The 10 Most Delicious Iranian Foods
Have You Tried Them
Top Foods to Try When Traveling in Iran
Eating Your Way Through Iran

10 Best Persian Foods That You’ve Got to Try

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From the earliest times Persians have been known for their hospitality, whether that of the tribesman offering rest and refreshment to a weary traveler, or that of the urbane city dweller offering a sumptuous repast to his guests.

Tradition requires that guests or visitors be served only the finest food available, and always in the most bountiful manner possible. Accounts of early travelers to Iran indicate that the dishes served have not changed appreciably over the centuries.

Persia’s geography, history and cultural influences have shaped the diversity of ingredients and the methods of cooking in one of the world’s oldest and most sophisticated cultures. Persia – or Iran – has been subjected to repeated invasions, but it has maintained its culture, language and identity throughout the centuries.

The vast size of the country encompasses a wide array of local dialects, lifestyles, regional traditions and customs, not to mention an extraordinary variety of landscapes and climates.

All these are reflected in the country’s food. In the north, around the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, the landscape is lush and green and as a result of plentiful rainfall there is great diversity of fruit, vegetables and herbs.

The northern regional cuisine features simple, fresh notes of taste and aroma, and there is a preference for sweet and sour flavours, as opposed to spicy. Further south, in the provinces near the Persian Gulf, where the climate is drier, the season for fresh ingredients is much shorter and the variety available is not as great.

There is also a long tradition of trade through the sea routes with spice-rich countries like India. The resulting cuisine is more complex in taste than in the north of the country, with long notes of spices, tamarind and chillies.

In this post I’m going to take you through top foods you must try when you’re visiting Iran.

Top 10 dishes you must try in Iran

Khoresht-e fesenjan

This iconic stew, an essential part of every Persian wedding menu. Khoresht-e fesenjan traditionally made with duck, this dish also works well with chicken or lamb. In the north of Iran it is sometimes made with fish. It is a relatively easy khoresht to make, but it must be cooked slowly to allow the flavours to develop in the sauce. The consistency should be thick and creamy and the colour almost black. The distinctive flavour combines the nutty taste of ground walnuts with the sweet and sour flavour of pomegranate syrup.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken legs, cut up
1 white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 pound walnuts, toasted and finely ground in a food processor
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
2 tablespoons sugar (optional)

Zereshk polo

The sweet and sour flavour of zereshk (barberries) and the glistening ruby red berries set against the white and saffron tinged grains make this a feast for the taste buds and the eyes. Zereshk polo is served at weddings and other celebrations because it is impressive and easy to make in large quantities. It is usually served with chicken, but it is also delicious with Saffron yogurt lamb

Ingredients
1 medium onion
2-3 chicken breasts
Liquid saffron
Sugar (3-4 spoons usually is enough)
3 cups rice – soak in salt water after washing the rice
1 cup zereshk (barberries)
Salt/Pepper
Turmeric
Oil

Khoresht-e ghormeh sabzi

Khoresht-e ghormeh sabzi is sour and full of herbs. A popular favourite throughout Iran, this is a meal for both festive occasions and family meals. Recipes from different regions vary slightly. The Azerbaijani version, for example, uses black-eyed beans instead of red kidney beans. Recipes in the south of the country add chilli and garlic, while in Shiraz potatoes are sometimes used instead of beans. The recipe here departs from tradition by adding spinach to enhance the taste and give the dish a softer texture. Fenugreek gives a very distinctive aroma and flavour.

Ingredients
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp turmeric
1 lb. stewing meat
4 dried Persian limes
1/3 cup kidney beans, dried
4 cups fresh parsley, packed
2 cups fresh cilantro, packed
1 cup fresh fenugreek
2 cups fresh chives
Salt/Pepper
Oil

Sabzi polo

For the Persian New Year (Norouz) celebrations it is traditional to serve this rice dish with fish – traditionally fillets of smoked white fish from the Caspian Sea. However, fresh fish is now widely available. In the north of Iran it is marinated in lemon juice and saffron and fried, while in the south the fish is stuffed and baked. This rice goes well with most fish and meat dishes.

Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice
Salt
8 cloves garlic
Vegetable oil
Smidgen ground saffron
1 package frozen Sabzi Polo
2 Tbsp dried dill weed

Chelo kabab koobideh

Kebabs have more variety than you might think. First, there’s Koobideh, ground meat seasoned with minced onion, salt and pepper. It sounds simple, but the taste is sublime. There is kebab-e Barg, thinly sliced lamb or beef, flavored with lemon juice and onion and basted with saffron and butter. Chicken kebab, known as Joojeh, is traditionally made from a whole chicken, bones and all, for more flavor (although in American restaurants it’s often made from skinless chicken breast), marinated in lemon and onion, and basted with saffron and butter. If you’re lucky, you’ll find jigar, lamb liver kebab, garnished with fresh basil leaves and a wedge of lemon.

Ingredients
3 lbs (1360 g) Ground Beef (85% Lean)
2 Small Onions
1 Tbsp (Approximately) Salt or as preferred
1 Tsp (Approximately) Black Pepper Powder or as preferred
1 Tsp Turmeric
1 Tsp (Approximately) Ground Sumac.
1/4 Tsp Saffron

Khoresht-e gheimeh

Before the introduction of electric fridges, families in the colder, northern provinces of Iran such as Azerbaijan devised ingenious ways to preserve meat for consumption during the winter months. The meat would be cut into small pieces (gheimeh), fried with onions, flavoured with turmeric and other spices and put into big earthenware vats. A thick layer of solidified fat on the top ensures a good seal against micro-organisms. These vats were kept in dark, cold basements over the winter. Each day, a small amount would be taken to add to the khoresht. Khoresht-e gheimeh is diced meat combined with yellow split peas, dried limes and saffron with fried potatoes. It is very popular all over Iran and can be cooked all year round; the combination of meat and pulses, served with rice, provides a nutritious meal.

Ingredients
100 g/3½ oz. yellow split peas
1 medium onion
4 dried limes
300 g/11 oz. leg of lamb
50 g/2 oz. butter
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons powdered dried lime
Salt and black pepper
1 litre / 1¾ pints boiling water
1 tablespoon tomato purée/tomato paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons liquid saffron

10 Best Persian Foods That You've Got to Try -Khoresht egheimeh

Tahchin

Tahchin is an Iranian rice cake that includes rice, yogurt, saffron, egg, and chicken fillets. It is also possible to use vegetables, fish, or meat instead of the chicken fillets. Tahchin is composed of two different parts: The thin Tahdig part which includes the chicken fillets, saffron, and other ingredients at the bottom of the cooking pot and the second part which is the white rice. In restaurants, Tahchin is mostly prepared and served without the white rice part.

Ingredients
600 g/1 lb. 5 oz. basmati rice
4 tablespoons salt
8 chicken pieces
1 large onion
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon turmeric
3 tablespoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons liquid saffron
Salt and black pepper
500 ml/just under 1 pint water
50 g/2 oz. butter
400 g/14 oz. Greek-style full-fat/whole milk yogurt
1 egg (optional)

Abgoosht

This is a rich and nutritious dish, suitable for cold winter days. It combines complex carbohydrates, protein and fat, and with side dishes of fresh herbs and yogurt it makes a healthy balanced meal. Traditionally a poor man’s dish, it has come into its own in recent years for informal family meals. It used to be made with the cheapest cuts of lamb and animal fat. In the old tea houses and caravanserai, specially made individual clay pots were used to make Abgoosht. All the ingredients were put into the pot, a small quantity of water added and the lid was then sealed with mud. The pots were buried in the ashes of the wood stove and left to cook slowly. Today, better-quality cuts of lamb such as leg or shoulder shanks are used. Traditionally, the broth is strained off and served as a soup with pieces of bread floating on the surface like croutons. The meat and pulses are pounded together and eaten with fresh herbs and warm flat bread. The ingredients of Abgoosht vary from region to region. The most common version uses only chick peas and no tomato purée/ tomato paste. The recipe given here includes potatoes, red kidney beans and split peas, as well as tomato purée. It is a very easy dish to make, but it has to be cooked slowly in order for the flavours to develop. You can make it a day in advance to the stage of adding the red kidney beans; to serve, reheat it, then add the lemon juice and saffron just before serving.

Ingredients
3 lbs (1360 g) Beef Shank
1 Can 15 oz. (425 g) Chickpeas
1 Can 15 oz. (425 g) White Beans
3 Garlic Cloves
1 Large Onion
5 Dried Limes
2 Bunches Cilantro
5 Small Potatoes
5 Small Tomatoes
1-2 tbsp Savory
Turmeric, Black Pepper Powder, Salt

Abgoosht is one of the most traditional Iranian foods.

