Persian food is varied and delicious, and there’s plenty of different styles to try, so be adventurous!
Most people travelling on a budget will end up eating falafel sandwiches when they’re in Iran because they are cheap ($1 !), filling and delicious, but there’s plenty more to Iranian cuisine then just kebabs.
We don’t consider ourselves to be foodies, but luckily, we were travelling with our good friends Dan and John and they are all about culinary travel, so they had a huge list of food they wanted to try. And boy were we thankful they did!
They had looked up the different types of food they wanted to try, so we basically followed their advice and tried it all. Of course, it was super delicious too.
One particular dish we all loved was dizi. It’s quite confusing how to eat the first time, so we had the restaurant owner show us how to mix and grind all the ingredients. If she didn’t show us, we wouldn’t have a clue how to eat it.
If you are a vegetarian, there are food options but they can be limited. There is a lot of eggplant, lentil and chickpea dishes. There are simple salads and rice also.
Try to get away from the popular tourist areas as well, as the prices are going to be a lot higher than the average place.
Move away and you will be surprised how much the price drops, and the portions are larger. If you are passing a local restaurant and it is packed with locals, that is going to be a winner.
Many people enjoy trying traditional dishes, or local foods when traveling to a new destination. If you are among this group, Iran will be an amazing choice for your next vacation.
Iranian are popular for being great cooks. Moreover, what you will notice when traveling in Iran is the variety of dishes they have.
In addition to traditional Iranian dishes that are cooked in all parts of the country, most cities and villages have their own type of local foods and Persian food recipes too.
Persian foods are divided into different types, including Abgoosht and Dizi, Chellow, Stew, and Kebab.
Here is the list of best Persian food that you should try when traveling around Iran.
When checking a menu of an Iranian restaurant you will definitely witness some foods called Khoresh (some say Khoresht). This term is a generic word for stew dishes in Iranian cuisine.
You will find a wide range of khoresh in Iran, there are some of those like Ghormeh Sabzi, Gheimeh, and Fesenjan that cooked in all cities and also some like Khoresht Mast which only cooked in Isfahan.
In this article we are going to introduce you some type of Khoresh to make you familiar with those, so, don’t forget to take a note or memorize the names of the ones you liked most to order it when you are at a restaurant in different cities in Iran!
Abgoosht (Ab stands for water and goosht for meat) is one of the most traditional food in Iran.
When Abgoosht cooked and served in stone crock pots it’s called Dizi. Whether the name is Abgoosht or Dizi, you should absolutely try this local cuisine when you travel to Iran.
The food has been cooked for so many years and therefore ingredients and recipe of it has been changed in different parts of Iran.
It used to be cooked by lamb, onion and chickpeas only, but nowadays tomatoes and potatoes also added to the stew. However, the way it’s served is still remained the same in all over the country.
When cooked, serving has a special custom, people eat both Abgoosht and Dizi is two-part.
First, they split the soup or broth from the remaining ingredients and poured it into a bowl, then put small pieces of bread (usually Sangak) into the soup and eat the mixture with a spoon.
The process of adding bread to the soup is called “Tilit”. Then they mash the rest of the ingredients and eat it with onion, pickles, basil, and radish.
As mentioned, in different cities of Iran, they have their own ingredients and recipes to cook Abgoosht & Dizi, let’s check some of those:
In Kerman, they cook Abgoosht with meat, lots of caraways and some garlic, there don’t add any potatoes or beans in the stew.
Having rice for lunch is very common and popular in Iran. To have tasty and various types of foods with rice there are two ways of cooking Iranian rice.
The first one to cook it plain with salt and oil which names Chellow. In this way, the cooked rice is served with a type of Kebab, Stew or chicken.
The second type of cooking rice is with a mixture of vegetables, fresh herbs, meatballs, and etc. When the rice is cooked as a mixture it is called Polow. You can find this type of rice dishes in buffet restaurants and traditional ones.
With a variety of Iranian food culture, and therefore, numerous cuisines in different parts of the country, Iran is one of the greatest places for food lovers!
If you are a vegetarian and have some concern about what to eat when you travel to Iran, you don’t need to worry about that at all. There are numbers of dishes in Iran, which prepare and serve without any type of meat.
Iranian pay a lot of attention to their food and that is the reason why you can find a different type of one kind of food in the menus of their restaurants.
As an example, you can find at least five to six different types of Iranian Kebab or as Iranian pronounce Kabab in the menus of most restaurants.
Usually with all type of Kabab one or two grilled tomatoes is served. You can ask for your dish with or without rice.
Different types of Ash and Soups are one of the most popular and traditional bowls in Iran. Some of those cooked with the same recipes in almost all over the country, while the others are unique and specially made in only one or two cities.
Generally speaking, ash is a type of soup with more ingredients. It is also heavier than soup and can be considered as a lunch or dinner itself.
Soup-e Morgh o Sabzijat (Chicken and Vegetable Soup) and Soup-e Jo (Barley Soup) are the most common soups in the country and could be found in most of the restaurants.
Main ingredients of Chicken and vegetable soup is chicken, onion, carrot, celery, tomato, parsley and noodles.
Barley soup has a variety of recipes and ingredients in a different part of the country. Some add chicken and carrots, while the others only cook it with barley and milk.
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