Fit For A King

Last night we had the Tidmans over our house for dinner. The menu for the evening was Persian food!

I believe it was Ray and Lee's first taste of Persian cuisine (?? not sure) and Kelly did not disappoint.

Kelly cooked a rice dish called Javaher polow or Jeweled Rice, considered to be the "King of Persian dishes"! It is made of orange peel, almonds, sugar, barberries (zereshk) and pistachios -- usually cooked for weddings with the ingredients representing rubies and emeralds!

Uh, yea... YUM!

And Kelly also cooked Khoresh-e-bademjan (eggplant stew) in vegetarian and non-vegetarian (contains chicken) forms -- Ray is a disciplined vegetarian of 30 years or more! This is my favourite Persian dish, though I still prefer the way my mom makes it to anyone elses. Sorry, Honey. But Kelly makes absolutely mean (aka delicious) Persian RICE dishes!

How is this?

Having never cooked Persian food before we got together, really, and then buying this one cookbook -- New Food of Life, by Najmieh Batmanglij -- her rice dishes can rival that of any multi-generational-cooking-secrets-passed-down-the-family cook. :-D (how's THAT for a compliment, Honey).

Nush-e-Jan!

Kelly also made a regular garden tossed salad with pear and baby greens. And Mast-e-khiar (yoghurt and cucumber) with dill.

The evening was pleasant, and Ray and Lee loved the food.

Our first dinner with company at home.

Looking forward to many more to come.

PS. I helped Kelly too, in case anyone was wondering... I did not just twiddle my thumbs until food was ready :-)

PPS. Not quite sure what "Nush-e-Jan" means though I've been told I believe it means "Bon-apetite"?? (persians out there please correct me)