On the Ocassion of Tiregan

Persian holidays, in tune with nature, cycles in observance of the four seasons. Mehregan, in the fall, Shabeh Yalda in the winter, Norooz in the Spring, and the legend of Tiregan in the Summer. Tiregan, the ancient rain festival celebrated in July, commemorates archangel Tir (arrow) or Tishtar (lightning bolt) who appeared in the sky to generate thunder and lightning for much needed rain. The legend of Arash-e Kamangir settles a land dispute between Iran and Turan, which lacked adequate rain. Arash was chosen to shoot his arrow on the 13th day of Tir and where the arrow landed, there would lie the border between the two kingdoms. Once the border of Turan and Iran were settled, peace and rain poured onto the two countries (Wikipedia: Tiregan).

The Iranian has more on the Zoroastrian customs and celebration of Arash-e Kamangir and Tiregan : http://www.iranian.com/History/2003/July/Tir/index.html.

For reasons which I continue to speculate, Asheh Reshte and Shole Zard are traditional dishes prepared to honor the legend of the Kamangir. Even in the summer, Asheh Reshteh, a deliciously, flavorful, rich spinach soup with fresh Persian noodles, was comforting beyond measure. The entire bowl disappeared faster than you could say "Ey Arash-e Kamangir!" The recipe is simple and straight forward, but as with all Persian cuisine, requires an intensely slow cooking process with several layers of savory flavors.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup green lentils
Water to cook lentils
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans (multi-colored is best)
1 navy beans beans

3/4 lb fresh baby spinach, rough chop
1 bunch+ green onions, rough chop
1 bunch parsley (optional), rough chop

2 teaspoons+ flour
Warm water

Salt, pepper, turmeric to taste

1 package raw Persian noodles

8-10 cups filter water to cover soup pot

Garnish:
2 large onions, diced, caramelized
4 cloves of garlic, crushed, caramelized
2 tablespoons mint, dried and minced
2 tablespoons+ olive oil
Vegan Kashk: Better than Sour Cream thinned with fresh squeezed lemon juice

Cook the lentils until tender, drain, and add cooked lentils to large pot. Optional: save water and add to soup pot for creamier texture.

Caramelize onions, add half to lentils mixture, set aside the other half.

Add other cans of beans to soup pot, cover with water, and cook for 5 minutes until beans heated through. Add spinach, green onions, and parsley. Allow to slowly simmer for 15 minutes until greens are fully cooked/wilted. Soup pot should be covered with water.

Mix flour with warm water to create thickener. Slow mix into the soup pot to thicken bean/spinach mixture. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Add raw noodles. Break noodles into thirds. Add salt, pepper, and turmeric to taste. The soup mixture should be a minty green color, from the spinach and turmeric. Allow to simmer until noodles are tender. Add filtered water as necessary to achieve the creamiest"ash" consistency.

Meanwhile, caramelize crushed garlic and dried mint leaves in olive oil until they appear a golden, yellow color. Set aside to cool.

Ladle Asheh Reshteh into a large soup pot and garnish with caramelized onions, garlic/mint, and vegan kashk. Serve immediately and prepare for a savory, delicious, summer comfort food.

Can you see the favrahar styled by the garnishes? V gave it a good shot.

A steaming bowl: perfect. The images don't justify the intense tastes and pleasures of this dish, just trust that Arash and his Tir knew what they were doing when celebrating their victory with a nice bowl of Ash.

Next post: Sholeh Zard

Chelo Kabob Koobideh

For my first attempt to veganize a steadfastly un-veganizeable Persian dish, I needed to tackle the national dish of Persians: Chelo Kabob. When Persians go out to eat, the place to go is a chelo kabob restaurant. For outdoor celebrations, Persians barbeque kabob and wrap with warn naan. 13-bedar, for example, is one of those occasions, where Persians stream into the local park en masse 13 days after Persian New Year (Norooz, or "New Day") and make kabob.

