My Culinary Writings
Serious Eats Articles & Recipes
Serious Eats is an award-winning culinary website where rigorously tested recipes and science-driven cooking articles are published.
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How to Stock a Persian Pantry - Everything you need to know about the pantry staples of Persian cuisine.
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Persian Food 101: Recipes to Get You Started at Home - This introduction to Persia’s extensive culinary history includes recipes for every occasion, along with serving suggestions for memorable meals at home.
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Chelow (Persian Steamed White Rice) - Perfectly textured rice that’s fragrant, light, fluffy, and tender, with each grain separate from the next.
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How to Make Tahdig (Persian Crunchy Rice) - How to achieve the delicious, buttery, golden, crunchy layer formed at the very bottom of a traditional Persian-style steamed rice pot.
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Sālād-é-Shirāzi (Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad) - This popular Iranian salad features a combination of cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions is refreshing, simple, and quick to make.
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Kotlet (Persian Ground Meat and Potato Patties) - These versatile pan-fried patties are made from a mixture of ground meat, eggs, and finely mashed (or riced) boiled potatoes.
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Sholeh-Zard (Persian Saffron Rice Pudding) - This rich and creamy rice pudding is subtly flavored with saffron and rosewater then finished with decorations fit for royalty.
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Khoresh-é-Bādemjan (Persian Meat and Eggplant Stew) - Filled with melt-in-your-mouth meat and luscious eggplant, this aromatic stew is hearty, comforting, and undeniably delicious.
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Māst-o-Khiār (Persian Yogurt with Cucumber) - Is it a side? Is it a dip? There’s no wrong way to enjoy māst-o-khiār, a simple combination of tangy yogurt and refreshing cucumber enjoyed throughout Iran.
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Kashk-o-Bādemjān (Persian Braised Eggplant With Kashk) - This silky mixture of twice-cooked eggplant with tangy kashk, fried onions, garlic, and dried mint is a mainstay on most Persian restaurant menus.
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Fesenjān (Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Meat Braise) - An iconic Persian braise, gets its signature sweet-and-sour flavor from pomegranate molasses and its velvety texture from ground walnuts.
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Fāloodeh (Persian Frozen Noodle and Rose Water Sorbet) - Delicate threads of frozen noodles are front-and-center in every scoop of this sumptuous rose water–flavored icy dessert.
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Haleem (Persian Meat and Wheat Porridge) - An ancient dish where well mashed legumes and shredded meat form a thick, filling, healthy, and energizing meal.
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Halva-ye-Haveej (Persian Carrot Halva) - This classic Persian sweet is easy to make, nutritious, comforting, and exotically delicious.
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Kookoo-Sabzi (Persian Herb Kookoo) - A classic egg-centric savory Persian dish featuring plenty of herbs, kookoo-sabzi can be enjoyed hot or cold, as a main course, side dish, snack, or even as a sandwich.




Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery Papers
The Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery is an annual peer-reviewed conference where food writers, cooks, culinary academicians, and others with an interest in food and culture meet to present papers and discuss topics related to food studies and food history. The Symposium has taken place every year since 1983.
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Orange Blossoms and the Holy Grail of Persian Jams
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2024 Symposium Proceedings (Pre-publication copy)
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Eating and Feeding Rituals and Edicts in Persianate Societies: From Sofreh to Tārof, Nazri, and Beyond
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2023 Symposium Proceedings
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Picnicking in Iran: From Cemeteries to Ski Slopes, Caves, Traffic Circles, and Beaches
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2022 Symposium Proceedings
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Persian Tahdig: A Canvas for Culinary Imagination, Innovation, and Artistry
2021 Symposium Proceedings
Petits Propos Culinaires (PPC) Papers
Petits Propos Culinaires (PPC) is a peer-reviewed international journal on food, food history, cookery, and cookery books published in Britain since 1979.
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The Role of Pomegranate in the Persianate World's Culinary Practices and Beyond
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Published in PPC 127 - December 2023
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The Persianate World's Heavenly Fruit: The Pomegranate
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Published in PPC 125 - April 2023
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Yogurt in Persian Cookery
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Published in PPC 122 - April 2022
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Short Culinary Essays
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Norooz and Food – Inseparable Since the Beginning
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Ancient links between the Persian New Year and the Iranian food culture
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Advancing and Promoting Food Studies within Iranian/Persianate Studies
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A conversation with Iranian university faculty member Amir Sayadabdi
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Telling Stories from Tehran to Rome to Vancouver to Los Angeles
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A conversation with Iranian cookbook author Naz Deravian.
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Mid-Spring – A Busy Time in a Persian Home Kitchen
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Use of short-lived spring blossoms and unripe fruit in Persian cookery.
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A Tale of Persian Hospitality, Cooking Innovation, and Culinary Evangelism
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A conversation with Iranian chef Hoss Zaré.
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Persian Tahdig – Much More Than Just the Crunchy Rice at the Bottom of the Pot
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Innovative practices that Persian cooks have introduced into the process of making Tahdig.
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Other Published Recipes and Writings
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Persian Comfort Food: A Foodways Exploration
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Characterization of the comfort foods associated with Persianate societies around the world
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Published in: Digest: A Journal of Foodways and Culture 9:2 (Fall 2022)
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Toot - Persian Mulberry-Shaped Almond Confection
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Versions of my recipe for this bite-size delight was published in US on The Kitchn culinary site as well as on a Brazilian culinary website in Portuguese.
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Fesenjan - Persian Ground Walnuts and Pomegranate Molasses Meat Braise
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My recipe for this famous Persian braise was published in Petits Propos Culinaires
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