Cultural Spotlight Iranian Jewish Food with Tannaz Sassooni

08/25/21 • 17 min

In Episode #47, co-hosts Bita and Beata learn about Iranian Jewish food and some of the traditional foods and customs shared on Rosh Hashanah by special guest, Tannaz Sassooni. Tannaz works in animation technology by day while writing, teaching, and sharing about Iranian Jewish foods as her passion project.

An example of a classic Friday night Jewish Iranian meal might consist of “Chelo Abgoosht eh Ghondi” (also spelled gondi) - a chicken broth based soup with poultry and chickpea flour meatball dumplings.

Another example of a one pot Jewish Iranian recipe is “Ghondi/Gondi Kashi” - rice dish cooked with ground meat, herbs, beets, and fava beans - takes on a pinkish hue in some areas and sometimes forms a beautiful tahdig!

Rosh Hashanah traditions - as contrasting to simple apples and honey, in the Iranian Jewish custom, a whole seder is served for Rosh Hashana

Beef tongue
Black eyed peas
Squash, fried zucchini or pumpkin
Dates
Apples and honey

Two main holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

Custom of the start of the fast/ the eve of the fast include eating a Quince, Pomegranate Stew | Khoresht eh Beh, super sweet and sour
Custom of breaking the fast - break the fast with the following 3 things:
- Chai | hot tea
- Soft boiled egg
- Grated apple with rose water and sugar served over ice | Faloodeh Seeb - gives a boost of energy and an uplifting aroma. Bita’s daughters refer to it as “apple Randy”.

A tip, also known as “Beats Cheats” - Tannaz’s favorite thing:

Sharbat eh Golab which is simply water, sugar, & rose water over ice

Ask the Beats!

Tannaz asks the Beats - what are some regional specialties in the areas your families are from Bita and Beata?

Bita’s folks and extended family come from Tabriz and the Azerbaijan region of Iran.
- Ab-ghosht and Dizi
- Kofteh Tabrizi
- Dolmeh
Beata’s family is from Kermanshah
- Roghan eh Kermanshahee - a rich, delicious animal butter from the region
- Khormah Maloos - fried eggs with caramelized dates

Resources and recipes from this episode:

All Modern Persian Food episodes can be found at: Episodes

Co-host Beata Nazem Kelley blog: BeatsEats – Persian Girl Desperately Addicted to Food!

Co-host Bita Arabian blog: Oven Hug - Healthy Persian Recipes | Modern Persian Recipes

Beata’s Khormah Maloos Recipe: Khormah Maloos | Persian Dates and Eggs

Special guest: Tannaz Sassooni

Instagram: tannaz (@tannazsassooni) • Instagram photos and videos
Cooking class with The Nosher: The Nosher Presents Our High Holiday Cooking Classes 2021 | The Nosher

Podcast production by Alvarez Audio

Rosh Hashanah traditions - as contrasting to simple apples and honey, in the Iranian Jewish custom, a whole seder is served for Rosh Hashana

Beef tongue
Black eyed peas
Squash, fried zucchini or pumpkin
Dates
Apples and honey

Two main holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

Custom of the start of the fast/ the eve of the fast include eating a Quince, Pomegranate Stew | Khoresht eh Beh, super sweet and sour
Custom of breaking the fast - break the fast with the following 3 things:
- Chai | hot tea
- Soft boiled egg
- Grated apple with rose water and sugar served over ice | Faloodeh Seeb - gives a boost of energy and an uplifting aroma. Bita’s daughters refer to it as “apple Randy”.

A tip, also known as “Beats Cheats” - Tannaz’s favorite thing:

Sharbat eh Golab which is simply water, sugar, & rose water over ice

Ask the Beats!

Tannaz asks the Beats - what are some regional specialties in the areas your families are from Bita and Beata?

Bita’s folks and extended family come from Tabriz and the Azerbaijan region of Iran.
- Ab-ghosht and Dizi
- Kofteh Tabrizi
- Dolmeh
Beata’s family is from Kermanshah
- Roghan eh Kermanshahee - a rich, delicious animal butter from the region
- Khormah Maloos - fried eggs with caramelized dates

Resources and recipes from this episode:

All Modern Persian Food episodes can be found at: Episodes

Co-host Beata Nazem Kelley blog: BeatsEats – Persian Girl Desperately Addicted to Food!

