Stuffed whole chicken

Ingredients:
1. Whole chicken about 4 pound 1
2. Garlic 5 gloves
3. Black pepper powder ½ tsp
4. Garlic powder ½ tsp
5. Saffron ¼ tsp (dissolves it in 5 Tbsp of hot water and set aside)
6. Olive oil or sesame seeds oil 1 Tbsp
7. Lime 1
8. Salt to taste

Stuffing ingredients:

1. Barberries 1 cup
2. Almond (peeled and chopped) 1 cup
3. Rice ½ cup dry (or 1 cup half cooked)
4. Sugar 2 Tbsp
5. Onion 1 medium
6. Oil 2 Tbsp
7. Cumin 1 tsp
8. Salt to 1 tsp
9. Butter 2 Tbsp melted
10. saffron

Directions:

Chop onion and fry it in 2 Tbsp oil until turn golden brown.
In another skillet pan fry barberries in 2 Tbsp of butter, at the end add sugar and turn heat off and add it to fried onion.
Add almond and cumin, some salt and one Tbsp of liquid saffron which has been prepared already!
Boil the rice with 1 tsp of salt and combine with other ingredient set aside.

Wash chicken and put it in salt water at least 1 hour then remove from salt water, pat dry using a paper towel.
Try to put garlic gloves under its skin all around. Cut lime in six round pieces and use them inside/outside of chicken.
Brush inside and outside using olive oil/sesame seeds oil and sprinkle with black pepper salt and garlic powder.
Fill chicken with prepared stuff and stitch it together using a needle and string, it will prevent to stuffed come out.
Preheat oven in 400 Fahrenheit degree.
Place chicken in a roaster pan and bake in oven for 30 minutes on the same temperature.
Turn oven to 350 Fahrenheit brush chicken surface with remaining liquid saffron and bake for 70-80 minutes. I served it with barberries and rice it was very delicious.

Enjoy!!!

Yellow rice pudding (shole zard)

Ingredients:

Rice 2 cups
Sugar 3 cups
Almond 1 cup (pealed and chopped)
Saffron ¼ tsp
Rose water ½ cup
Cinnamon

Directions:

Wash rice and add 10 cups of water and bring to boil after 30 minutes add sugar and saffron and let boil on medium heat until all rice grains are broken.
Add rose water and almond and let cook for about 30 minutes if it needs add some water too.
Cooking time is about 2 hours.
Serve in a deep bowl and garnish with cinnamon and pistachio powder (optional)

Enjoy!

Koufteh

Ingredients:

1. Rice 3 cups
2. Ground beef or turkey 1 pound
3. Dry herbs (basil, tarragon, parsley, mint, dill and etc) 1 cup
4. Onion 1 large (grated)
5. Yellow split pea 1 cup (cooked) or baby lima bean 2 cups (cooked)
6. Turmeric 2 tsp
7. Cumin 2 tsp
8. Tomato paste 1 Tbsp
9. Oil 2 Tbsp
10. Salt 2 tsp

Directions:

Wash rice and boil it to half cooked and drain it (you may use about 6 cups leftover cooked rice instead if you have)
Combine all ingredients except oil and tomato paste mix well for a few minutes until it is well blended.
Make balls using the mixture (balls should be almost as big as a large orange)
Put them in the bottom of a pan, try the balls don not touch each other.
Mix tomato paste with 2 cups of water and 2 Tbsp of oil.
Put the pan on medium heat while it get warm pour your prepared liquid in pan try to don’t pour it over the balls directly.
When it start to boil turn heat to low and close the lid tight.
Let steam for about an hour and half.
You may need to add some water between cooking time.

Serve with or without bread
Enjoy!

Salad

Ingredients:

1. Cucumbers 2
2. Tomatoes 4 medium
3. Bell pepper 1 (I use it instead of onion, you can use both)
4. Onion 1 small (I don’t like onion and my salad never have it)
5. Dry mint ½ Tbsp

Directions:

Cut all ingredients into cubes (onion cubes should be smaller)
Mix them and sprinkle dry mint over them.

Dressing:

1. Apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar ¼ cup
2. Olive oil 2 Tbsp
3. Salt to taste
4. Black pepper (optional)

Dilute vinegar using ¼ cup of water, add salt and olive oil and black pepper.
Add dressing right before serving.

In Iran most dressings are made by sour grape juice which is very delicious but if you want you may replace vinegar with lime or lemon juice.

Enjoy!

Yogurt

Ingredients:

1. Milk 1 gallon
2. Plain yogurt 1 cup

Directions:

Pour milk into a big pot and bring to boil, try to watch and stir milk especially in the end of procedure, if you don't want to have to rub your stove surface every time you make yogurt!
Turn off the heat and let boiling stop.
Pour the hot milk in a glass or porcelain jar which has lid (you can use plastic jar but I prefer not to do this)
Let milk get cool a little I use my finger as a thermometer as my mom taught me.
Put your point finger inside the milk if it burn your finger still is too hot.
If you feel the warmness but your finger do not burn then milk is ready to work.
Beat the plain yogurt which is the starter a few minutes until it looks smooth.
Add yogurt to milk and stir for a couple of minutes.
Put the jar lid on and cover the jar with a piece of cloth (towel, blanket, etc)
Leave it over the night or for about 10 hours.
When yogurt is ready put it in refrigerator slowly until completely get cold.
Before it gets cold thoroughly don’t touch it or you will ruin it.
It needs to be in refrigerator also about 10 hours.
(If you have some water in yogurt surface after or before refrigerating remove it slowly without touching the yogurt and throw out).

Enjoy!

Green bean and rice (Loubia polo)

Ingredients:

1. Rice 4 cups
2. Ground beef or turkey 1 pound
3. Green bean 1 pound
4. Onion 1 medium
5. Tomato paste ½ cup
6. Turmeric 1 tsp
7. Salt
8. Canola oil

Directions:

Wash green beans and cut them into ½ inch pieces, set a side.
Chop onion into small cubes and sauté in 2 Tbsp of oil in a skillet pan until turn golden brown.
Add ground meat to the pan and stir frequently to prevent the ground meat pieces attached to each other (to prevent that it will be good to add a couple of Tbsp water while stir)
Add turmeric and stir until meat is almost cooked.
Combine with green bean, stir for a few minutes.
In a bowl mix tomato paste with a cup of water and pour all over the mixture add some salt too.
Close the lid and let cook for about 20 minutes (if it looks need more water then add some)
Wash rice and add about 12 cups water and 2 Tbsp salt, bring to boil and let
Become half cooked then drain it.
Add 2 Tbsp oil to the cooking pan you may put some sliced potato or piece of flat bread in the bottom or you may just add about one third of rice and spread one third of meat and green bean mix over it and repeat this until rice and mixture are finished.
Make a cone shape with your food using a spatula and make some whole in it using a spoon or fork.
Put on high heat mix 4 Tbsp of oil with ½ cup water, pour all over and around the rice.
Put pot lid in a piece of cloth or paper towel, keep the lid tight, turn stove temperature on medium low.
It will be ready in 30-40 minuets.

Enjoy!