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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Oct 04

This is a lot like the Persian recipe for Halva, except the one main difference is this is made with rice flour while Halva is made with wheat flour (typically white flour). I used a smaller amount for my ingredients because I wanted to make less.

Tar Halva

Tar Halva

Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup rose water
1 teaspoon liquid saffron (or you can use a bit of ground up dry saffron)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:
In a small pot bring the water to a boil and add the sugar, rose water, and saffron. Stir until sugar is dissolved and leave on a low heat. In another larger pot on medium temperature heat up the oil and then add the rice flour and continuously stir. Once the flour has started to change color and gets to a darker color you will place it off the stove burner and carefully pour in the liquid. Be careful it will steam up and is hot! Then you will quickly begin stirring the contents together until they begin to solidify and kind of stick together. Tar Halva doesn’t stick together like Halva does because of the different texture. Also, Tar Halva seems to be oily. Pour the contents into a plate and press down and then give it a design.

Note: One other main difference is that you will fry the rice flour for Tar Halva a bit less than you do the flour used for Halva.

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Sep 24

I have been wanting to make this for a long time! Thought why not today when I am slightly bored and have already taken care of all my errands for the day :)

Shir Berenj

Shir Berenj

Ingredients:
1 cup rice
6-7 cups milk
half a cup or less Rose water
khameh (whip cream) - (optional)
sugar (optional)
hail (cardamom) - (optional)

Directions:
For the rice to get softer faster, you can soak it in water two hours prior to starting the cooking. In a pot, put about 1-2 cups water with the rice and allow it to soften…on a medium temperature on the stove. Once it appears that the rice has softened a bit you can add your milk. You will want to stir occasionally to make sure the contents of the pot are mixing and not sticking to the bottom. Once the mixture thickens (may take awhile) then you can add the rose water. Allow it to cook and additional 15-25 minutes. If you choose to add whip cream you can do so at this time. The whip cream will give it a creamer taste.

I usually like to have shir berenj that is sweet, so I add sugar as well. And at times (like this time) I even added some ground cardamom to give it an additional aroma and taste. Rose water alone does provide that was well…and some people don’t like cardamom that much.

At the end when everything is thick and added, pour the contents of the pot into a large bowl, or a combination of different sized bowls. Allow it to cool and then serve. After it cools down I usually cover it and leave it in the fridge to preserve it.

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