Iran has a vast variety of food and some of the foods are favourite worldwide originating from here . There are lots of famous food of iran in all different variety like sweets , breads , meals , drinks , ice creams , biscuits , candy and cakes as well .They prepare the food with love and passion . I love Iranian food and in fact one of the main reason to visit Iran is it’s food . Covering all the foods in one blog is just impossible but I try to write about those foods I have eaten or at least seen in IRAN . Iranian people are generous and hospitable and if they understand that you are a foreigner they mostly offer you a tea and loves to talk with you . There is cold drinking water tap everywhere in the bigger cities but if you have stomach problem better to buy packaged drinking water . Here are some of the famous foods of Iran
Beryani :
Beryani is a traditional famous food of iran , specially form the Isfahan . There is two layers of sangak bread . one bread is soaked in meat juice and another is not . Inside this wrap is round lamb meat fried burger and grind ed lungs . This will be served with salad of different leaves and onion . somebody used doogh with it .
I eat it in the Haaj Mahmoud Beryani shop inside the grand Bazar of Isfahan . It was almost 225000($ 3.96) toman for a beryani and a doogh . It is one of the famous shop for beryani in Isfahan .
Gushfill :
Gushfill is a traditional Iranian desert orginated mainly from the cities of Isfahan and Arak . For it’s unique size like a elephant’s ears . sometimes this sweet is called elephant’s ears .
This sweet is crunchy and sticky .
It is made of Egg milk , butter , wheat , east and many more ingredients .
For a small cup of Gushfill like this will costs 25000($ .44) toman .
Pumpkin Biscuit :
This is a unique types of biscuit in looks . It is crunchy and frazile . It’s size are like long sheet . In specially in the bakery shop and in the sweet shop you can see this types of biscuit or snacks . Here above it there is topping of the pumpkin seed . But you can see same types of biscuit where another seed like sunflower seed , kaju , pesta or many more different types of seeds are topped on this biscuit . I eat this pumpkin seed biscuit in Isfahan .
Half of this whole biscuit will cost 50000($ .88) toman . It is really delicious . This biscuits are sold on weight basis .
Gaz Candy :
Gaz candy is a famous candy made specifically in the Isfahan . It is a 450 years old recipe originating from this area . It is filled with pistachio which is stuck in the candy . This candy is jelly type and sticky type . When you eat sometimes it stuck in your teeth .
The main indridents are pistachio , almond , rose water and egg white , sap of Tamarisk tree , flour and lots of sugar .
Normally this are sold by weight but I bought two candy at 5000($ .08) toman .
Sohan :
Sohan is one of the unique sweet specially made in Iran . Qom city is famous for this sweet .
It is a sweet which is made of floor , honey , sugar syrup , butter , cardamon , rose water and saffron . This sweets can be preserved for long time so you can take it as a unique gift for your home .
The pack of this Sohan costs me 50000($ .88) toman .
Sangak bread:
In persian language Sangak means small stones and this unique breads were prepared over this hot stones . This are big in size and shaped rectangular or triangular . Some sangak bread are simple with no topping where as some are topped with sesame seed , poppy seed ,black cumin and much more
This breads were previously used by the military and every soilder carry some small stones with them to prepare it .
It costs between 3000 – 5000($.08) toman .
Noon e gandi :
Noon e gandi is a special types of soft crunchy and fragile sweet bread . Where the sweetness comes from the Dates . When you broke the bread it looks more like a biscuit rather than a bread . You can see in the picture that above the bread there is lots of sesame seed topping on the bread .
One midium size noon e gandi priced between (40000($ .70) – 50000($ .88)) toman .
Shiraz e faloodeh :
This unique ice cream with faloodeh , which is famous through out the world . Did you know that it has been originated in Shiraz in the time of achaemenied empire in 400 BC .
Faloodeh is a soft rice noodles which are served with ice cream . The ice cream is very thick and condense and this faloodeh is served above it . In this ice cream whey put some rose water when served .
In shiraz , near to the ark of karim khan there were some shop serving faloodeh .
Price of this small cup of Faloodeh Shirazi is about (60000($1.05) – 80000($1.41))) toman . I forget the exact price they charged me.