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27 replies

Dayana Tousi says:
June 15, 2021 at 1:45 pm

Salam I really L O V E LOVE iranian foood bc I’m from I R A N IRAN but born in A M E R I C A AMERICA aka Los Angeles but I love Iranian food ,such as polo gheime,polo ghormesabzi,reshte polo and tahdik
Reply
Mary says:
April 10, 2021 at 5:10 pm

I really like Iranian food, I think it is delicious, I would like to try it
Reply
Donna says:
February 27, 2021 at 6:34 pm

I have had the best Persian food made by a Persian woman. I think Americans are really missing out on some of the most fragrant delicious food ever! Full of flavor but not spicey.
I’m making Gormeh Sabzi today.
Reply
- Erfan says:
  March 23, 2021 at 12:35 pm
  
  Hey I’m Persian anyway and yes you’re right it’s really cool that you have tasted these Iranian foods
  Reply
Doniako says:
February 18, 2021 at 8:00 pm

Making Iranian foods are so hard but they are so tasty if you want to go past you should try them because they come from old culture
Reply
Mahdi says:
February 13, 2021 at 4:30 pm

Hello
I am iranian man and thachin was better than all of them and you have to try kalam polo shirazi its the best foid in iran
Reply
Atefeh says:
February 13, 2021 at 4:05 pm

I love zereshk polo , It’s so delicious!
Reply
Daniel Girdhari says:
December 25, 2020 at 11:22 am

Nice! But Spanish foodies are much better and healthier!
Reply
- Arta says:
  December 29, 2020 at 11:37 pm
  
  If you had tried, you would never have said that.
  Reply
  - Atti says:
    January 20, 2021 at 10:39 am
    
    totally agree :)
    Reply
Shirin says:
November 19, 2020 at 10:59 pm

Polo addass is another fragrant and delicious Persian dish…but if I had to pick the nation’s favourite dish it would have to be Ghorme-sabzi!!
Reply
- Hashem says:
  July 11, 2021 at 12:22 pm
  
  Really
  Reply
matteo says:
October 17, 2020 at 3:23 pm

I am Italian and I have tried Iranian dishes, it’s wonderful!
Reply
- mehdi says:
  November 1, 2020 at 7:29 pm
  
  Italian foods are great
  Reply
PUNE says:
October 16, 2020 at 9:50 am

It is not widely used for foreign travelers in northern Iran, but in Mazandaran province and the city of Sari, which is located in the contemporary (Diwan forest) in northern Iran, you can see delicious food and the main flavors of the region and be sure. Which are not materials. The food of the people of this region is natural, local and healthy
Reply
Hasti says:
September 14, 2020 at 8:45 pm

I am from Iran and persian food is very good and my favorit food is ghormeh sabzi and Ash_e reshteh
Reply
- alexa says:
  October 26, 2020 at 2:16 am
  
  my great grandma is the only one that can perfectly make all these dishes, if i follow these recipes do you think it’ll turn out the same as hers
  Reply
  - odinn says:
    December 11, 2020 at 2:21 am
    
    try to follow what your grandmother does… each family has their own way of cooking these dishes. If you can not learn from her, look up various recipes of each dish…… the flavours are so subtle. GOOD LUCK!
    Reply
  - fatemeh says:
    July 9, 2021 at 8:20 pm
    
    hi alexa
    I’m iranian.
    Try typing the names of foods in Google in Persian and translating their recipes from Google Translator so that you can make food like us.
    Reply
Hasti says:
July 18, 2020 at 3:34 pm

I’m from lran .oneof the intresting food in lran is Ash-e Doogh .
It’s very good.
Reply
John says:
July 7, 2020 at 10:21 am

Woww!!! the Persian foods are so interesting!! I love that
Reply
masumehbayat says:
July 6, 2020 at 2:59 am

Of course, in addition to these foods, you can enjoy the taste of authentic Iranian and northern dishes by staying with women artists by staying in the eco-tourism resorts of the north.
Reply
Agnes says:
July 3, 2020 at 6:29 pm

Persian food is very good and nutritious.
Reply
Bita says:
May 18, 2020 at 6:20 am

Persian food is wonderful
Reply
Hosein Ghazanfari says:
March 29, 2020 at 10:39 pm

Thanks for this article! I Love Persian food! ;)
Reply
Julian says:
October 23, 2019 at 12:13 pm

Thanks for this nice article about Persian food :)
Reply
- Qzlieeeee says:
  February 1, 2021 at 2:58 pm
  
  Witch food exactly?
  Reply