As a vast country with diverse local traditions, one of the highlights in traveling to Iran can be the pleasures of the table.
Discovering Delicious Iranian Foods: Exploring Kababs, Khoreshts, Ash, and More
Iran, a land steeped in history and culture, beckons travelers with a tantalizing promise: the delights of its cuisine. This vast country, with its diverse local traditions, offers a culinary journey like no other. One of the highlights of visiting Iran is undoubtedly the opportunity to savor its Iranian dishes, and the term “Iranian food” is a gateway to a world of flavor waiting to be explored.
In every city and geographical region, Iran boasts a plethora of mouthwatering dishes, each with its own unique charm. Amid this diversity, there are certain culinary staples that you can encounter almost anywhere in the country. In every city and geographical region, there are many foods to try and there are certain dishes that you can find almost everywhere. But all these diversity can be but in certain categories so when reading a strange name like “khoresht Gheimeh” you would be able to know some basic things about the Iranian foods.
- The generic names:
“Kabab” is a generic name that basically means grilled meat. So anytime you see this name you know basically what it is. That being said, there are many different types of Kabab from fillet (Barg) to grind lamb or beef (Koubideh) to chicken (Jujeh). In many cities and regions different seasonings are added to meat so remember this is only a generic name.
Kabab is usually served in two ways, one is with vegetable sidings including grilled tomato and fresh mint and basil leaves, and also with cooked rice: “Polo” or “Chelo”. These are two different ways of cooking rice but almost similar.
“Khoresht” is another generic name that covers a big category of different Iranian foods dishes. Khoresh or Khoresht is a kind of stew, usually rich and thick, which is served with Polo. you will put some of the Khoresh on the Polo and eat them together. There are many types of Khoresht including “Ghormeh Sabzi” which has a combination of many vegetables in it, to “Gheymeh” which has split pea and fried potato, and many many more.
“Ash” make another big category. It is basically a soup but usually richer. It can have vegetables, or meat or pasta-noodle shaped dough in it.
These Iranian foods and dishes are served for lunch and dinner. For breakfast, in addition to the usual stuff like butter and jam or honey with fresh bread, different types of eggs, etc, there are some really heavy foods: “Halim” is one of them. It is a type of stew that includes wheat and meat. It comes with sugar and sesame and butter.
These are just the basics of Iranian foods. There are countless varieties in each of these categories; so make sure to try something new every time! Bon appetit!
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