As I read Veil of Roses, I was introduced to many delicious sounding food from the book. Not all of it was Iranian, but besides the cookies I made I have never tasted any of the following.
Sholeh-Zard
This dish is a Persian rice pudding that I may never make. One it’s key ingredients is the expensive and difficult to find saffron. In the book Veil of Roses, the lead eats the left over Sholeh Zard for breakfast, a dish that was served at a party the previous night.
Sholeh-Zard is a Persian rice pudding with Saffron as one of it’s ingredients. I found this recipe of Sholeh Zard. The ingredients sound delicious; it consists of the usually rose and nut ingredients, which appears to be typical in Persian dishes. The finished product looks beautiful; it’s something I would enjoy eating.
Stollen
This bread hails from Germany. Tamila in Veil of Roses has to attend an ESL class and in the class she meets Eva, who is from Germany. Eva brings Stollen to class to share with her classmates.
Stollen is a bread that is eaten around Christmastime in Germany. it contains dried fruit and nuts. Hmm… it sounds similar to another Christmas bread that we have in the United States (*whispers* fruit cake–nobody eats fruit cake). I found this recipe online. I might attempt to make this when it is closer to Christmas.
Nane Shirini Cookies
These are the cookies I didn’t make because nuts are included in the ingredients. I know I could omit them, but I don’t like tearing apart a recipe before trying the original. In its stead, I made shirini keshmeshi cookies, which were the most beautiful cookies I have ever made. It truly made me cry tears of joy.
While Shirini Keshmeshi cookies are butter cookies, Nane Shirini are sugar cookies that have vanilla, almond, and lemon extract. I found a recipe here. They sound like they would taste delicious.
Barley Stew and Unleavened Bread
As Tamila woke up in Chapter 11 of Veil of Roses, she was welcomed with the scent of barley stew and unleavened bread that her sister was making. I wished I could wake up to food, but sadly I’m usually the first one awake. Barley is a grain that originated in Eurasian countries, eastern Europe and western Asia. Here’s the difference between a American recipe and an Iranian recipe. I like the simplicity in the Iranian recipe, but the American one looks so delicious. Oh and here’s a recipe from unleavened bread (aka flatbread).
Dolmeh-Yeh Seeb Zamini
Dolmeh-yeh seeb-zamini are potatoes with meat, rice, and herb filling. One of Tamila’s favorite dinners from the book. She invited Eva, her friend from class, over to have dinner with her family. After looking at this recipe, I think this is something I would make too. It is filling and refreshing at the same time.
Laban, Lamb Kebab, Rice
Tamila order this at an Jordanian restaurant, but this meal is a typical middle eastern dish that can be ordered at a restaurant. Laban is a milk drink that cools you off in the hot summer heat. I may attempt to make it soon.
Persian Wishing Soup
The assembly of this soup reminds me a little of the story Stone Soup because different people will contribute different ingredients. This fairy tale-like soup is created by a person making a wish and then friends come over on the specific day that the wish is made, bringing their soup ingredient. Once done, everyone shares the food and the wish comes true. Everyone lives happily ever after. The End.
If the wish sincerely comes true, then I am making this soup today. I like this recipe.
Veil of Roses introduced Persian cuisine to me. There are so many delicious dishes this book shares and this is only a glimpse into what Iran’s food has to offer. Tamila has good taste when it comes to food.
Would you try any of this recipes?
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