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Product Description
Review
Shaida is married to an Iranian and she lived in Persia for over 25 years, where she was taught to cook by her mother-in-law. Against a backdrop of anecdotes and quotations she presents a selection of highly fragrant individual recipes interwoven into a tapestry of history and legend. Persian cooking is often very delicate and never too spicy. It uses lots of fruit and nuts in combination with meat, poultry and fish and much emphasis is placed on attractive presentation. The photographs of dishes included here are all exquisite. A Glenfiddich Award winner. Highly recommended. --Kirkus UK
Margaret Shaida's The Legendary Cuisine of Persia is a must-have book for anyone interested in learning more about this cuisine. --Jenny Linford, The Financial Times
Margaret Shaida's The Legendary Cuisine of Persia is a must-have book for anyone interested in learning more about this cuisine. --Jenny Linford, The Financial Times
Product Description
Persian cooking is very suited to the contemporary style of eating. Many of the dishes are vegetarian, and the marriage of sweet and savoury, such as grains and pulses sweetened with fruit and spices, makes for delicious meals. This book showcases a selection of these dishes.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the book which, nearly a decade ago, sparked off my love affair with Middle Eastern food. I had been making food from the Indian subcontinent for some while and felt it was perhaps time to expand the geographical horizon a bit. Flicking through this in the bookshop I was entranced, particularly by the photograph of morasa polow with the barberries, currants, sugar crystals, slivered pistachios and almonds and candied orange peel looking like jewels, hence the name meaning "jewelled rice".
The book kicks off with chapters on historical and cultural information, and a sizeable and useful chapter on the ingredients which make Iranian cuisine distinctive.
There follow chapters on bread and rice. Rice dishes include polows (compare Indian 'pilau' and Turkish 'pilaf'), mountains of rice steamed with other ingredients. The discussion on how to successfully cook these kind of rice dishes to perfection on its own is worth getting this book for.
Next come stews (koreshes - the koresht-e fesenjan, duck with a walnut and pomegranate sauce is a classic of world cuisine) and soups.
Then there are also kebabs, meat dumplings, stuffed meats & roasts; followed by stuffed vegetables, kukus (omelette like dishes), yoghurt & salad dishes, pickles, conserves & preserves, drinks, desserts, delicacies, sweetmeats & other confections.
Why only 4 stars for such a superb book? It's only because for me, the recipes tend to be a bit on the minimalist side compared to those in another couple of Iranian cookbooks I have by Najmieh Batmanglij,
New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies and Taste of Persia: An Introduction to Persian Cooking. Batmanglij tends to throw a few more ingredients into her recipes and are more packed with flavour. That approach may not be to everyone's taste - for many people less is more when it comes to combining different flavours - but personally I prefer the greater complexity of Batmanglij's dishes. Still, I wouldn't want to be without the books of either of these writers, as Shaida expertly guides you in the steps to success in preparing Iranian food.
The book kicks off with chapters on historical and cultural information, and a sizeable and useful chapter on the ingredients which make Iranian cuisine distinctive.
There follow chapters on bread and rice. Rice dishes include polows (compare Indian 'pilau' and Turkish 'pilaf'), mountains of rice steamed with other ingredients. The discussion on how to successfully cook these kind of rice dishes to perfection on its own is worth getting this book for.
Next come stews (koreshes - the koresht-e fesenjan, duck with a walnut and pomegranate sauce is a classic of world cuisine) and soups.
Then there are also kebabs, meat dumplings, stuffed meats & roasts; followed by stuffed vegetables, kukus (omelette like dishes), yoghurt & salad dishes, pickles, conserves & preserves, drinks, desserts, delicacies, sweetmeats & other confections.
Why only 4 stars for such a superb book? It's only because for me, the recipes tend to be a bit on the minimalist side compared to those in another couple of Iranian cookbooks I have by Najmieh Batmanglij,
New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies and Taste of Persia: An Introduction to Persian Cooking. Batmanglij tends to throw a few more ingredients into her recipes and are more packed with flavour. That approach may not be to everyone's taste - for many people less is more when it comes to combining different flavours - but personally I prefer the greater complexity of Batmanglij's dishes. Still, I wouldn't want to be without the books of either of these writers, as Shaida expertly guides you in the steps to success in preparing Iranian food.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My Iranian husband and father-in were impressed by my 'innate' Iranian cooking skills... little did they know that it was the miracle of Ms Shaida's book that gave me these powers. The book is a joy to read and produces dishes that are a joy to eat. Authentic recipes and lovely stories... an ideal book for anyone who loves to cook and eat delicious, delicately flavoured, healthy and very interesting dishes from the wonderful Iranian cooking heritage.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ms. Shaida's book captures the complexity of the relationship that Iranians have with their cuisine. Great background information and easy to follow recipes make this a must-have for any lover of cooking and food.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
First time I fell in love with a cookbook
Most cookbooks give a tidbit of information behind the dish. This cookbook was written with passion and love for food and the Persian culture. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Cando_kid
Good recipe book but few photos
A complete recipe book but with few photos. Could it be very useful for people (like me) that don't know the Persian cuisine.
Published 14 months ago by Salvo L.
Not bad.
Personally I prefer cooking for dummies type cook books. I need pics and step by step instructions. Sadly this book had neither.
Published 15 months ago by Corpa Tuncay
disappointing
I purchased this book because I understood it to be a cook book of Persian food. However it is more a history of Persian cooking and a glossory of terms translated from Farsi than... Read more
Published 15 months ago by mgn
interesting
My partner had been telling me about the superb rice she had when she worked in Iran.
THE BOOK EXPLAINS THE VARIOUS TYPES OF RICE AS WELL AS SOME SUPERB RECIPES I HAD... Read more
THE BOOK EXPLAINS THE VARIOUS TYPES OF RICE AS WELL AS SOME SUPERB RECIPES I HAD... Read more
Published 18 months ago by pjraags
loved it
I bought several Iranian cook books over the sapce of the last few months and this by far is my favourite. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Lisa
Fascinating and delicious
This is a fascinating book. It is places Iranian cooking in its cultural context and explains its influence over Middle Eastern cookery. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mrs. K. A. P. Wright
Excellent Book
This is a great cookery book, I have been meaning to understand a bit more about Iranian cuisine and this book is really informative. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2010 by J. Holownia
Compliments to the chef!
Seldom do you come across such recipes - one's that take your hand and gently guide you to the end point where awaits something invariably mouth watering! Read more
Published on 23 April 2009 by Ms. S. Mir Shafiei
It is a Bible of Persian Cooking
If you do not have any books about Persian Cooking, this is the one to start. I would not say all recipies in this book are easy, but not diffcult. Read more
Published on 30 April 2008 by Sakura
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