Baklava cake :
Baklava cake is a unique types of desert or you can say snacks which can be used as breakfast or evening food . The filling inside this cake are different according to your choice . The main ingredients are sugar , some unique types of paper made of floor , butter , honey and lemon .
This 6 pieces of Baklava cake costs 40000($ .70) toman . I bought it from a local sweet shop .
Ta chin :
Ta chin is a unique and Famous food of iran. In the photo the upper square cake you can see is called Ta chin . Here it is served with a chicken , rice and curry . Ta chin is a multi layered saffron rice cooked in a specialised oven . when served it is garnished with barberi and saffron rice . It is really heavy and I can not finish the whole plate . They also include a salad soaked in yogurt .
The price of this dish is 300000($5.29) toman and might be the salad costs 64000($1.12) toman . I eat it in Moslem Restaurent . Might be the price is high because it is very famous restaurent .
Koobidey :
Koobidey is a famous food of iran which is a lamb kabab and eaten with grilled tomatos and rice or bread . Here the meat is placed on a giant rock and it was smashed with a wooden hammer . After that some spices are added with the mixture . Then it rapped around a iron blade and grilled in coal oven in medium flame .
After that this was served as your wish with bread or rice . When it is served in a good restaurant , it is priced between ( 200000($3.5) – 400000($7.05)) toman .
Majoon :
Majoon is a energy drink which is the mixture of many ingredients . The main ingredients are Honey , pistachio , saffron , wallnut , banana , peeled dates . flowers powder , coffee , ginger , grinded coconut , milk , scoop of ice cream , avocardo any many more . Then they all mixed with hand and mixture grinder . The unique about this drink is that if you reverse the cup still the drink will not fall . So some people called it anti gravity drink .
But I doubt about my drink . so I don’t experiment with that drink . In you tube when they show , they might make a special version of that drink but not that they served me .
I try it in Alibaba juice shop in Tehran and it costs 80000($1.41) toman for this small cup .
Ash Rashtey :
Ash Rashtey is a unique persian noodle soup mostly eaten in the time of morning breakfast . The ingredients are lentils , beans , onions , herbs and topped with fried onion , Kashk (a yogurt product ) and a paste of mint, onion and turmeric .
I have eaten it in the Yazd .but you can find it all over iran like tehran , shiraz , isfahan and other cities. You can see that in the morning from a big pot , scoop by scoop it was served in this types of pots or in your own pot and garnished with the mentioned ingredients . It is really healthy and not very spicy .
Price of this medium size Ash Rastey costs 50000($.88) toman .
Zolbiya :
We Indians know it as Jilipi or Jalebi and thoght it was our food but it was actually originated from iran and still popular there . Sometimes rather than sugar syrup they used honey to sweetens this item
first it was mentioned in the 10 th century Parsian cookbook kitab -al – tabeekh by Muhammad bin al baghdadi .
This item was crunchy , juicy and good flavoured .
Zalbiya is sold in the sweet shop in weight basis but I just take two for 5000($.08) toman .
Sandwitch with phalaphal :
This phalaphal sandwitch is my favourite fast food and now a days one of the Famous light food of iran. Phalaphal are vegetable lentle vara which are stuffed in this breads . With that they put some vegetables , sour cucumber and above that they put some sauce or mayones . If you take one sandwich , it will fill your stomach .
Price of this sandwitch is 50000($ .88) toman .
Rosted Tomato :
Rosted tomatoes are some of the items that will be served with every rice dishes in IRAN . This will be put into a iron sticks and grilled in the coal oven .
I see this are served with every lunch rice dish so I can not define the indivisual price of this items .
Jujeh kabab (Chicken qabab) :
This is a chicken Kabab where the small chicken pieces are marinated with saffron , turmeric , greek yogurt , and lemon and grilled in the coal oven .This are mainly served with rice and roasted tomato and onion and some herbs .
I eat a full meal like this with green salad . It costs 238000(4.19 USD) toman in a restaurant in Shiraz.
Ghormeh Sabji :
Ghormeh sabji is a traditional Famous food of iran which is eaten by everyday by Iranian people . This is a curry made of small pieces of meat , check piece , beans , lemons and some vegetables . It is mainly served with the rice or iranian breads as lunch or dinner .
