Iranian
Mirza Ghasemi (Smoked Aubergine Fried Down and Bound with Egg)
A starter from northern Iran: aubergine charred black, then fried down in oil and bound with egg. Aubergine that has collapsed over a flame can no longer drink oil, so this dish leaves the oil free in the pan and gathers it back up with whole egg at the end.
Sangak (Whole-Wheat Flatbread Baked on Hot Pebbles)
The Iranian whole-wheat flatbread baked on a bed of hot pebbles in the oven floor. The name is the method: in Persian *san* is stone and *-ak* is small, so sangak is "little stone". Heat arrives from below through hundreds of separate points rather than off a flat surface, so a dough that would seal against a griddle and balloon instead vents its steam between the points and bakes flat. The dimples left in the underside are the evidence.
Abgoosht (Lamb and Chickpea Broth, Two Courses)
The Iranian lamb stew that comes out of one pot as two separate dishes. When it is done the broth is poured off and eaten first with bread torn into it, and the meat, chickpeas and potato left in the pot are pounded with a pestle into a thick paste and served as the second course. The second dish is made by crushing the first, and the whole technique is in that moment: keep the poured-off broth hot, and pound what is left of it dry. Any liquid still in there and you get porridge instead of a paste.
Fesenjan (Walnut and Pomegranate Stew)
An Iranian stew that takes both its body and its sourness from two things: finely ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses. No flour, no starch. Over two or three hours the walnuts break down completely and thicken the pot themselves, and it is finished when their own oil rises dark on the surface. The colour moving from pale beige to nearly black is the cooking.
Ghormeh Sabzi (Herb and Dried Lime Stew)
Iran's national dish: bunches of parsley, coriander, chives and fenugreek leaf fried for twenty-five minutes or more until they go dark, then simmered two hours with lamb, kidney beans and dried limes. It is the opposite of the usual rule that delicate herbs go in at the end. Here you cook them until the fresh green smell has gone entirely, because what is left underneath — deep and almost meaty — is the whole point of the dish.
Kabab Koobideh (Minced Kebab)
Iran's national kebab: ground lamb kneaded with nothing but grated onion, pressed onto flat skewers and grilled over charcoal. The ingredient list is startlingly short — squeezing the onion dry and kneading long enough are what make or break it. Served over saffron rice with sumac.