Golden Berry Chicken
In my constant quest to amuse and entertain you – and to make you think – I am writing a restaurant review as a political statement.
Huh?
Well, I’m sure that most people’s image of Iran started with the American Embassy Hostage Taking in 1980, and has gone downhill ever since. We think of Iran as a backward country ruled by religious fanatics. Which it is, at the moment.
However, our Iranian friends tell us that there are two Irans: one on the street and the other in the homes, where different traditions are honoured. They proudly remind us that the Persian culture has been around for several thousand years, and that the present situation, seen in that context, is inconsequential. After all, Alexander the Great only ruled them for 9 years. And where do you think shiraz wine came from?
Iranians in Canada, many of whom prefer to be called Persians, would like us to ignore this political hiccup and think of them as a culture with a long and glorious history and a tradition of good food.
My brother, Sandy, worked in Iran for three years in the late 70s on a pulp mill project, and he enjoyed his time there. He especially enjoyed the fact that his contract ended several months before the revolution. Some of his friends were not so lucky; they had to scramble whatever they could fit into their cars and lam it for the border in a convoy. Sandy still speaks Farsi, and likes to go to the Shiraz Restaurant in his home town of Prince George to practise his accent with the owner. And eat Persian food.
So there we sat on a warm August evening, ordering “Authentic Persian Cuisine” from the menu:
My brother ordered the Soltani Kebob (King Kebob کباب سلطانی): one skewer of beef and one skewer of kobideh (a seasoned mix of ground beef and lamb, like Greeks put in gyros). As an unrepentant meat lover, he revelled in it. It came with a salsa-type sauce with dill and cilantro and other vegetables.
My wife, Linda, ordered Fesen Joon (Taste of Life فسنجون ), an exotic slow-cooked stew made of sour pomegranate paste and crushed walnuts, served over Persian style basmati saffron rice with a side salad. Definitely exotic, although a bit sweet to the Western taste.
Pomegranates feature in a lot of Persian cooking. Sandy tells me that they grow wild in the roadside ditches, and he used to take them home all the time. I asked how you tell a pomegranate is ripe. He had no idea. He just picked them when they were in season.
My sister-in-law, Roberta, had Zereshk Polo ba Morgh (Golden Berry Rice with Chicken زرشک پلو بامرغ). This is boneless chicken cooked in homemade saffron sauce. Served with rice covered in dried barberries and saffron. The chicken was quite delicious, and the barberries add a tangy sweetness to the rice.
I ordered the Norooz Lamb Shanks. In the words of Prince Gastronome, who awarded the Shiraz “Best Ethnic Restaurant in Prince George,” the best way to cut the meat was “by gravity.” Need I say more? Except to mention (with apologies to my Punjabi friends who are excellent cooks) that Persian style saffron basmati is my favourite rice in the whole world.
So there we have it. Proof positive that Iran is not only a country of terrorists, sharia law and burkas. It is also a culture with a great history and a taste for wonderful food.