Persian food is known for being colorful, flavorful, and full of spices. The food is embedded in so many years of history, you can practically taste it. It’s an intricate art that involves tying together the most incredible flavors to create mouth-watering stews, juicy kebabs, and fluffy, buttery saffron rice. The best part? All of this food is incredibly easy to make!
We’ve done the research to find the 5 best Persian cookbooks for your kitchen. With just a couple of these cookbooks, you’ll be able to make Iranian food that has delighted mouths for centuries. Without further adieu, here’s our top 5 picks:
Persian Cookbook Review Center 2021
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Now that you’ve seen our top 5 recommendations, we’ll give you more detail on each of them, including why we liked them. When you’re ready, click the yellow button to get the best price on Amazon!
#1 – Food of Life: Ancient Persian and modern Iranian cooking and ceremonies
Persian and Iranian Cooking is all about flavor. But where does this flavor come from? Unraveling the mystery of Persian cooking from this cookbook, much can be said that the food is cooked slowly and with patience. All the recipes contained within the cookbook have a unique blend of both the cultures and the taste turns out to be exotic and wonderful. While the central aspect of Persian and Iranian cooking is seen from the cookbook, most of the recipes contain the meat of all sorts but also there is a separate menu for the vegetarians as well that consists of vegetarian kebabs and other rice dishes as well.
What is the most lovable aspect about this cookbook is the way each and every dish that is mentioned has some sort of history related to it. Even for some, the occasion is mentioned as well. Some of the recipes are mandatory for weddings and other events. It is therefore very crucial to get all the aspects of the dishes right. The cookbook also mentions the recipes one by one in chronological order, separating the vegetarian with the non-vegetarian one. Even a separate section purely dedicated for dessert is also present. Sweet dishes form an integral part of the Persian cuisine and therefore, it is very essential to have a sweet dish cooked with each and every meal.
What we like about it
The cookbook is so wonderfully arranged that it has separate sections for all: the vegetarians, the nonvegetarians and for dessert too. All the dishes have the occasion mentioned as well and the ingredients are listed in a quite systematic way. The recipes mentioned creating a complete balanced element when cooked along with the dessert, which is mandatory. The methods of cooking are listed as well and the average time for every dish is also introduced.
#2 – The New Persian Kitchen
Persian cooking has a long time since fascinated the chefs from all over the world. It is simply due to the flavor and the taste of the dishes that make the food much yummier and tastier. This cookbook that hails all the authentic recipes from Persia has certain secrets straight from the Persian kitchen. The book is divided into sections and parts that make it much easier to look for recipes and cook them. The greatest thing about this book is the way the best of Persian spices are listed, which includes raw organic tamarind, turmeric, saffron, rose petals and certain other dry spices like nutmeg and dried limes. Even other exotic ingredients are used as well and everything can be purchased from any online store. The major aspect of this cookbook also lists all health conscious recipes as well that includes all the major exotic spices that are good for the human body.
In addition to that, one can get the calorie intake and other nutritional information against each and every dish from the cookbook. Since so much transparency is maintained, one can easily look for any recipes and make it in the kitchen to impress the loved ones. It is simply a matter of time and slow cooking of the food that all the flavors come right and stay within the food for longer periods of time.
What we like about it
The very special quality about this cookbook is that one can make the recipes straightaway as they are not really tough to make at all. Even the exotic spices used in the recipes can be purchased online at moderate rates. Moreover, the lucidity of the book is the slow cooking process that is mentioned against each recipe because of the sole fact that the flavors turn out to be more authentic and the food retains it for longer periods.
#3 – Bottom of the pot: Persian recipes and Stories
Persian cooking is an emotion that needs to be embraced at each and every point of time while the cooking is being done. It is just not through the cooking process but the flavors that make chefs and other home cooks from all over the world drool with love for the recipes. As the cookbook suggests, most of the recipes are made in an authentic manner on a pot solely because the flavors turn out to be more exotic. Most of the recipes listed in the cookbook come from home kitchens in Persia that is so found of cooking food in a pot. It can be said that traditional cooking centuries ago used to be done in pots as mechanized equipment were not available then.
Owing to the cooking factors of the dishes, one can find ingredients like saffron and rose water that not only gives colors to the food but adds a sort of distinct smell and flavor to the food as well. Mostly when the food is cooked over a pot, wood or charcoal is used to light the fire as that brings additional flavor to the food as well. Although the time taken for cooking is much more in comparison to other methods of cooking, all the hard work is worth the outcome of producing one of the best-flavored recipes.
What we like about it
The most exquisite part of this cookbook lies in its pot cooking procedure that entraps all the flavors inside the cooking vessel and cooks the food over very low heat. Since wood or charcoal is used, these two further increase the flavor of the food to some extent. The recipes listed in the cookbook are made in home kitchens in Persia and the ingredients are not at all hard to find either in stores or even online.
