off the shelf: the essential persian cooking staple you probably don’t have - gas grill

Shuffle the page of Najmieh Batmanglij's large recipe "Iranian cooking: regional recipes and kitchen secrets-a 700-plus-
The Iranian food she has mastered over the past 30 years-
You will find that certain ingredients fall like marks.
Her spice route is littered with rose petals and cardamom pods, berries like a few wreaths and black obsi stones --
Black and Black grass seeds.
But there is an ingredient that permeates the pages and perfumes of many dishes: dry lime that has long been the staple food of Persian cooking, whether complete or powdered, however, still mysteriously unpopular for a wider range of chefs.
Putting them on the shelves of the Middle East market looks like a mistake by a forgetful grocer --large nut-
Brown pebbles, dusty, dry, crumpled citrus skulls.
But beating them with a hammer, you will find the interior with a mahogany luster, and a sudden, gorgeous fragrance, bright and stylish, acidic twang distilled from lime to its essence.
Batmanglij said recently when I called her that dry lime "has a strong, earthy flavor, bringing a special, very unique flavor to the dishes that are not available with fresh lime juice her home in Georgetown, where she has lived for 25 centuries since fleeing the Iranian Revolution in 1979, first went to France, then to America. S.
"This is a very old way.
They use it in Iraq;
In Middle Eastern culture
In Iran, they call it limu Omani, "she said, from the country on the other side of Iran's Persian Gulf, where many dry lime is produced.
"Romi in Iraq and Oman.
I have seen white dry lime in China.
Because of the Silk Road, there is a lot of interaction: they have not only transferred literature and art, but also the ingredients. ”(
Batmanglij's new book reads like the Lonely Planet guide written by Herodotus, but for those who tend to delve deeper into the subject of Iranian cooking, she recently re-published 1986 ancient Persian and Modern Iranian cooking and rituals "is a must. )
Batmanglij makes one recipe after another with powdered dry lime
Marinate the chicken skewers for a day with plenty of stuff, and then sift through the finished dishes like a powerful blessing.
The fish skewers were also powdered, and a plate of spiced rice with a pot was added.
The grilled fish is cooked in a broth soaked in dry lime.
They ordered boiled lobster and added a street snack made of stewed potatoes to the flat bread.
The whole lime has the taste of mutton, beans and herbs, and is stewed with rock sugar to make tea.
"Dried green tea, you combine it with valerian;
"It's a great night hat," Batmanglij said . " She has a medicine tank full of lime in her kitchen.
"You can make shrubs with dry lime. Chicken soup.
"Just like the fresh lemon squeeze that many chefs use to illuminate the dish, a whole piece of dry lime or crushed stuff will enhance the flavor of the soup and stew, braises or, really, almost everything.
At Sqirl, a progressive toast restaurant in East Hollywood Jessica corsoro, she added dry lime to her addictive chicken porridge.
"We use almost one cup of dry lime powder in each batch of products," Koslow said . ".
"This is a play on the Omani madrouba, which is usually very dense;
It works somehow.
Hugh Acheson came to Sqirl and was shocked the first time he ate it: "Jessica, do you know that you feed people chicken soup and rice soup for breakfast? Yes, yes, I know.
"At the Adana restaurant in Glendale, a restaurant that combines Armenian, Iranian, Turkish and Georgian cooking, the chef has a whole piece of dry lime on his body --
The stews of the owner Edward hecemian, horresh gormer saboz and horresh Baden Zhan. (
Both of these restaurants are in the Times 101 of our favorite restaurants. )
Anissa Helou of "feast: food in the Islamic world --
It's also a product of years of research.
It was also released last year, sending more advice on how to deal with dry lime via email.
"They use whole dishes such as marguga (
I like to call Arabic "pasta" with meat and vegetables ")
, The pulp is used in dishes like mashkhul, a beautiful saffron rice layered with chicken and vegetables, and served with roasted almonds and caramel onions.
In Saudi Arabia, dried lime is a shrimp rice flavored rice, which is used after being ground in mashbus rubyan.
