Oct 11

This is a favorite Persian recipe in Iran. Its made usually using Bulgur, which is a type of quick forming wheat and can be purchased in Middle Eastern grocery stores. I have used something else as my quick forming wheat in this recipe, which is easy to find in grocery stores. I also used turkey breast and turkey leg (two separate pots) when I recently made this. Its probably much easier to use turkey breast, since separating the meat off the turkey leg can be difficult. I will explain the ingredients for making just 1 large pot of Haleem below. Also, many people use different forms of meat (lamb, beef, or even chicken breast) to form their Haleem.

Haleem (Halim)

Haleem (Halim)

Ingredients:
1 lb - Quick 1 minute Quaker Oatmeal — make sure you buy the 1 minute oatmeal
1 lb Turkey Breast or Turkey Leg
1 onion
Cinnamon
Melted Butter — at the end to pour over Haleem
sugar
salt

Directions:
In a pot place your turkey breast, a cut up onion, salt, and cinnamon. Allow the turkey breast to cook fully, then allow it to cool after it is cooked. Once the turkey breast is cooled shred it up by throwing it in a food processor. I used skinless and boneless turkey breast … I actually bought turkey breast cutlets cause thats all they had at the store.

In a very large pot I poured the instant 1 minute oatmeal (Quaker Oats brand) and then covered it with water. I put the stove top heat on medium and allowed the contents to boil. I kept adding water as needed, especially to make sure the contents weren’t too hard to stir and dried up. After the initial boil I brought the stove top temperature to a medium-low and allowed the contents to cook for at least 45 minutes before adding my turkey breast. Remember to stir occasionally so the contents don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

After an additional 30 minutes I used my blender to puree the contents even further. If you don’t have a blender, or would prefer to use your food processor, you can do that instead. Either way you will want to pour the Haleem into the blender or food processor in batches and then pour the contents from the blender to a different pot or bowl. If you want to return the contents to the same pot you may want to wash the pot after you have emptied everything. This also means you have to pour the Haleem from the blender into another bowl or pot then leave it in the new pot to continue cooking, or return it to the previously used pot after cleaning it. In the blender I used the puree option to grind everything up into a more liquid form. Thats the way Haleem should look :)

I then allowed the Haleem to cook for an additional 2-3 hours to fully be thickened and prepared…or as Persians say “ja beofte”. You want to serve the Haleem hot, so heat it up before serving if you are serving at a later time. I also melt butter to pour over the Haleem (typically you pour it over the contents of the large bowl you are serving it in). I also leave some melted butter for anyone who wants to add more to their Haleem. I add cinnamon and sugar in additional to the melted butter over the bowl. Many people like to add sugar and cinnamon to their Haleem, some even like salt. So I usually leave sugar, cinnamon, and salt on the table for anyone to add to their Haleem. At times I make a sugar/cinnamon mix in a small bowl that can be added to the Haleem.

Note: You can add some cinnamon and salt to your Haleem when it is cooking as well. Again the way it is eaten is a personal choice, and some people add sugar, cinnamon, or salt to satisfy their tastebuds :D

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Oct 07

A simple Persian recipe for khorak that includes chicken and a few vegetables. This is the most common form of Khorak that I enjoy eating. Different varieties can also be made, and you can even add different vegetables.

Khorak ba Morgh

Khorak ba Morgh

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts- cut up into pieces
3 - 4 large carrots - peeled and cut into circles (not too thick and not too thin circles)
2 medium potatoes - cut into little pieces/squares
1 or more cups cut green beans (fresh or frozen)
1 small onion-chopped
turmeric
salt/pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
oil

I also added some green peas (1/2 a cup) and chopped mushrooms (1/2 a cup)– I typically don’t add them…but did this time.

Directions:
In a frying pan pour some oil and fry the potatoes. Once they are done place them aside. Then do the same for the carrots. Then the same for the green beans and the green peas (if using green peas).
In a pot that has a lid, pour some oil and allow it to heat up on a medium temperature. Then saute the chopped onions until they are tender. Add the cut up chicken pieces and stir. Add salt/pepper and turmeric to the chicken. Add the vegetables from earlier and mix the ingredients together.
Add approximately 1 - 1 1/2 cups water to the tomato paste and stir. Also add some lemon juice and salt/pepper to the paste. Pour the paste over the contents in the pot and mix. Place the lid on the pot and allow the contents to cook for an additional 20-30 minutes on a medium-low temperature.

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Oct 05

This is one of my favorite Persian recipes! :) I just love Fesenjoon with koofteh(meatballs). In my family it was always made with meatballs, though the majority of people make it with chicken.

Fesenhoon (ba koofteh)

Fesenjoon (ba koofteh)

This specific Fesenjoon recipe is with meatballs, but for those who prefer chicken you can basically make a few adjustments and use chicken instead.

Ingredients:
approximately .5 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion
3/4 cup finely crushed walnuts — I use a food processor to crush up my walnuts
3- 4 tablespoons Pomegranate paste (or molasses) — the more you add the more sour the stew will be
sugar (desired amount) — the more you add the sweeter it will make the stew
salt/pepper
turmeric
onion powder (optional)
ground coriander (optional)
1 1/2 to 2 cups water
oil
aloo khoshk (prunes) –I buy it from an international grocery store and keep them refrigerated

Fesenjoon (with meatballs)

Fesenjoon (with meatballs)

Directions to make Fesenjoon:
Before you chop up your onion to saute, take a grater (randeh) and grate some of the onion for your meatballs. If you only grate a bit of the onion you can also use onion powder for the meatballs. Then take the remaining onion and chop it up. Pour some oil into a pot and turn the stove burner on to medium heat. Allow the oil to heat up and then add your onions.

In a separate mixing bowl you will mix together the grated onion, ground beef, some turmeric, some salt/pepper, onion powder (optional), and if you choose ground coriander.

Once the onions are sauteed and tender, add the chopped walnuts and continuously mix. I sauteed the walnuts for approximately 10 minutes before adding water. Basically, the smell of the walnuts will be evident and you will notice the walnuts giving out oil. You don’t want to over fry the walnuts either. After you add the water, start making little round balls (meatballs) from the ground beef mixture. As you make them you can drop them into the pot. Once all the meatballs are formed and put into the stew you can add the aloo (prunes), pomegranate paste, and some sugar. I added 2 prunes, about 4 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, and 3 tablespoons sugar. With the sugar and pomegranate you get a sweet and sour type stew. If you prefer sweet add more sugar and less pomegranate and the opposite if you prefer the more sour taste. Depends on how you like your Fesenjoon.

Finally, cover the pot of Fesenjoon and allow it to cook on a medium or medium-low temperature until thickened…water should be evaporated. Fesenjoon is ready to be served with Rice :) .

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