Here are some of my all time favorite Persian food receipes.  I've picked some of the ones that are easier to prepare, enjoy!

Loobia Polow

• basmati or long-grain rice, 500 grams
• lamb or beef, 400 grams
• green beans, 400 grams
• medium onions, 3
• tomato paste, 1-2 spoonfuls
• cooking oil, 100 grams
• salt
• black pepper

Directions:

Peel and slice onions and fry in oil until slightly golden. Cut meat into small pieces and add to onions. Fry over medium heat until colour changes.

Wash green beans and cut into 2-3 cm pieces. Add to meat with 1-2 glasses of hot water and cook for about 30 minutes on medium heat, adding more hot water if necessary. Add tomato paste, salt and black pepper and cook for another 15 minutes on medium heat.

Prepare rice as described in the recipe for polow but after rice is half-cooked and rinsed, add the meat-mix and mix well. Cover and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes.

Kotlet

• lean ground lamb or beef, 500 grams
• small potatoes, 500 grams
• medium eggs, 3-4
• medium onions, 2-3
• chopped parsley, 2 spoons
• bread crumbs, one cup
• cooking oil
• Salt
• Black pepper

Directions:

Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes over high heat until they soften, then peel and mash them. Peel and grate onions. Add to potatoes with eggs, salt, black pepper, parsley, and meat. Mix well until the mix is quite even.

Remove balls from the mix about 4-5 cm in diameter. Spread bread crumbs on a flat surface. Roll each ball in bread crumbs until it is fully covered. Shape the ball into an ellipse with a thickness of 1 cm.

Heat up cooking oil in a frying pan. Fry each kotlet over medium heat on both sides until golden. Serve with parsley, sliced tomatoes, and flat bread.

Kabob

• ground lamb or beef, 500 g
• large onions, two (grated)
• garlic, one clove (crushed)
• large egg, one (beaten)
• medium tomatoes, four
• salt
• black pepper
• turmeric, one teaspoon (optional)
• sumac (optional)

Directions:

Mix meat, onions, garlic, egg, salt, pepper and turmeric well and leave in the refrigerator overnight (or for several hours).

Press the meat around long, thick metal skewers and shape evenly. Thread whole tomatoes on another skewer. Barbeque each side for about five minutes, turning frequently. (If skewers are not available or barbequing is not possible, kabab-e koobideh can be shaped into long, thin portions on aluminum foil and grilled at high temperature in the oven. The oven should be pre-heated and kabab-e koobideh should be placed as high as possible near the source of the heat. Again, turn a few times.)

Serve with hot Basmati rice or on middle-eastern bread. If serving with rice, some sumac may be sprinkled on top. If kabab-e koobideh was made in an oven, the juice from the kabab can be poured on rice or bread.

Tahcheen

• chicken, 1 kg
• basmati or long grain rice, 500 grams
• yogurt (Greek if possible), 300 grams
• saffron, 1/2 teaspoon
• large onions, two
• 3 eggs (yolks only)
• cooking oil
• salt
• black pepper

Directions:

Start by washing rice and soaking it in warm water (with added salt) for 2 hours. Then filter out the water.

Chop onions into thin slices and fry in oil until slightly golden. Wash and cut chicken, remove skin, and fry in onions until color changes. Add some water and bring to boil. Turn heat down and let boil slowly until cooked, adding more water if needed. Remove the bones.

While chicken is cooking, beat the yogurt until it is smooth. Dissolve saffron in half a cup of hot water. Add saffron, salt, pepper and egg-yolks to the yogurt and mix very well.

Pour a few glasses of water in a large pot and bring to boil. Pour in rice and cook while stirring occasionally until rice grows longer and slightly softens (Take care not to overcook the rice. It should still be too hard for eating). Again filter out the water.

Pour several spoons of oil and several spoons of the yogurt mix into a non-stick pot. Add a thin layer of rice and flatten using the back of a spoon. Add a layer of chicken on top followed by another layer of rice. Again flatten the rice. Spread several more spoons of the yogurt mix on the rice. Continue in this fashion until chicken, rice and the yogurt mix have been used up. Add some more oil on top. Put the lid on and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat.

Place the pot in an oven (preheated to 250 F) and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours. Note that the longer Tah-Chin is cooked, the thicker the Tah-Dig (delicious crispy layer of rice at the bottom) will be. When cooked, remove the lid and let cool for a few minutes.

Place an inverted large dish over the pot and turn it over. Tap the pot in order to loosen the contents inside. The contents should fall on the dish in one piece with the Tah-Dig on the outside.

Aash-e Gandom (soup)

• wheat, 100 grams
• spinach, 700 grams
• chick peas, 50 grams
• black-eye beans, 50 grams
• lentils, 50 grams
• split peas, 50 grams
• onions, 2 large
• turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon
• flour
• cooking oil
• salt
• black pepper

Directions:

Soak peas, beans, lentils and wheat in water for 4-5 hours. Peel and chop onions and fry in oil until slightly golden. Add hot water, peas, beans, lentils, wheat, turmeric, salt and pepper, and cook over low heat for about one hour, stirring frequently.

Wash and chop spinach and add to the aash. Cook for another 10-15 minutes. Fry one spoonful of flour in oil for a few minutes and add to the aash. Stir and cook for a few more minutes.