Bat, as expected, Batmanglij recommends grinding your own lime, as the taste of powder foods you can find on the market deteriorates over time, and business products are usually a bit bitter about it. (
"Some people like the pain," she says . ")
Break all the lime and pry the seeds out
You can also remove the peel and only use the heart of the fruit
Grind the pieces with a spice grinder.
"You can turn it into a grain, or you can turn it into a powder; I have both.
In the same way, she suggests you make dry lime yourself.
"It's easy.
You soak them with salt first, you cook them twice with water and vinegar the next day, and drain them.
Then you let them bask in the sun. dry;
You can even dry them in the oven or dehydrate them.
It takes 13 to 14 days.
"Taking into account their versatility, scope, and capabilities, adding nuances to a large catalogue of dishes, dry lemons are worth the effort, and if it's not done by yourself, then look for the source.
Los Angeles-
Companies based in sadav carry them (
Wholesale places in Koslow)
There are whole pieces and powder-like, and also black dry lime.
"In Iran, when I interviewed people, they said black people were older," Batmanglij said . ".
"Others say they are a different type of lime.
"As for which one to use, her guidelines are the black dry lime using green herbs, the brown version of the tomatobased dishes. Another tip?
If you throw the whole piece of lime into a plate or pan completely, pierce them first.
Dry Lime may look like something in the store of the old world alchemist if it's not a botanist bin, but they have a transformative attribute that fits into the reference.
Once the floral and astringent, sour and sour, treat these things as fairy dust on the shelves of the food storage room.
Chicken kebabs, served with dry lime and Mint1 hours, 10 minutes, plus overnight marinating.
Serve 6 to 83/4 cups of olive oil 1/2 cups of fresh lime juice plus 1 lime1/2 cups of cider juice, 1/4 cup of vinegar dry Persian lim's grated Heart 2 tablespoons dry mint1 tablespoon crushed red chile flkes4 teaspoon fine green cardamom 1 teaspoon grated radish 1 medium yellow onion, garlic flap, peeled, thin cut 1 (4-pound)
Whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces, or 2 1/2 lbs boneless chicken thigh, cut into 3-by-2-
Chopped fresh mint (1/2 cup)
Or a cup of dried mint)1/2 cup (8 tablespoons)
1 pack of unsalted butter or vegetable oil (12 ounces)
3 bundles of fresh basil in a large storage container or gallon
Zip plastic bag size, olive oil mix, half
Cups of green juice, apple cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons of ground green lime dry, dried mint, Chilean flakes, salt, pepper, carrots, ginger, onions and garlic.
Add the chicken, stir well and apply it to the marinade.
Cover and refrigerate overnight for up to 3 days, turning the chicken twice while marinating it.
2 Prepare a charcoal grill for direct grilling, heat the gas grill to a high temperature, or heat the broiler to a high temperature. (
The success of a good kebab depends on a very hot grill. )
Use 12 and a halfinch-wide sword-
Like metal skewers or 10 to 15 wooden skewers (
Soak the wooden string for 5 to 10 minutes before the string to prevent burning)
String wings, breasts and legs on different skewers (
They need different cooking time).
Place the skewers on a baking sheet or platter.
4 Prepare baste: in a small pot, heat the remaining juice of 1 lime, fresh (or quarter-cup dried)
Add mint and butter under low heat to suit your taste.
Stay away from the heat and put it in a warm place.
5 roast chicken pieces, often turn, often roast chicken with mint butter until cooked, 8 to 15 minutes depending on size.
When the finished juice is yellow instead of pink, the chicken is ready.
Place lavash evenly on a flat panel.
Remove the chicken from the grill and put it on the bread.
Place the chicken on the skewers until served to help keep the chicken warm.
7 Remove the chicken from the skewers, stabilize them on the platter with a piece of bread, and pull out the skewers.
Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of ground lime on the chicken and decorate it with basil.
Note: Adapted from Najmieh Batmanglij's recipe for Iranian cooking: regional recipes and kitchen secrets
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