Iranian cuisine

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Chelow kabab is considered to be the national dish of Iran.[1]

Iranian cuisine is the culinary traditions of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,[2][3][4] it is alternatively known as Persian cuisine, despite Persians being only one of a multitude of Iranian ethnic groups who have contributed to Iran's culinary traditions.[a]

Iran has a variety of 2,500 types of traditional food, one of the richest in the world.[6] The cuisine of Iran has made extensive contact throughout its history with the cuisines of its neighbouring regions, including Caucasian cuisine, Central Asian cuisine, Greek cuisine, Levantine cuisine, Mesopotamian cuisine, Russian cuisine and Turkish cuisine.[7][8][9][10] Aspects of Iranian cuisine have also been significantly adopted by Indian cuisine and Pakistani cuisine through various historical Persianate sultanates that flourished during Muslim rule on the Indian subcontinent, with the most notable and impactful of these polities being the Mughal Empire.[11][12][13]

Typical Iranian main dishes are combinations of rice with meat, vegetables and nuts. Herbs are frequently used, along with fruits such as plums, pomegranates, quince, prunes, apricots and raisins. Characteristic Iranian spices and flavourings such as saffron, cardamom, and dried lime and other sources of sour flavoring, cinnamon, turmeric and parsley are mixed and used in various dishes.

Outside of Iran, a strong presence of Iranian cuisine can be found in cities with significant Iranian diaspora populations, namely the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington Metropolitan Area, Vancouver, Toronto,[14][15][16][17] Houston and especially Los Angeles and its environs.[14][15][18]

  1. ^ Walker, H. (1992). Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1991: Public Eating: Proceedings. Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery. Prospect Books. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-907325-47-5. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Cultural Life". Tehrān. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 16 April 2018. Persian cuisine is characterized by the use of lime and saffron, the blend of meats with fruits and nuts, a unique way of cooking rice, and Iranian hospitality. Food is subtly spiced, delicate in flavour and appearance, and not typically hot or spicy. Many recipes date back to ancient times; Iran's historical contacts have assisted in the exchange of ingredients, flavours, textures, and styles with various cultures ranging from the Mediterranean Sea region to China, some of whom retain these influences today.
  3. ^ Clark, Melissa (19 April 2016). "Persian Cuisine, Fragrant and Rich With Symbolism". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Yarshater, Ehsan Persia or Iran, Persian or Farsi Archived 2010-10-24 at the Wayback Machine, Iranian Studies, vol. XXII no. 1 (1989)
  5. ^ Majd, Hooman, The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran, by Hooman Majd, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, September 23, 2008, ISBN 0-385-52842-6, 9780385528429. p. 161
  6. ^ Iran; international context for promoting Culinary Tourism
  7. ^ "Persian Cuisine, a Brief History". Culture of IRAN. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  8. ^ electricpulp.com. "ĀŠPAZĪ – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org.
  9. ^ "Iranian Food". Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Culture of IRAN". Cultureofiran.com. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  11. ^ Achaya, K. T. (1994). Indian Food: A Historical Companion. Oxford University Press. p. 11.
  12. ^ Stanton; et al. (2012). Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-4522-6662-6.
  13. ^ Mina Holland (6 March 2014). The Edible Atlas: Around the World in Thirty-Nine Cuisines. Canongate Books. pp. 207–. ISBN 978-0-85786-856-5.
  14. ^ a b Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (3 February 2016). "Top five Persian restaurants in London". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  15. ^ a b Ta, Lien (27 November 2011). "The Best Persian Food In LA (PHOTOS)". HuffPost.
  16. ^ "Bay Area chef circles back to childhood with Iranian breads". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  17. ^ Nuttall-Smith, Chris (13 December 2013). "The 10 best new restaurants in Toronto in 2013". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  18. ^ Whitcomb, Dan (4 January 2018). "Los Angeles' large Iranian community cheers anti-regime protests". Reuters.


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