Persian "New Year" Kebabs

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Stuffed Grape Leaves, Persian Style

Although Stuffed Grape Leaves aren't traditional for Persian New Year, per se, they are a favorite of mine to serve as an appetizer as people are waiting for the traditional dinner feast of ashe reshteh (noodle soup) and sabzi pollow ba mahi (fish with herbed rice.)

Here's a little taste:

PERSIAN STYLE STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

1 large jar Orlando Grape Leaves
3/4 cup long grain white rice (not basmati)
1/4 cup yellow split peas
1 small onion minced
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped or 1 teaspoon dry
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped or 1 teaspoon dry
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cumin

FOR COOKING SAUCE:

1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)

FOR DIPPING SAUCE:

1 cup non fat plain yogurt
1/2 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and shredded
salt and pepper to taste



1. Drain grape leaves and unroll. Place one layer of leaves at the bottom of a 6 quart pot and set aside.
2. Cook rice in 1 1/2 cups of water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt until cooked through. Drain and set aside. At the same time, cook split peas in 1/2 cup salted water until cook through, drain and set aside.
3. In a small frying pan, cook onion in 1 pat of butter until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
4. Mix rice, split peas, onion and garlic together in a large bowl. Add tomato paste and lemon juice and mix well so tomato paste is evenly distributed. Add herbs and mix well.
5. Add turmeric, cinnamon, paprika, and cumin, Mix well and set aside.
6. Unroll several grape leaves with the stem end facing you. Place 1 tablespoon rice mixture near the stem end then roll stem end forward, away from you for one turn.
7. Next, fold in sides of the leaf as if wrapping a package. When sides are folded in, continue to roll stuffed end forward. The stuffed grape leaf will look like a short fat cigar.
8. Continue until all the stuffing and leaves are filled. Layer evenly in the leaf-lined pot.
9. When pot is filled, place enough single grape leaves over to cover. If there are no leaves left, omit this step.
10. Place lemon juice, water and sugar and tomato paste in another small stockpot. Simmer until sugar just melts. Mix well.
11. Pour this mixture over stuffed grape leaves and place pot on a low-medium heat.
12. Place a heat-proof dish, overturned, on top of grape leaves and place a full can or other weight in the middle of the plate. Or cover pot with tin foil, then place smaller heavier pot on top.
13. Allow leaves to simmer for 20-40 minutes on low heat.
14. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. May be served warm as well
15. Mix yogurt, apple, and spices together and set aside. Serve with stuffed grape leaves.

Persian New Year Times

Here is a list of the exact time of the Persian New Year around the world. Being the Vernal Equinox, the New Year happens at the moment the earth tilts toward the sun, heralding the beginning of Spring.

Tehran: Friday: 03:14:00 PM March 20, 2009
New York: Friday 07:44:00 AM March 20, 2009
Chicago: Friday 06:44:00 AM March 20, 2009
Denver: Friday 05:44:00 AM March 20, 2009
Los Angeles: Friday 04:44:00 AM March 20, 2009
London: Friday 11:44:00 AM March 20, 2009
Paris: Friday 12:44:00 AM March 20, 2009
Rome: Friday 12:44:00 AM March 20, 2009
Berlin: Friday 12:44:00 AM March 20, 2009
Athens: Friday 01:44:00 PM March 20, 2009
Jerusalem: Friday 01:44:00 PM March 20, 2009
Moscow: Friday 02:44:00 PM March 20, 2009
Tokyo: Friday 08:44:00 PM March 20, 2009
Sydney: Friday 10:44:00 PM March 20, 2009



**Photo from New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies (Mage Publishers) by Najmieh Batmanglij

Planning the Kitchen Garden

Thanks to the failing economy it's become a DIY world. Today I ordered seeds so I can start seedlings for late May planting in my garden. On the roster: Lebanese squash, Armenian cucumbers, paprika peppers (called "seasoning peppers" in Trinidad, you'll know this fresh variety as "pimentos"); four types of heirloom tomatoes (Black Russian, Big Rainbow and the Mexican Zapotec, alonghwith Arkansas Traveler); along with some Haogen melons and small sugar pumpkins. THere's also be beets, Persian Anise basil, and various perennial herbs.

I'm hoping that, this year, with some concerted effort I can make a go of the garden. Part of that effort is making the choices above. I figure that if I plant things I'll want to eat and am happy to cook, it will be that much more compelling to make the garden work. Stay tuned and I'll post recipes with my (hoped for!) bounty.

Sprout Your Own

This Friday is the Persian New Year, Noruz. An ancient Zoroastrian celebration of the Spring Equinox, one of the features of Noruz is a ceremonial table filled with things that represent a happy future, growth, promise and so on. One of those things is a plate of sprouts, usually lentils.

Looking at the plate of lush sprouts that I started from regular supermarket lentils i was reminded of the bean theme I've been thinking about so much. I realized that just like reconstituting dried beans, growing your own sprouts can save a lot of money, especially if you buy them from the supermarket.

Sprouts are great in sandwiches or juiced with fruits and vegetables. Lentil sprouts taste a bit less "green" than the traditional mung bean sprouts, but they are very pleasant.