I can typically find something vegan on every restaurant menu (even the loathed steakhouse has a vegetable entree), but always forced to eat white rice and salad whenever I end up at the chelo kabob resaurant.

With Norooz quickly approaching, just five days until the first day of Spring (!), this is one feat I needed to conquer.

I made a simple Chelo with Tahdig (see previous post), along with kabob and Salad Shirazi.

Vegan Kabob Koobideh

1 package Gimme Lean Sausage
1 medium onion, grated very finely or blended
2 cloves garlic,minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 bunch cilantro, chopped finely
2 tablespoons sumac
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 squeeze of lemon juice, about 1 teaspoon

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Mixing with your hands is the best method. Form into small, flat patties. Refrigerate for one hour or more, best if overnight.

The Gimme Lean has zero fat, but we decided to try it on a Foreman grill. It turned out good, but a tad dry. I would suggest brushing with olive oil to keep the meat moist. Serve covered with pita or lavash bread to keep warm. We used whole wheat Afghan barbari because that's what the store downstairs had.



After refrigerating the patties overnight, my partner in crime made them for lunch the next day by browning them in grapeseed oil. The results: delicious! The flavors had time to marinate overnight, and the extra oil helped to keep the kabob koobideh moist and flavorful. I recommend this method of cooking, rationalizing that you are cutting A LOT of fat and toxins by veganizing koobideh in the first place.

Here it is cooking:



And plated with rice:





Salad Shirazi

3 Persian cucumbers, chopped
1 large tomato, seeded, chopped
1 half yellow onion, chopped
Juice of one lemon
Salt and Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)

Mix together for an incredible, accompanying salad to your chelo kabob. This salad is refreshing and tasty, and goes well especially with rice dishes or topping a sandwich.

Spicy Kale Tomato Sauce with Brown Rice Pasta

I got some lovely Red Russian Kale from the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market and was inspired to use my kale in a spicy tomato sauce. Any jarred tomato sauce will do and you can add layers of flavor with sauteed onions, garlic, extra herbs (I used dried basil and oregano), and fresh tomatoes. For protein, I added a can of white cannellini beans, which is another current obsession. I happen to LOVE spicy tomato sauce so added almost a 1 teaspoon of red chile flakes. I added the kale at the end after letting the sauce simmer for a good 10 minutes, so I didn't cook all the nutritional value out of the kale. As an added bonus, I purchased the kale two weeks ago, but it was still fresh when I was ready to use it. My pasta was served over brown rice pasta tubes (which were suprisingly good and pasta-like).

A Blog For Vegan Persian Food...

But first Veganize IT! Mac 'n Cheese. I spent a lot of time hunting down this recipe so it is fitting for the inaugural day of the blog to post it. No worries, the blog will be dedicated to all things Persian and Middle Eastern, but for now people, bring on the vegan goodness of mac n' cheese. Pictures to follow when I actually make it this weekend! Recipe is courtesy of VegNews.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Serves 6

4 quarts water
1 tablespoon sea salt
8 ounces macaroni
4 slices of bread, torn into large pieces, or breadcrumbs or Panko flakes
2 tablespoons + 1/3 cup non-hydrogenated margarine
2 tablespoons shallots, peeled and chopped
1 cup red or yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup water
1/4 cup raw cashews (I like to add more to make it extra creamy)
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon paprika

1. In a large pot, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until al dente. In a colander, drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

2. In a food processor, make breadcrumbs
by pulverizing the bread and 2 tablespoons
margarine to a medium-fine texture. Set aside. You can use breadcrumbs or Panko flakes and mix with vegan margarine.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan,
add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion, and
water, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and
simmer for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are
very soft.

4. In a blender, process the cashews, salt,
garlic, cup margarine, mustard, lemon juice,
black pepper, and cayenne. Add softened
vegetables and cooking water to the blender
and process until perfectly smooth.

5. In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta and
blended cheese sauce until completely coated.
Spread mixture into a 9 x 12 casserole dish,
sprinkle with prepared breadcrumbs, and
dust with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the top has turned golden brown.