Persian Cooking
If Scheherazade had to depend on her culinary imagination to persuade the King to spare her, she doubtless would have told him about recipes such as these. There is a succulent dish, she might have begun, called Shirin Pollo, wherein rice is enfolded with strips of chicken, sweetened orange peel, pistachios and almonds. . . . On nights to follow she might whet his appetite with Fessenjoon, chicken stewed in pomegranate syrup and walnuts, or Meat and Parsley Soup with Green Plums, Roast Partridges in Cream, Lamb Hearts with Cinnamon or Cranberry and October Bean Soup.After she had delved into the kookoos (souffls), the kebabs, the dolemahs, the game birds, vegetables, salads, breads and pickles, she might turn to the sweetsElephants Ears, Persian Marzipan, Sweet Fingers, the sherbets and cold sweet drinks. She would soon have the King eating out of her hand, for Persian cuisine offers something for even the most sophisticated of gourmets in search of new epicurean delights.The oldest cuisine known to man, Persian cooking is based on lamb, fruits, vegetables and grains, used in subtle and varied combinations. The food is neither highly spiced nor hot but seasoned with herbs. It is very nutritious and very economical requiring minimum amounts of meat. Many dishes are easy to prepare ahead of time and well suited to reheating-they make good leftovers.As Mrs. Ramazani writes: Here is a culinary art so highly developed that the most lowly vegetable can taste divine, every meal can be a gastronomic treat, every cook a creative artist.