Country Profile

Capital: Tehran

Population: 80 million

Area: 636,313 sq miles

Major Language: Persian

Major Religion: Islam

Life Expectancy: 75 years (men), 77 years (women)

Currency: Rial

Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

President: Hassan Rouhani

(statistics taken from BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12541327 )

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A Brief History 

(The briefest history I can write)

By Jeremiah

Iran is a country with a rich history that extends all the way back to Bible times. The Persian Empire is considered to be one of the first major empires to rule the world, and is mentioned frequently in the historical records of the Old Testament. Its territory, at its peak, extended from Egypt in the southwest corner to Turkey in the northwest. Its  eastern border extended out to India and the Indus River. Its core territory was in what is now modern day Iran, with its capital in Persepolis . Cyrus the Great (mentioned in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1: 4-11) was the Persian ruler, that overthrew the Babylonian Empire and gradually began to extend his empire to the greatest territorial rule that the world had yet seen. (For more interesting info on Cyrus the Great and how he plays into the Biblical account click here https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.gotquestions.org/amp/Cyrus-Bible.html ). The Persian Empire reigned for approximately 200 years, until it met its demise at the hands of Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.

The territory that is today known as Iran endured many more foreign invasions after the Greek conquest of Alexander the Great. In addition to the overthrow by the Greeks, Iran has also been conquered by the Arabs, Turks, and the Mongols throughout it’s history. Despite all of this, Iran continually reasserted its national independence. Perhaps one of the most pivotal events in the history of Iran came in the years 633 A.D – 654 A.D. This was the time of the Muslim conquest of Iran, and even though the Persians rejected the religion of Islam at first, it gradually began to be accepted over the course of the eighth to tenth centuries. Even to this day, Islam is the major religion of Iran, marking the muslim conquest to be the single most influential event to ever occur in the nation’s history.

The Islamization of  Iran set up its reunification as an independent state in 1501 by the Safavid dynasty. The Safavid dynasty set Shia Islam as the empire’s official religion. From this time all the way until the year 1979, Iran was a monarchy ruled by an emperor almost completely uninterrupted. In 1979 Iran experience civil unrest when the Iranian Revolution brought about the overthrow of its monarchy and was set up as an official Islamic republic. As a result of the Islamic Revolution, Iran’s increasingly modernized and capitalistic economy and culture was replaced by Islamic economic and cultural policies, its schools were Islamicized and virtually all Western influence was banned. What seemed to be a nation taking steps towards progress and westernization just decades before, was now a country steeped in strict Islamic law and intolerance toward non-muslims and Westerners.

A Quick Note

By Jeremiah

Of all the countries we have done so far, none have been so intriguing to me as Iran. In fact within the last few weeks, I have added Iran to my bucket list. By watching the news, it is easy to think of Iran as a very dangerous place, and in many ways it is. The current US/Iran relations over de-neuclarization is enough in itself to make me want to steer clear of this country for a while. However, based on the many travel videos I have watched, the idea that Iran is unsafe is almost overwhelmingly rejected by almost all travelers to the county. In fact, The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the biggest opponents of the Iranian government, recently made a short video praising the Iranian people, calling them “good and decent people” and “victims of a cruel and tyrannical regime”. So why do I say all of this to make a case for the Iranian people in a blog about food. When we started this blog, it was with the intent of learning about other people and cultures, not just about trying foods from another country. What I have learned from Iran is to not judge a book by it’s cover. From the outside looking in, it is easy to only see the bad parts of Iran, and to assume everyone there is just as evil as their oppressive government. But now, when I look a little closer, I can see a country full of good and decent people, steeped in a dead end religion, and ruled by an oppressive regime. By learning more about Iran, I can now have a better understanding of it, and this understanding can help me be compassionate and prayerful for the Iranian people. I hope that one day I can make my way to Iran, not just to try their food, visit their historic sites, and learn about their culture, but to go there and show the light of Christ while I am there.

And now what you all have been waiting for….

The Dish of the Week

Zereshk Polow and Ghormeh Sabzi

Zereshk Polow

By Stacie

Some information about this dish: This is a special occasion dish, usually served at weddings, and the rice is the star of the dish even though it is usually served with chicken.

Ingredients

4 Cups long grain rice (I only used 2 cups, because I knew we wouldn’t eat that much)

4 tbsp salt

3 pinches of saffron threads (seriously expensive)

Sugar

½ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp sweet paprika

½ tsp Baharat (a Mediterranean spice blend)

¼ tsp pepper

2 garlic gloves, chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 Cup hot water

1 Chicken (I used chicken thighs, and  2 chicken breasts, because it was easier)

1 onion sliced (I honestly forgot to add this)

Olive oil (I used vegetable oil)

1 large potato, sliced thin like potato scallops

4 tbsp butter

1 cup dries barberries (I used dried tart cherries as a substitute, because I couldn’t find these at jungle jims)

2 tbsp each of almonds and pistachios, for decoration

Instructions

Put the rice and 3 tbsp salt in a bowl, cover with water, and let soak for 1-2 hrs.

