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.

Tahdig Tutorial

Persians notoriusly fight over the "tahdig" or the crispy yumminess that forms at the bottom of the steamed "polo" or rice. I've had my last piece of tahdig, saving to the end to savor as my last bite, shamelessly swiped from my plate while I was distracted or just too full to be able to react. It is, hands down, the best of part of the Persian meal, where the crispy crust absorbs the flavors of the stews or "khoresht" or enjoying the fried, rice crust plain.

There are three known ways of making tahdig: rice, bread (lahvash or pita), or with thinly sliced potatoes. The method below uses a rice crust, but is the basis for all three and can be modified based on your preference.

A note about Persian polo or "chelo." If you are going to make it, you WILL judged by how good it is. Like making tea, a girl will never be married off unless she knows how to make a good chelo. A Persian grandmother once grabbed a full serving platter of rice and threw it in the garbage after only one bite, declaring that "it was unfit to eat." The rice was fine, but it wasn't basmati and a few grains crumbled. Nonetheless, the hours worth of preparation followed the rice into the trash can.

Use good basmati rice, from a middle eastern or indian market. Pari is popular and is sold in many supermarkets now. Pheel Neshan (with a picture of an elephant) is recommended by my Persian grandmother, and she will use Royal Basmati rice if Pheel Neshan isn't available. It is fragrant and flavorful, essential to Persian chelo.

1 cup of rice is about right for two people. Wash the rice three or four times with warm water until the water is more or less clear. Persian grandmothers soak the rice for at least 30 minutes or so, usually while they are preparing either kabob or the stew (khoresht). Bring a large pot of water to boil(with a dash of salt, some oil, and for Shirazis a squeeze of lime), and par-boil the rice until halfway cooked. Drain the rice in a colander.

Cover the bottom of your quart-size pot with oil and heat slightly. Dissolve a pinch or two of ground saffron (the threads work too, but the ground saffron dissolves completely) in a tablespoon of warm water. Add the saffron water to the warmed oil and swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan with saffron color and oil mixture (including an inch up to the side of the pot). Heat oil until the water begins to pop and oil slightly smokes. Add a thick layer of the par-boiled rice, patting it down slightly so that you create a loose cake of rice. Let the oil cook the rice for 60 seconds or so, and then add the rest of the rice. Cover the pot with either a light rag or a few layers of a paper towels to help seal the lid of the pot. Cover with a tight lid. Cook the rice on medium to low flame for about 20 minutes.

The 20 minutes cook time is such a guesstimate. I know my rice is cooked in two ways. Moisten your finger and press quickly against the side of the pot. If it goes "GEEZ" then the pot is hot enough where the tahdig can form. You should be able to smell the fragrant basmati rice at this point. Before it begins to burn, I might stick a fork through the middle of the rice to see if the crusty rice has formed.

When ready, flip over the chelo in all its glory on your plate and serve with vegan kabob (I know you have been waiting for it! Coming up next!) or your favorite khoresht. Just make sure your little, greedy brother doesn't steal your tahdig ration of your plate as you are stuffing your face with yummy rice and fesenjoon.

NOOSHEH JAN!

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).

Khoreshteh Fesenjoon with Tofu (Walnut and Pomegranate Stew)

Fesenjoon is one of the best loved Persian dishes and absolutely my favorite of all Persian khoresht (stews served over rice). Persian families like to serve this savory combination of sweet and tart during the winter months, especially for the Shab-e-Yalda celebration of the winter equinox. On this special night, Persians gather to celebrate the longest night of the year by eating anar (pomegranate) and ajeel (mixed nuts and dried fruits). The celebration traces its roots to the Zoroastrian faith that commemorated the victory of light/the Sun over the evils of darkness. The Romans later adopted this Persian tradition into a festival honoring the god of Saturn. With the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire, the Romans adopted Dec. 25 to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ to coincide with the Roman tradition celebrating the winter equinox.