#4 – The enchantingly easy Persian Cookbook: 100 simple recipes for beloved Persian Food Favourites
As Persian cooking is essentially characterized by flavor and smell, one can imagine the time that is usually taken with traditional cooking of food. But with this cookbook at hand, one can easily make any Persian dish in just less than 15 minutes. Any secret? Well, the ingredients are not that complicated and the cooking can be done on any equipment. Even the recipes are light and consist of small snacks as well that very well compliment the main course. If there is a small party being hosted anywhere, recipes from this cookbook would be the perfect thing to cook and have a blast.
The best part about this cookbook is that the way all the recipes have a series of instructions that are listed one by one to ensure that no step is missed and the food turns out to be tantalizing. Even the flavors are introduced with the addition of saffron and rose milk in small quantities in every dish, as the very essence of Persian cuisine is infused with these two elements. Apart from the dishes, the cooking time is mentioned as well. To make the recipes much more transparent in nature, the nutritional value of the recipes is listed so that one can count the calorie that is being taken per serving. Most of the ingredients listed in the book cook food for four and the amount can be adjusted accordingly.
What we like about it
The most crucial and special part about this cookbook is that most of the recipes can be cooked without any complicated ingredients and still the flavors turn out to be very much appetizing. The cookbook lists all the recipes systematically and even nutritional information’s are provided so that per intake of calories and other nutrients can be counted. The cookbook lists all 100 recipes that are completely authentic Persian foods and anyone can make it anytime.
#5 – Taste of Persia: A Cook’s Travel through Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Kurdistan
What is better other than reading a cookbook that lets all travel to various regions? Well, this cookbook contains all the authentic recipes from all over Persia and takes into account the very magic that home cooking can give to all. Every home in Persia has some unique style of cooking the food and this cookbook has everything listed under one roof. The classic quality of this cookbook is the way all the ingredients are rather quite simple and not so complicated. The book is divided into three sections that consist of breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes and one can browse through any one of them to understand what needs to be cooked when.
For greater transparency, there is also a mini party foods section that lists some of the recipes that can be made at parties. The greatest aspect is the flavor that is attached to each and every dish and the way the cooking process emulsifies each and every aspect of the dish in the very right amount. In contrast to other dishes, the recipes are simple, smart and very much unique to be booked anytime. Since the cookbook has recipes collected from all over Persia, every recipe has something or the other magical about it that brings out all the flavors together. Having such a cookbook is like a blessed thing that every kitchen should surely collect for the love of Persian food.
What we like about it
The very amazing factor about this cookbook is the way all the recipes are listed from various regions of Persia in a very systematic manner. The nutritional value along with the time taken for cooking the food is listed as well. The ingredients are kept simple and are used in all homes across Persia. Even the flavors are authentic and not too spicy and this is what makes this cookbook very special to chefs and home cooks all over the world.
How we choose the top Persian cookbook in Our List:
Keeping in mind all the flavors that are usually attached with the Persian cookbook, one must carefully have a look as to what an essentially good cookbook must contain. Therefore, here are the top things that must be included in the best Persian Cookbooks:
- It is not only easy to read through all the instructions and collect the ingredients accordingly, but also the recipes are simple and easy to cook as well.
- Additionally, one can make all the recipes within the least possible time and thus, the atmosphere of love and warmth is created automatically.
- The main reason why the top cookbooks make it to the stores is that every aspect of it has something unique and special that can’t be explained. Even the signature and the pot cooked foods are full of high nutrients and flavors and the time taken to cook the dishes are also listed as well.
The main way to choose the Persian cookbook is to see the cooking processes that are listed as well. Since the minimum amount of kitchen equipment are required to bring out the right flavor and taste, the cookbooks count to be one of the bestsellers in the market. Even the recipes are listed systematically and one can bake or even fry any of the dishes with pure love.
Why you need the best Persian Cookbook in Your kitchen:
Persian cooking is all about balancing the right flavor and the ingredients add up to make the dish unique and special. All the vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipes listed in the cookbooks are some of the most divine ones, which have the most special taste. The very sole reason as to why only the best Persian cookbook deserves to be in the kitchen everywhere is because everything is listed just perfectly without having to look here and there. The recipes are full of nutrients and one can get them cooking anytime. The recipes are also collected and registered with pure love and owing to the vastness of the book; every home should surely have at least one of the main signature cookbooks. Since the kitchen is the place where all the flavors come from, every aspect of it must be totally heavenly.
Even most of the cookbooks have ample information listed and one can easily read all the instructions to make the recipes quickly. One can even gain enough experience to learn the methods of cooking and achieve the best flavor out of it. The cookbook also lists all the major ingredients that require particular temperature control to bring the most unique blend of flavors and taste and thus, Persian cooking can surely bring out a chef in all.
While you’re here, check out some of our other cookbooks and kitchen product reviews!
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