A taste of Iranian cuisine

Gulf News

A taste of Iranian cuisine. Chef Ariana Bundy shows how to prepare authentic Iranian food and talks about her longing for Iranian food which has led her to chronicle the stories and flavours of her native country through her cookbook Pomegranates and Roses. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv

Transcript

00:00Through food, you can get to know a culture, so I'm hoping you will enjoy the recipes that

00:09I'm preparing for you.

00:10I made tachin, which is a yogurt and rice and chicken and saffron dish.

00:19It's actually a cake which you turn upside down and then you cut and you serve.

00:24It's delicious.

00:25It's distinctly Persian because it has the rice, which Iranians absolutely love, but

00:30it also has saffron, which is the king of all Persian spices.

00:34And it's the combination of things that makes it really Iranian as well.

00:38So it's yogurt with garlic, with saffron, with chicken, with rice, and it's really extra

00:44special.

00:45I also made mastakhiar, which is yogurt with walnuts, rose petals, cucumbers, fresh mint

00:52and dried mint, raisins.

00:55I studied classic French cuisine and pastry, but I really wanted to learn about my culture,

01:02and so I went back to Iran.

01:03I got recipes from my grandmother, my aunt, and my mom, and tried to recreate everything

01:08just because I think the best way to learn a culture, obviously, is through food.

01:13Iranian food is very delicate, but it's also very comforting.

01:17It's very balanced.

01:18So you've got the garmi and the sardi, which is the hot and the cold.

01:21It's the Persian version of the yin and yang cuisine, and it's also quite different because

01:28it uses ordinary ingredients, yet the way it's mixed together in a dish, it makes it

01:34so different and so extraordinary.

01:37And there are no chilies in Iranian food, very, very little.

01:40I mean, only a couple of recipes from the deep south have chilies.

01:44So Iranians don't use chilies.

01:46They don't use too much garlic, unless the recipe's from the north.

01:50So that's what makes Iranian food really different.

01:53My book, Pomegranates and Roses, my Persian family recipes, is about Persian food and

01:59also Persian culinary culture, has family stories weaved into it.

02:03The qualities of being a good chef are loving food, really loving food, because that's what

02:09you're going to be doing 16 hours a day.

02:12You're going to be dealing with food, whether it's chocolate or meat or anything.

02:17You're just constantly surrounded by food, so you really have to love it.

02:21Also, you have to have a lot of stamina, because it's very hard work.

02:24And remember, you're going to have unsociable hours.

02:27It's going to be tough, but you're going to be doing something you love.

02:30And also, try to find a mentor who you can talk to, ask questions and learn and progress

02:36and, you know, do what you love to do.

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