a great, healthy breakfast!

There are a ton of bugs going around right now – in my area, a stomach flu, pneumonia, and strep groups A and C. This combo of turmeric, garlic, and dark leafy greens is a perfect boost for your immune system! Take care of yourself as the seasons change and eat some veggies!

persian chopped salad

Shirazi salad, also known as Persian chopped salad, is an amazing bright, fresh, and summery vegan treat. It doesn’t get much healthier than this raw crunchy salad.

The only necessary ingredients here are a veggie or two, lemon or lime juice, and something herby. It’s too early in the season here for fresh garden herbs, but dry mint was great in this!

Chop any combination of the following:
raw fresh cucumbers
raw fresh tomatoes
raw onion
raw garlic
fresh hot chili pepper
fresh herbs like mint, parsley, or cilantro

Add chickpeas if you like. (I do!)

Dress with lemon or lime juice, and any combination of salt and pepper, dry or fresh mint, dry or fresh dill, and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

(If you’re leaving out the fresh herbs, make sure to add extra citrus, and some dried herbs like dill-and-garlic seasoning or capitol hill blend!

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recipe adapted from a variety of sources, including Persian mama and Cleveland clinic.

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Similar to a fattoush or “Israeli salad” – this infinitely adaptable salad goes with everything. I highly recommend the chickpeas. Chickpeas add an interesting texture, and lots of protein and fiber!

If you like spicy, Sichuan cucumber salad is your best bet. But what if you want something clean and fresh, not doused in spicy oil? The dry mint in this recipe makes it super refreshing.

This is basically a textbook example of a “detox meal” – something that makes you feel alive again after a winter of eating junk food like super-greasy crispy fried tofu. Easy to make low-sodium, great for a potluck, and a great way to use local veggies from your backyard garden or your farmers’ market.

It doesn’t get much healthier than this!

advieh (persian spice mix)

this persian spice mix is used for khoresh (advieh-ye khoresh)

add this to your chicken and eggplant stew for amazing flavor. or add it to stir-fry or soups!

2 T cinnamon
2 T dried rose petals
1 t ground cardamom
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 t ground angelica
1 t ground nutmeg
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander seed
1 t dried persian lime powder

grind, mix, and store in an airtight container

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from New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies by Najmieh Batmanglij – a beautiful book heavy on the recipes – so nice to see a cookbook that isn’t mainly focused on art, layout, and food photography – although the photography sprinkled throughout is very nice, and the persian art is even better, the book is squarely focused on the recipes and not the aesthetic. probably the best cookbook i have read all year.

abdoogh khiar (5-minute cold cucumber yogurt soup)

Looking for a very healthy and very fast snack to add to a healthy meal? Maybe you have the heat cranked up and you’re pretending it’s summer. Maybe you just have something summery to celebrate. Maybe you worked up a sweat shoveling snow, and you want to cool off. Or maybe you need something cold and refreshing to enjoy with a spicy, hearty stew.

This Persian cold soup, from aashpazi, looks like a delicious variation of an Indian raita!

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Just dice 2 cucumbers into 1/2 cup shredded walnuts, a ton of fresh herbs (they recommend tarragon, mint, basil, and chives, but whatever you have in the house will be good,) and 1/4 c raisins. Stir in 2 cups of yogurt and 6-8 ice cubes, with water if you prefer. Season with salt and pepper. Top with dried mint and rose leaves. (or not.)

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adapted from aashpazi… check out the photos of the rose petals on top!

ghalieh kadoo (easy one-pot persian lentil & butternut squash stew)

Fast, easy, vegetarian, cooked in one pot, super healthy, and just a few ingredients! This is a traditional Persian recipe.

an onion, minced
oil
1 medium butternut squash, skin & seeds removed, cut into 2 in. chunks
150g lentils (3/4 c.)
3 c water
salt & pepper
1 T lemon juice

Fry an onion in oil until golden. Add everything but the lemon juice and simmer on med-low, covered, until water is mostly absorbed. Turn off heat and add lemon juice before serving.

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modified from cooking and cooking