Co-host Bita Arabian blog: Oven Hug - Healthy Persian Recipes | Modern Persian Recipes

Beata’s Khormah Maloos Recipe: Khormah Maloos | Persian Dates and Eggs

Special guest: Tannaz Sassooni

Instagram: tannaz (@tannazsassooni) • Instagram photos and videos
Cooking class with The Nosher: The Nosher Presents Our High Holiday Cooking Classes 2021 | The Nosher

Podcast production by Alvarez Audio

Previous Episode

Persian Meal Planning

In Episode #46, co-hosts Bita and Beata provide strategies and tips to help with meal planning and prepping in anticipation of cooking during busy weeknights. Fall means back to school for many, back to work for some, and back to routines and getting more organized for most. Traditionally, cooking Persian food is a time and labor-intensive process taking hours and sometimes days. With today’s modern life-styles, we need to be able to put a well-balanced, healthy meal on the table in an hour or less.

Planning tools

A weekly meal planner or calendar
Daily notes
Grocery list

Batch cooking - cooking a larger portion of a food category with the intent to use it in multiples ways and meals, spanning across a few days and up to a week

Batch cooking meats
Roasting vegetables
Cleaning and trimming fresh herbs

Batch cooking around a well-balanced meal

Lean proteins
Ancient grains (in Persian cuisine it’s mainly rice!)
Fruits and vegetables

Batch cooking with Persian recipes in mind

Boiling eggs for Persian potato salad | Salad Olivier
Cooking chicken
Chopping vegetables
Making koo koo
Cooking eggplant
Persian stews and khoresh
Soups such as lentil soup, ab ghosht, ash reshteh

Ask the Beats!

The Beats ask each other, what is your biggest challenge around cooking Persian food on a busy week night?

Finding the time
Having all of the components of the meal ready at the same time and serving them still warm
Chopping vegetables

Beats Cheats!

What are some additional shortcuts for putting together a Persian meal on a busy night?

Using canned beans
Buying pre-cooked beets
Ordering Persian food take out for part of the meal, for example order kabab and make the rice

Resources and recipes from this episode:

All Modern Persian Food episodes can be found at: https://modernpersianfood.com/episodes/

Co-host Beata Nazem Kelley blog: https://beatseats.com

Co-host Bita Arabian blog: https://ovenhug.com

Link to episode with “Ask the Beats” about meal planning. Episode 33: Persian Cucumbers

Link to Episode 30: Tahchin

Persian Meal Planning Tips blog post

How to Make Boiled Eggs in an Instant Pot

Video for Roasting Whole Eggplant

Bita’s recipe for Koo Koo Sabzi

Beata’s recipe for Persian Frittata Koo Koo Sabzi

Bita’s recipe for Salad Olivier

Bita’s recipe for Tah Cheen

Bita’s recipe for Tahchin Bites

Beata’s recipe for Persian Jeweled Tahchin

Podcast Production by Alvarez Audio

Next Episode

Figs

In Episode #48, co-hosts Bita and Beata explore figs in Persian food culture. Figs are enjoyed in fresh, dried, and cooked form. Both Beats love fresh figs best however appreciate them in all forms.

Fresh figs

Teardrop shaped
Tiny seeds inside
Soft and fleshy
Thin skin or peel which can be easily be consumed

Dried figs

Persian dried figs
- Small, round, and cute; a bit tough or hard - often mixed into Persian trailmix | Ajeel
Turkish dried figs
- Flat, round, larger than Persian figs
Great for a quick snack and an energy boost

Cooked figs - Jams

Process for cooking fig jam
- Prick the figs with toothpick
- Cover with sugar
- Cook down
- Add Persian spices and essence (cardamom and rose water)
Methods of enjoying Persian fig jam
- Breakfast with bread and tea
- On a cheese board as a sweet spread

Ask the Beats!

Katie in San Francisco asks, “What is your go-to meal when you have a last minute guest?”

Bita often grills something, steams rice, and prepares a fresh salad. A bowl of yogurt or a yogurt dip completes the meal
Beata likes to make Persian rice with lentils, Adas Polo or a dish with eggs

Resources and recipes from this episode:

All Modern Persian Food episodes can be found at: Episodes

Co-host Beata Nazem Kelley blog: BeatsEats – Persian Girl Desperately Addicted to Food!

Co-host Bita Arabian blog: Oven Hug - Healthy Persian Recipes | Modern Persian Recipes

Beata’s recipe for Persian Fig Jam – Morabah Anjeer

Beata’s recipe for Khormah Maloos | Persian Dates and Eggs

Beata’s recipe for: Persian Salads: Maast-o-Khiar with Shallot and Salad Shirazi

Bita’s recipe for Mediterranean Mezze Board (cheese platter)

Bita’s recipe for Ajeel | Persian Trail Mix

Bita’s recipe for Fig Oatmeal Cookies

Bita’s recipe for Lentil and Date Rice | Adas Polo

Bita’s recipe for Persian Cucumber Yogurt Dip | Mast o Khiar