Nov 27
Ready for a tasty sweet?! Well this is a good one to have! Ranginak is a Persian sweet that you must definitely try.
Ranginak
Ingredients:
500 grams Flour
250 - 300 grams oil — I used liquid oil, but if you use shortening or ghee it will be better
125 grams powder sugar
500 grams dates (khorma) –its best if the dates are soft
125 grams crushed walnuts
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon crushed pistachio
Directions:
In a pot heat up the oil (medium heat) and then add the flour and continuously stir until it is completely fried and becomes a golden color (it may take awhile before it reaches the golden color). Once the flour is done take it off the heat and set it aside until it cools down a bit.
While the flour is cooling down mix together the powder sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom. Then add this mix to the flour and mix all the ingredients together. Then take out the seeds from all the dates.
Now in a dish pour in half the flour mixture and flatten with a spoon. Then place all the dates on top of this layer of flour and sprinkle the crushed walnuts on top of the dates. Add the rest of the flour mixture on top of everything and flatten with a spoon. Sprinkle the crushed pistachios and some powder sugar on top of the Ranginak.
Note: I would recommend using shortening or ghee to make sure the Ranginak doesn’t give out too much oil.
With a knife you want to cut out squares for serving purposes.
Tagged with: Cardamom • Cinnamon • Date (Khorma) • Flour • Pistachios • Saffron • Walnut
Nov 25
I found this recipe and thought I would try it. Its a bit different than Havij Polo (Carrot Rice), and can be made to be sweet, sour, or a combination of the two.
Ingredients (4 - 6 servings):
Khoreshte Havij
Chicken or Beef — I used 2 chicken breasts
1 small onion — finely chopped up
5-6 carrots –grate half the carrots and chop the rest into circles (not too thick)
10-15 Aloo khoshk (prunes) — you can use more or less depending on what you prefer
1 teaspoon saffron –you may prefer to use liquid saffron in this amount (considering saffron isnt cheap 
)
Sugar 1 to 3 tablespoons
oil
salt - desired amount
turmeric
Lemon juice (optional) –to add a bit of a sour flavor
Directions:
Add oil to a pot and heat on medium stove top heat. Cut your chicken (or meat) into smaller pieces and fry the chicken with the chopped onions and add turmeric and salt to the chicken. Add 2 cups of water and place lid on pot and allow the chicken to cook.
In a pan heat up some oil and fry the carrots a bit. After you have fried them add them to the pot with the chicken. Wash the prunes and add to the pot as well. Finally, add the sugar and lemon juice and place the lid on the pot and allow everything to cook until the Khoresht-e Havij (carrot stew) is thickened and gives back oil.
Serve with rice.
Tagged with: Aloo • Carrots • Chicken • Saffron
Nov 22
Lavashak-e Aloo Torsh
Lavashak is a FAVORITE Persian treat! It comes in a few different flavors based on the fruit used to make Lavashak. This specific Lavashak is made with Plum’s. My mother-in-law deserves all the credit for making this
Ingredients:
Plums (Aloo) –as many as you want; depends on how much Lavashak you want to make
some oil –only used to grease the dish you plan on pouring the Lavashak liquid into to dry
Directions:
Wash the plums, then pour all the plums into a pot. Do not add any water (the fruit will give out water itself). Place the stove top heat to medium-low (don’t want it to burn) and place the lid on the pot so it can cook a bit.
Lavashake Aloo
Once the plums are tender and have given out a lot of juice place a strainer over another pot and dump the contents into the strainer. You will separate the seeds and the fruit skin (the fruit skin will come off easily if its ready) and all the rest of the contents will go into the new pot.
Place the new pot on medium-low heat on the stove top again until the water from the fruit is less. Stir the contents occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the contents are thickened, grease a dish that is flat and pour a very thin layer of the liquid Lavashak into the dish.
You want to place the dish in direct sunlight (in Iran rooftops are usually used). Be careful that dust, and other things don’t get stuck to the Lavashak (as much as possible). You will let it dry anywhere from 2 - 4 days (you can test it by using a knife to see if it will separate from the dish easily, if it does then it is ready and if not let it dry more). Note: If you want it to dry up sooner you can use a microwave to dry out the water sooner.
Once its dry and separates from the dish you have Lavashak! In this case Lavashak-e Aloo Torsh.