You can use this method I describe with mung beans as easily as lentils and your cost will be pennies on the dollar. I bought a 1 pound bag of Goya lentils for these sprouts at a cost of about 79 cents. I used roughly a quarter of the bag to produce this plate. An equivalent measure of sprouts in the grocery store would cost roughly 2 to 3 dollars.

Here's what I did:

1/4 cup lentils
8 inch plate
3 Paper towels, dampened
large zip top bag

1. Rinse the lentils in cool water and plate on the plate.
2. Pour just enough water to soak the lentils but not cover them onto the plate.
3. Place the paper towels over the lentils and then place the covered plate inside the ziptop bag.
4. Leave the bag open and place on a counter just outside of direct sunlight.
5. The lentils will sprout overnight. Within 36 hours, remove the towel but leave the plate in the bag, opened.
6. Once the sprouts are tall enough to have begun to push against the top of the bag (about 5 days) remove from the bag and allow to grow for 4 days more, or until they reach roughly 5 to 6 inches in length.
7. Snip, eat, and enjoy!

Save Cash: Use Dried

The other day I was in Whole Foods market and I saw this freebie brochure about bulk buying. I couldn't help but think that although the brochure didn't tout economy as the main reason to buy in bulk (it simply gestured toward it), how in poor "ethnic" communities bulk storage of beans, grains, and dried fruit is fairly the norm. This got me thinking about how the food of poor economies is some of the richest and most interesting food out there. Even as we come to modern times, those of us who still cook our "home" foods, often find ourselves indulging in this bulk/buying economical behavior perhaps because it's "Tradition" or it "Tastes Better". Whatever, the primary reason, the compelling secondary truth is some of these behaviors are a big money saver. Case in point: reconstituting dried beans to fresh.

For less than the price of 1 can of beans (which is nothing more than factory-reconstituted dried beans) you can have the equivalent of 2 1/2 to 3 cans of beans if you buy them dried and soak them.

Of course the problem is convenience but it doesn't have to be.

A trick I use to have beans for use right when I need them is soaking the beans, draining them and freezing them in ziptop baggies. When i want them, i just have to give them a 15 minute boil right from their frozen state and use them how I will. If I'm throwing them into soup or chili or a stew that will simmer, I throw them in frozen. If I'm going to make a salad or a dip is when they get their 15 minute boil. You can even boil them up the day before using them, while you are doing something else. They'll keep just fine,drained,in the refrigerator.


Here's how you do it:

1) You soak beans at a ratio of 3 cups water to 1 cup beans.
2) Soak them overnight OR par boil for 15 minutes and turn of the heat. Cover the pot and allow to soak for an hour. (Note, that I find this method works but the beans are still sort of mealy and dry)
3) Drain soaked beans and separate into individual servings (about 1 1/2 cups) ziptop bags and freeze.



Some notes:

While you don't have to worry about beans over-soaking (they will only take on as much water as they can about 2-3 times their weight and no more) if you leave them in water more than over night, they WILL start to ferment or even sprout.

Pelau

Here's a recipe for a traditional New Year's Day dish in Trinidad. What's nice about it is that you can cook up a whole pot and serve a lot of people for relatively low cost--particularly good if you have many New Year's Day visitors.

Pelau
Serves 6

Pelau is one of those dishes that really exemplifies Trinidadian cuisine because it is an admixture of various cooking styles. Pelau, or rice layered with meats and vegetables is a variation of East Indian pilau, which originated in Persia where it is called “pollow.” The anglicized version of the dish is called “pilaf.” The process of browning the meat in sugar for pelau is an African tradition and ketchup is a new world addition to the dish, although I suspect it has its basis in tomato chutneys available in British India and likely brought to Trinidad by the English.
Chicken is the usual meat in pelau but tender cuts of stew beef or lamb work just as well. In Tobago, pelau is often made with crab and that recipe follows.


3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar (white or brown)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup pigeon peas, pinto beans, or black eyed peas
2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons Green Seasoning
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
5 scallions, stemmed and chopped (white and green parts)
2 cups long grain rice (not instant)
2 cups cubed fresh calabaza or butternut squash
1 small scotch bonnet pepper, whole
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon butter


If using dried peas, soak peas overnight in three cups of water. Drain. Bring 3 fresh cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and add peas. Simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked almost completely through. Drain and set aside. If using canned beans, drain rinse with cold water, drain again, and set aside.
Heat a Dutch oven or other heavy deep pot. Add oil and heat. Add sugar and swirl in pot and allow to caramelize to a dark brown color. Add chicken and stir well to coat. Lower heat to medium and add onion and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Wash rice by placing in colander or fine mesh sieve and running cold water over rice until water runs clear. Drain well and set aside.
Add water, coconut, coconut milk, Green Seasoning, parsley, thyme, carrots and scallions to chicken. Cover and simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes.
Add rice, squash, peas, pepper, ketchup and butter. Reduce heat to low-medium, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until peas and vegetables are tender.
Remove lid and fluff. Rice should be moist but not sticky.