Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey

by Najmieh Batmanglij

This book is at once an exploration, a celebration, and a little-known tale of unity. It presents 150 delicious vegetarian dishes that together trace a fascinating story of culinary linkage. As renowned cookbook writer and teacher Najmieh Batmanglij explains, all have their origins along the ancient network of trade routes known as the Silk Road, stretching from China in the east to the Mediterranean in the west. On this highway moved not just trade goods but also ideas, customs, tastes and such basics of life as cooking ingredients. The result was the connecting and enrichment of dozens of cuisines. In Silk Road A Vegetarian Journey, Najmieh Batmanglij recounts that process and brings it into the modern kitchen in the form of recipes that are venturesome and yet within reach of any cook. They are intended for vegetarian, partial-vegetarian and non-vegetarian alike -- anyone who is looking for balanced, unusual and exceptionally tasty dishes. The book offers a wealth of information derived from the authorÍs extensive research and her travels along the Silk Road during the past 25 years. She complements the recipes with stories, pictures, histories of ingredients, and words of wisdom from her favorite poets and writers of the region. The scope of her culinary journey of discovery is vast -- from Xian in China, to Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, to Isfahan in Iran, to Istanbul in Turkey, and to the westernmost terminus of the ancient trade routes in Italy. Her recipes -- all of them personal favorites -- include such exotic yet simple fare as Sichuan Crispy Cucumber Pickles; Afghan Boulani, a savory pastry stuffed with garlic chives; Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Salad; Kermani Pistachio and Saffron Polow with Rose Petals; Chinese Hot and Sour Tofu Noodle Soup; Turkish Almond and Rice Flour Pudding; Uzbek Candied Quince with Walnuts; and Sicilian Sour Cherry Crostata. Fortunately, all the ingredients for these recipes can be obtained at local supermarkets and farmersÍ markets. In recent years America has become a kind of modern Silk Road, where wonderful ingredients from all over the world are available to everyone.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Asia, Travel, Vegetarian

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

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

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good vegetarian cookbook covering the middle east and parts of India. Lots of great recipes and context.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A while ago Mum and I got enthusiastic about cookie stamps. The inspiration was a recipe in Silk Road Cooking - a book that I’ve borrowed from the library, given to Mum, and currently have on order for myself. The recipe in Silk Road Cooking (if I remember correctly) is for Date and Walnut Scones (or something similar). It’s basically these little pillow-like cookies, stuffed with a date and walnut - kind of like a Fig Newton. Really, the thing that’s most appealing about these cookie/scones, is that they have a stamp imprinted in the top. Mum and I decided that we needed to be able to re-create this effect. Some research revealed that what we needed was a cookie stamp, and that the nicest ones available were in America.

I offered to order a couple of cookie stamps and to send one to Mum for Mothers’ Day and keep one for myself. Mum agreed to this without too much pressure from me. I chose Elizabeth’s Crown for Mum (her name is Elizabeth, after all) and Leaf Blossom for myself. This evening, I decided to try mine out. Because I’m still waiting to receive my copy of Silk Road Cooking, I used a shortbread recipe that came with the stamp. The stamps also come with helpful instructions on how to use them, and I can report that they’re not joking when they stress the importance of seasoning the stamp with oil before you use it - once there’s dough stuck in the little groove it’s very hard to get out! However, my shortbread cookies came out very nicely - they taste good, and they have a lovely pattern imprinted into them.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received as a Christmas gift last year, this tasty exploration of vegetarian dishes inspired by one of my favorite historical phenomenas delivers on variety and inventiveness. So far the Central Asian and Middle Eastern dishes are definite strengths, compared to the weak South Asian dishes (particularly Indian braises) which capture the spirit but rely too heavily on turmeric.

If you're looking to enliven a geographically uninterested palate, seek out this text. Again, the Central Asian dishes will certainly inspire uncommon combinations of vegetable and fruit which draw from Batmanglij's Persian background and intense love and respect for the foodways of the region.

Recommended dishes:

[Shantiwallah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, love this book! I got it from the library and I fear that I will soon be paying overdue fees as I can't bear to part with it. So far I've made a palow that was absolutely delicious, and I've got my eye on many more recipes. I am fascinated with Central Asia and I really loved the travelogue/ anthropological viewpoint of the book. Plus the author has filled it with delicious stories and quotes from Rumi. I agree with the other poster who said she'd spent more time reading it than cooking.

[FiveFlavours · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, love this book! I got it from the library and I fear that I will soon be paying overdue fees as I can't bear to part with it. So far I've made a palow that was absolutely delicious, and I've got my eye on many more recipes. I am fascinated with Central Asia and I really loved the travelogue/ anthropological viewpoint of the book. Plus the author has filled it with delicious stories and quotes from Rumi. I agree with the other poster who said she'd spent more time reading it than cooking!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to buy this book. This cookbook is amazing. I saw a recipe for rice with coconut and tamarind, except my tamarind was dry in pods, so I flipped back to the reference/glossary section and sure enough, she explains how to make your own tamarind paste. It was much easier and quicker than I thought it would be, and of course the results were delicious. Everything else I tried has been great, too.

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

i want to love everything there is in this book, but i think you might actually have to travel the silk road to gather many of the crucial ingredients. as a result, i've yet to use it, but it's well-put together.

[louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great birthday gift from last year from bookish. Oh how I love this book. I admit I read it more than I cook from it, but everything I've made, I've loved. Batmanglij is also the author of the cookbook that led me to realize that Persian food is the perfect food for my palate.

[Hester · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is so much more than a cookbook. It opened up a whole world to me, and taught me a little about Central Asia. The photography is stunning, illustrating both the food and the world that created it.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book with stories of travel, beautiful photos and delicious recipes. I have purchased this book many times for newly married friends or friends who love to cook. I receive loads of compliments every time I serve a recipe from this book. Yum!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is awesome. I might have to buy it! Things I made (and loved):

-Chinese Noodle Salad
-Sichuan Toasted Sesame & Cabbage Salad
-Baba Ganoush
-Georgian Pilaf with Tart Cherries
-Persian Pistachio Cake

[Juliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous cookbook, although rather large, and the recipes aren't the easiest. Ah well, it's lovely.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my absolute favorite cookbook right now. Every recipe I've made from it has been a success.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photos and good recipes.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a stunning book, excellent recipes, and beautiful to browse even if you never cook a thing from it! I usually look at it, then go out to a good Persian restaurant.

[Kjersten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delicious and informative a dleighful treat for both the sense and the imagination. We are not that different across this great globe as this cook book shows us.

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful pictures and fantastic recipes! I loved reading the history of each item-and of the Silk Road.

[Jafumbwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book highlights the recipes and foods (sans meat) used along the silk road.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago, and borrowed it incessantly from the library. Bought it. Used it. Gave it away - but it's found it's way back on my bookshelf and I won't give it up again! There are so many different types of recipes in this lovely book. It introduced me to a way of life, not just cooking tips. And the recipes are wonderful. This cookbook deserves a revival!