This recipe wanted me to place the saffron and sugar in a mortar and grind it into a fine powder, but I don’t own one, so I used a whisk and a bowl and tried really hard to get it into a fine powder. I got it crushed a little but not powdery, but I made it work.

Now place the saffron and sugar mixture in a cup and fill it ¾ full of hot water, and set that to the side. Preheat your oven to 350.

Combine all your spices, garlic, lemon juice, and 1 cup of hot water, and 1 tbsp of the saffron water.

Place your chicken in a baking pan, and pour your spice mixture over the chicken. The original recipe said to put the cut up onion around the chicken, but I was doing too much and forgot. Bake for 1 hour.

Drain the rice that has been soaking, cover with water and boil for 10-15 minutes, or until al dente. Drain into a strainer or colander if you want to get technical.

Put your empty pot back on the stove and put 3-4 tbsp oil in the bottom, then line the bottom with your sliced potato. The recipe said the potato was to keep the rice from burning. It also said that it makes a good crust, but nowhere else does it mention anything about what to do with the potato, so it pretty much just stayed in the pot. Anyway, place the rice on top of the sliced potato and cover the pot with a lid and cook the rice for about 3-5 minutes. Now turn your heat to low, wrap the lid in a kitchen towel, so the condensation doesn’t come  back on the rice and let that cook for about 45 minutes.

Heat 2 tbsp butter in a pan and add the barberries (or dried tart cherries). Sauté for a few minutes, and then add 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp of the saffron water. Stir briefly then take off the heat and set aside.

For serving: place a layer of rice on your serving platter, then sprinkle barberries, pistachios, and almonds on top. Melt the rest of the butter and mix with some saffron water, then mix in some rice. Place this rice on top, and decorate with more barberries, pistachios, and almonds. Place your chicken pieces around the rice.

Stacie’s Review

6 out of 10

“This recipe was pretty simple to make, it just took a long time, so that knocks it down a little. The flavors were pretty good though. The rice was a little plain, but when I ate it with all the toppings it was too sweet. The chicken was pretty delicious and the spices weren’t too bad.”

Jeremiah’s Review

8 out of 10

“The seasoning on the chicken was really good. The rice, however, was a little bland, the saffron water didn’t seem to add much taste to it. When eating this i’d definitely recommend trying to get a little bit of everything on your fork. The flavor combo of the rice, dried cherries, pistachios, and chicken all in one bite was really good.”

Gormeh Sabzi

By Stacie

Information about this recipe: this is an herb and meat stew, and is often considered the national dish of Iran.

Ingredients 

I cut the recipe in half

2 lbs lamb or stewing beef (I used lamb)

1 cup red kidney beans, soaked overnight

1 onion finely chopped

4 bunches of parsley

1 bunch of cilantro

4 scallions, green stems only

1 tbsp dried fenugreek or 1 bunch fresh fenugreek (I couldn’t find this anywhere, so according to the internet you could use curry powder as a substitute)

4 dried black limes or 4 tbsp lemon juice (I couldn’t find black limes so I used the lemon juice)

1 tbsp turmeric

Vegetable oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Wash the herbs, dry them, and finely chop them.

Heat 4 tbsp oil over medium heat and sauté the herbs for about 15 min., stirring occasionally. Set aside.

In a large pot, sauté the onion in 2 tbsp oil for about 10 min. until golden brown.

Add the meat, turmeric, salt, and pepper to the onions and fry for about 6-8 minutes.

Add the soaked dried beans, fried herbs, and black limes or lemon juice.

Cover with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Lower the heat, cover and simmer on low for about 2 hrs.

Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. If the meat isn’t tender after 2 hrs. add more water and simmer for as long as needed.

Serve hot. Served on its own or over rice.

Stacie’s Review

5 of 10

“This recipe was pretty simple as well, but took even longer to complete, so that knocks it down a little. The flavor wasn’t terrible, but the cilantro was too strong, so that’s all it really tasted like.”

Jeremiah’s Review

8 of 10

“The cilantro taste was pretty stong, but that didn’t bother me too much, I like the taste of cilantro. I do wish that we could have found the fenugreek, I’m curious as to how it would have tasted with it. The curry powder that we added to it helped in giving it good flavor in the absence of the fenugreek.” As always, the lamb was my favorite part of the stew.”