I eat it with the rice and it costs almost 100000 (1.75 USD)toman .
Dolma :
You can find Dolma near to the North western of IRAN in the Azerbaijan province . This is wrap filled with rice and meat or fish or fruit or vegetables . This wrap is mainly made by the grape leaves or the cabbage . After making this small wraps this is cooked in steam in a closed pot .
Dolma is a turkish food originated in the time of ottoman empire and spread across the central asia.
I have not eat this stuff in iran so I don’t know the exact price in Iran but it will not be expensive . I eat it in a village in Azerbaijan .
Barbari bread (Noon e Barbari) :
Noon e Barbari is one of the popular bread for breakfast which are shaped almost oval and in the top of the bread there is seaseme seed and black cumin . The top of the bread is golden coloured and it is a little thick bread and inside it is little chew . It is mainly served with breakfast and people buy it from the local shops .
Price of this bread is from 5000 ($.08) – 10000($ .17) toman .
Lavash:
Lavash is a popular thin bread and can be found all over central asia . Some times it sized like a round bread sometimes like a big oval size . In Iran people used it to eat with vegetables or meat but in Azerbaijan I mainly eat it as rolls which are stuffed with chicken or other meat or vegetables .
You can get this lavash bread in any supermarket or small shops packed in a branch .
I thing the price will be between 5000($ .08) – 10000 ($ .16) toman for a pack of lavash .
Doogh :
Doogh is Yogurt based sour drink mixed with some herbs . This drink is not thick and mainly drink after lunch to digest the food well . It originates from the turkey and then spread here . It will be served as cold or in normal temperature .
You can buy Doogh from a local juice shop . They will served in a glass . I don’t know the price of it but a packed small doogh will cost you 15000($.26) toman .
Zereshk polo(Safron baberri rice pilaw) :
In this dish Zereshk(Barberries) are topped on the steam rice with some yellow colored safron rice and served with safron rosted chicken . Specially the legs and the breast of the chicken is used for this purpose . Barberries are little sweet and sour . This makes a uique taste and it is mostly taken by the Iranian people as lunch or dinner .
I don’t eat this one , just see it in Restaurent . So I can not cooment on the exact price .
Havij Bastani :
Havji Bastani is a special types of drink I take in Shiraz where the ice cream block floats on the carrot juice . If you ask me I don’t like this drink but you can see it in lots of juice bar . Iranian people like this .
Price of the small cup of drink is 50000($.88) toman.
Tahdig:
I have eaten it in a restaurent in Shiraz with chicken kabab . On the top there is fried safron rice where some slieced potatoes were stucked and in the lower part there is simple white rice . They served it exactly like that . The upper part is more crunchy and tasful .
It was served inside a dish . I guess it costs around (50000($ .88) – 80000($ 1.41)) toman .
Masghati :
This are the chewe Halwa in Iran . This sweet have different flavour according to the ingridents . Like some are filled with almonds , some with pistachio and some with Kaju and wall nut .
When I was in the road some children give me free . They might be opening a new shop . So I don’t have the idea of the price .
Kuku Sabji :
I have eaten Kuku sabji in Dubai where my host is an Iranian and he prepared this items . First they chop some herbs(Parsley , cilantro , dill , scallions ) in small pieces and add mixed some eggs with it so the egg can bind the mixture and then they fried it with oil . It takes around 30 minutes to make it
I eat it from them so don’t know the price in restaurant .
Rose bud tea :
This is a unique types of tea i have drink in Iran in my hostel . First I was curious why they served this rose bud and some herbs in the tea table . but when some one put this in hot water and stir and drink , then I also do that .
I must say there is a unique fragrance and taste of this tea . It taste mild sweet . It is refreshing in the morning . I have not drink from a shop so I don’t know the price I drink it in my hostel in Isfahan in Mehbibi hostel .
Summary :
Iran is filled with different ethinic people like Iranian , kurds , Azerbaizani, baluch , banzara and some . So they bring different types of food along with their culture and Iranians have unique cuisine of it’s own . So Iran has very large variety of foods . In this blog I write about those foods and drinks which I personally eat or see . It is impossible to cover all iranian food in a single blog but I try to cover the most famous food and drinks of Iran .
