Joon: Persian Cooking Made Simple

by Najmieh Batmanglij

75 Persian recipes made many requiring only one pot and less than an hour to cook while keeping the authentic flavors of Iran. Includes many vegan and vegetarian options. In Joon, master chef Najmieh Batmanglij distills one of the world's oldest and most influential cuisines to capture its unique flavors in recipes adapted to suit our busy lives. Najmieh's fans have been making meals from her Food of Life for more than 30 years. For Joon she has simplified 75 of her favorite dishes and shows how, with the right ingredients and a few basic tools and techniques, authentic Persian food can easily be prepared at home. The recipes in this book--each accompanied by a photograph of the finished dish--come straight from Najmieh's kitchen and include not only the classics of Persian cooking, but also some soon-to-be favorites, such as quinoa or kale cooked Persian-style. You'll discover delicious side dishes, from cooling, yogurt-based salads and tasty dips and spreads, to more sustaining platters of grains, beans and fresh herbs; tasty kukus --frittata-style omelets filled with vegetables and herbs; spice-infused fish; mouth-watering meatballs and kababs served on flat breads with tangy sauces; every kind of rice--including the incomparable polow topped with various sweet and sour braises; not to mention, delightfully aromatic cakes and cookies to round off meals or enjoy as a snack in between. Much of Iran's cuisine is essentially vegetarian. Although kababs are popular restaurant fare, they represent only a small sampling of the dishes Iranians eat at home. Persian cooking, with its emphasis on fresh, natural ingredients corresponds with the trend in eating that's spreading across America. "Join the delicious revolution!" as Alice Waters says; "Eat simply, eat together, eat seasonally, shop at farmers markets." Iran and Persia refer to the same place. These days we use "Iran" to refer to the country and "Persia" or "Persian" for the culture, from Persian carpets, and Persian cats to, Persian cooking. Persian, also called farsi, is the language of Iran. Joon means "life" in Persian. It can be used in multiple ways, from a term of endearment akin to "darling"after someone's name to showing great "I love it!" The expression nush-e joon, literally "food of life," is similar to the French "bon appétit," a wish that a meal will be enjoyed.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction

223 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2015

About the author

Najmieh Batmanglij, hailed as “the guru of Persian cuisine” by The Washington Post, has spent the past 30 years cooking, traveling, and adapting authentic Persian recipes to tastes and techniques in the West. Her cookbook New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies, was called “The definitive book of Persian cooking” by the Los Angeles Times; her Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey was selected as “One of the ten best vegetarian cookbooks of the year” by The New York Times; and her From Persia to Napa: Wine at the Persian Table won the Gourmand Cookbook Award for the world’s best wine history book of 2007. She is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier and lives in Washington, DC, where she teaches Persian and Silk Road cooking, lectures and consults with restaurants around the world. Her most recent book is Happy Nowruz: Cooking with Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year.

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I’ve made out of this book so far has turned out fantastic. The lime and turmeric roast chicken alone makes this book worth having around. I appreciate that the table of contents lists all the recipes, not only the categories like some cookbooks. And it’s great that weight measurements are also included for better accuracy.

[Aasinathena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was elated to read her first book : Food of life. And that book is considered as the encyclopedia of Persian and Iranian cooking. This book is not near that..BUT a precise guide to Iranian food as a beginner. Great read !

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prefer the Cooking in Iran format :)

[Majid Boroujerdi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book with simple recipes

Wonderful cook book with simple recipes. Every recipe I've tried has turned out delicious. It also has great vegetarian recipes.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is much clearer for the home chef than Batmanglij's first book "Food of Life". I only wish it had included a recipe for rice with Tahdig that did not involve using an Iranian rice cooker.