This is a collection of authentic recipes from one of the world's oldest cuisines, chosen and adapted for today's lifestyle and kitchen. Here are light appetisers and kababs, hearty stews and rich, golden-crusted rices, among many other dishes, all fragrant with the distinctive herbs, spices, or fruits of Iran. Each recipe offers clear, easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. Most take less than an hour to prepare; many require only a few moments; many others can be made in advance. Besides its 100 recipes and 60 photographs, the book includes a useful dictionary of Persian cooking techniques and ingredients, a list of speciality stores that sell hard-to-find items, and a brief history of Persian cookery. Together these make a complete introduction to this wonderful cuisine.
Introducing people to the pleasures of Persian cuisine has been a lifelong mission for Najmieh Batmanglij. Her New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies was called "The definitive book of Persian cooking" by the Los Angeles Times, and her Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey was selected as one of the Vegetarian Cookbooks of 2004 by the New York Times. Her book FROM PERSIA TO NAPA: WINE AT THE PERSIAN TABLE was published in September 2006. She has spent the past 26 years traveling, teaching cooking, and adapting authentic Persian recipes to tastes and techniques in the West. She is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier and has taught and lectured throughout the United States. She currently lives in Washington, DC, where she is teaching master classes in Persian cooking and is working on a new book for children to cook with the family.