Alas, the anthropological history of food helps us trace much of our known culture today. I invite you to try something new and expose your taste buds to something unique and really tasty.

Next up: How to make PERFECT basmati rice with a bonus tahdig tutorial.

P.S. To my surprise, theppk.com had this recipe posted already. Since I am not one to measure, I am posting the PPK version as a real recipe to follow.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 cup pomegranate concentrate
Optional: 1/4 cup water, cane sugar to taste
1/2 cup ground walnuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. extra firm tofu


Directions:
Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in the first skillet along with half of the chopped onions over medium heat. Add the 1/2 c. of walnuts ground very fine. (My grandmother uses a food processor to grind the walnuts, but you can grind them with a heavy object as well. They should be ground almost to a paste consistency). Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft. There should be a very distinct, walnut-y smell, but make sure it doesn’t start to burn.

Add the pomegranate concentrate, cane sugar and the optional 1/4 cup of water if it seems a little overwhelmingly pomegranate-y. But remember it should be very tart as the flavors will mellow out with the walnuts!

Simmer the sauce over low heat for about 10 minutes, letting it get nice and thick. The color of the sauce should be a very deep earth brown and almost purple.

In skillet #2, heat another tbsp of olive oil with the remaining onions. Drain extra liquid out of the tofu and crumble it into the skillet in chunks (tofu scramble-style). Let cook, stirring frequently until the water has cooked out of the tofu and it begins to brown. Stir the tofu mixture into the first skillet.

Serve over basmati rice.

Haleem Bademjoon with Vegan Kashk (Lentils and Eggplant with Vegan Whey)

Simple ingredients, incredible taste! This is one of my favorite Persian dishes and is very easy to veganize.

1 Cup Lentils
2 Cups Water
3 Cloves Garlic, peeled + 1 large clove garlic, chopped
2 Large Eggplants, peeled and sliced into rounds
Vegetable Oil as needed
1 Onion, diced
1 Large Shallot, chopped (optional)
1 Tablespoon Dried Mint
1 Pinch Saffron + 1 Tablespoon Hot Water
1/3 Cup Vegan Sour Cream
1.5 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper

Slice peeled eggplants into thin rounds (about 1/4 inch thick). Salt eggplant rounds and place in strainer to release the water. Do this as much as in advance as possible, up to one day or at least 20 minutes.

Dry eggplant well by squeezing water out of them with paper towels. Sauté on medium heat with vegetable oil until eggplant is soft and has brownish color.

Combine lentils, water, and three cloves of garlic in a large pot. Put on medium heat to cook until lentils are tender and easily mashed. When fully cooked, mash lentils and garlic into a paste (adding hot water to soften as necessary).

Sauté and caramelize diced onions until they are soft and achieve deep brown color. Set aside.

Sauté garlic, shallots (optional), and mint (add at the last minute) until soft and brown.

Combine eggplant with lentils and mix/mash well. Add half of the sautéed onion mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mix vegan sour cream with lemon juice to make vegan "kashk". Serve lentils and eggplant mixture with "kashk", rest of the sautéed onions, and garlic/mint mixture. Mix saffron with water to add on top of the kashk for color.

Serve warm or cold with pita bread.

Easy and Tasty Vegan Haricot Verts

One other non-Persian dish I made a while ago. Accompanies brown rice well and perfect for the thanksgiving season.

***
1 small container vegan portobello mushroom soup (available at whole foods)
Three handfuls panko flakes
1 bag frozen haricot verts (thawed) or fancy green beans
10 shitake mushrooms
1 handful sliced raw almonds
Black pepper, garlic powder

***

Slice the shitake mushrooms in thin strips. Mix the box of soup, bag of haricot verts, sliced shitake mushrooms, two handfuls of panko flakes, black pepper, and garlic powder. Top with sliced almonds and last handful of panko flakes. Bake at 375, covered with aluminum foil, until the soup reduces (about 20-30 minutes). Remove foil for the last 5 minutes and broil on high to give almonds color. Enjoy!

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.