Food of Life -- 25th Anniversary Edition: Ancient Persian & Modern Iranian Cooking & Ceremonies

This book is such a treat! I found myself reading it as I would any novel although it definitely made me want to experiment with Persian cooking techniques and ingredients!

For all of you out there who want to get into Persian cooking, this is it! We are not exactly spoiled for choice with books on Persian cuisine. Maybe this is because Najmieh's book is so good that no one else could even come close? The price is steep, yes. But you get two in one: you get the recipe part, which over the years has grown so much that you may have difficulty deciding which dish to cook first; then you get an extensive essay about Persian history and culture. For me, these have always been intertwined and I firmly believe that one cannot truly master the cooking without understanding the history, culture and geography of a people, which are the roots of a cuisine. Najmieh is an exile Iranian lady, full of pride and love for her country and roots, and it shows in this book. Persian cuisine is one of the oldest civilized cuisines in the world. Of course, it has been gifted with Mediterranean foods by the country's conquerors, like the armies of Alexander the Great from Greece; the Turkic tribes from Central Asia; seafaring traders from Arab countries long before the dawn of Islam. (Which cuisine hasn't drawn on foreign influences?) But it has, in turn, influenced more peoples with its own culinary gifts, foods and most namely cooking techniques. Nan-e barbari, for example, may have originally been left behind by Central Asian tribes in a more rudimentary form, then enhanced to perfection by the Persians (yes, a tandoor is Persian!) and finally "exported" by Persia's own armies in a much more refined form on their conquest through Afghanistan, Pakistan, and all the way into northern India. And so have the khoreshes and polos (polo = pilau). But enough of this now. I can, of course, pick holes in this book: 1) Ingredient lists are almost endless. I mean it. Sure, it is better to grind spices for immediate use, and this is what the recipes call for with each of the polos and khoreshes calling for up to a dozen different herbs and spices, but I cannot imagine that Iranian people do this on a daily basis. Thankfully, Najmieh gives us three different recipes for Advieh, the Persian spice mix -- one of these is always suitable for use instead of gathering together a huge array of different individual spices, but you will initially have to find out just how much of which Advieh to use for which dish instead. You can also pass on the garnishes, which are used in Iran only for special occasions. That will make things a lot easier! 2) Portion sizes are enormous. When a recipe specifies it serves 4 to 6 people you can easily assume it serves at least 8, if not more. A 3 course Persian meal (chelow, khoresh, and a starter, accompanied by bread and a condiment or two), if you assume portion sizes as stated are correct, can easily amount to 2000 calories in one sitting! But this is Middle Eastern and Turkish tradition: always prepare plenty of food, case unexpected guests may arrive (and there is nothing as embarrassing than leaving them without enough food! I have a few Iranian friends, and none of them are even remotely chubby...) 3) Najmieh is a purist, for whom cooking rice and baking bread is a form of art and her love and respect for her native cuisine dictate that she wants you to learn how to cook these things to perfection, so preparation is sometimes a bit fiddly and involves a lot of dedication, time and conscientiousness, or special utensils (such as a baking stone), which most of us do not often have. (While I list this as a negative, it is really a positive as it teaches you how to get things done as closely to tradition as possible!) So be prepared for a challenge! Another notable thing is that if you want to get involved with Persian cuisine, you have to like sour and extremely sweet. Barberries (zereshk), sour cherries (albaloo), sour grape juice, and pickles (torshi) are everyday fare for khoreshes and polo, while desserts -- like anywhere else in the Middle East and Turkey -- demand a sweet tooth bar none. (I do not have much of a sweet tooth, barely ever venturing beyond dark chocolatey and lemony things; though I found that sweet treats like sholehzard (Persian rice pudding) are quite nice once I halved the amount of sugar...) Ingredients here in England are quite easy to obtain. If you do not have a Middle Eastern store or supermarket near you, you can order them in pretty decent quality at "A Taste of Persia" (they also sell Iranian-make rice cookers, case you get hooked -- they are not bad at all...). Persian cooking is not chili-hot; even dishes from the Gulf Coast are manageable for more delicate palates. Fresh herbs are used with abundance, so keep cilantro, parsley, dill weed, tarragon and basil in stock at all times. Also pomegranate molasses, which is not as concentrated as the Lebanese stuff, more liquid instead. And saffron (I know... expensive!) The book was originally written for the American market, but conversion into metric has been done accurately so the recipes should work out nicely for those who do metric. As for myself, I find cup measures are a lot quicker than going by weight, but the maths is spot on! Like in all Muslim countries or regions, the cuisine revolves around meat, but Najmieh gives vegetarian options for many of the recipes. I myself am not a vegetarian, so I cannot vouch for the accuracy of these alternatives, but they are there. I can only hope that once you have a bit of practice, you'll agree with me that this is the only book you'll ever need to recreate authentic Persian flavors.

Great book . Fast delivery .

Bien sûr, certains ingrédients sont un peu difficiles à trouver en Belgique, mais même en utilisant parfois des substituts le résultat est excellent. Les feuilles de chou farcies (dolmeh ye kalam): une tuerie, même pour ceux qui ne raffolent pas du chou.

Fast delivery, nice quality! Love this book

This cookbook is phenomenal as it contains traditional and modern revisions on recipes that has been used by Iranian families for many generations. Although the directions were clearly written, and there are many pictures and new techniques showing how the traditional dishes are being done. I tried the Chelo - Saffron rice cooked in a rice cooker which is easier to cook the rice in my household. Then made the baqlava - which is different because it used a pie dough with a almond and pistachio paste and another flaky dough on top. This is really similar to one of the baklava that I saw on TV at the Travel Channel. I gave some to my co-workers, and said they were amazing. Each of the recipes also contain vegetarian options for those who don't any meat or dairy products on their diets. There are also helpful tips and historical tidbits on some of the recipes which are interesting. Food of Life is a cookbook filled with easy to read historical anecdotes, poems and other references of how Persians and Iranians use foods on different festivals, parties and other occasions of their daily lives. There are also influences with the South Indians, Chinese, Asian and Middle Eastern that reference where food was originated even the word origins came from. This book is really comprehensive, detailed Iranian and Persian cooking and baking filled with historical anecdotes, poems referencing the dish or any interesting essay related to them, and it is well written for those who are really interested cooking this cuisine. I highly recommend having this cookbook on your kitchen library and is a primer for Persian cooking. First, I tasted and experience a unique food customs from my cousin's husband who is Persian, and the restaurant (CheloKababi) was listed under Appendices of Iranian restaurants within California. Then bought this book out of curiosity, and wanted to cook some Persian food at home. So far, I had tried cooking Saffron rice cooked in a rice cooker, Baqlava, and there is even a DIY on preparing Persian kitchen ingredients and storing them. She even gives you tips on what brands to use for cooking rice found mostly in the US. I am still exploring Persian cooking and try out other recipes in this book. Najmieh does an excellent job putting relevant and colorful photos with easy-to-follow instructions. She even provides vegetarian options, and few helpful tips and techniques on some of her recipes. This book is the expanded edition which list some of recipes taken from books she had written in the past.