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Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies
By Najmieh Batmanglij
New, 25th Anniversary Edition!
EXPANDED, UPDATED & REDESIGNED
Completely redesigned for today’s generation
of cooks and food enthusiasts, the
25th Anniversary Edition of Food of Life: Ancient Persian and
Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremoniesby Najmieh
Batmanglij (Mage; $54.95 640 pages); provides
a treasure trove of recipes, along with an immersive cultural experience
for those seeking to understand this ancient and timeless cuisine. This
edition is a more user-friendly edition of the award-winning and critically
acclaimed cookbook series which began in 1986. Food of Life provides
330 classical and regional Iranian recipes as well as an introduction
to Persian art, history and culture. The book’s hundreds of full
color photographs are intertwined with descriptions of ancient and modern
Persian ceremonies, poetry, folktales, travelogue excerpts and anecdotes.
The 2011 Edition of Food of Life is a labor of love. The
book began in exile after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 as a love letter
to Batmanglij’s children. Today, as accomplished adults in their
own fields, her two sons, Zal and Rostam, encouraged her to redesign
the book for their generation.
Food of Life propels Persian cooking into the 21st Century, even
as it honors venerable traditions and centuries of artistic expression.
It is the result of 30 years of collecting, testing and adapting authentic
and traditional Persian recipes for the American kitchen. Most of its ingredients
are readily available throughout the U.S. enabling anyone from a master
chef to a novice to reproduce the refined tastes, textures, and beauty
of Persian cuisine. Food-related pieces from such classics as the 10th
century Book of Kings, and 1,001 Nights to the miniatures
of Mir Mosavvar and Aq Mirak, from the poetry of Omar Khayyam and Sohrab
Sepehri to the humor of Mulla Nasruddin are all included. Each recipe is
presented with steps that are logical and easy to follow. Readers learn
how to simply yet deliciously cook rice, the jewel of Persian cooking,
which, when combined with a little meat, fowl, or fish, vegetables, fruits,
and herbs, provides the perfect balanced diet. |
Published by Mage Publishers |
The full-color Food of Life 25th Anniversary
Edition contains
50% more pages than its 2009 predecessor and special added features:
*New Recipes adapted from Sixteenth-Century Persian cookbooks
*Added vegetarian section for most recipes
*Comprehensive dictionary of all ingredients
*A glance at a few thousand years of the history of Persian Cooking
*Master recipes with photos illustrating the steps.
*Color photos of most recipes with tips on presentation
*Updated section on Persian stores and Internet suppliers
*Fahrenheit and Centigrade temperatures for all recipes
*Choices for cooking recipes such as “kuku” in oven or on stovetop.
*Encourages use of seasonal and local ingredients from farmers markets,
Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) sources or one’s own backyard
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From The Washington Post (March 2, 2011):
"In exile," in America, she was quoted, "you become so much more conscious of your culture, and ours is so beautiful." She saw the book as a love letter to her sons, who she figured might never see the Iran she knew. Last year, Zal the filmmaker, 30, and Rostam the indie rocker, 26, encouraged her to update the book for their generation. {more of the article here at "Persian food guru updates master cookbook"}
more reviews>>
Here's a recipe for Noodle Soup from this book
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Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey
This book is at once an exploration, a celebration, and a little-known tale of unity. It presents 150 delicious vegetarian dishes that together trace a fascinating story of culinary linkage. As renowned cookbook writer and teacher Najmieh Batmanglij explains, all have their origins along the ancient network of trade routes known as the Silk Road, stretching from China in the east to the Mediterranean in the west. The result was the connecting and enrichment of dozens of cuisines. In Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey (Mage; $35; 336 pages) she recounts that process and brings it into the modern kitchen in the form of recipes that are venturesome and yet within reach of any cook.
The scope of her culinary journey of discovery is vast -- from Xian in China, to Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, to Isfahan in Iran, to Istanbul in Turkey, and to the westernmost terminus of the ancient trade routes in Italy. Her recipes include such exotic yet simple fare as Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Salad; Chinese Hot and Sour Tofu Noodle Soup; Turkish Almond and Rice Flour Pudding; Uzbek Candied Quince with Walnuts; and Sicilian Sour Cherry Crostata.
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From Persia to Napa: Wine at the Persian Table
Wine is seen as the natural partner of many great cuisines, but few people associate it with Persian food, one of the world’s most sophisticated culinary traditions. The ties, in fact, are age-old. From Persia to Napa: Wine at the Persian Table (Mage; $50; 264 pages, with 160 color photos) weaves together history, poetry, a look at modern viniculture, and a wealth of recipes and wine pairings to celebrate the rightful relationship of wine and food on the Persian table.
In this lavishly illustrated book, Najmieh Batmanglij explores that long and eventful history, then shifts her story to California’s famed Napa Valley, half a world away. There, in a kind of up-to-the-minute homage to the past, an Iranian-American named Darioush Khaledi uses the latest vinicultural techniques to make superb wines at a winery reminiscent of Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the ancient Persian empire. |
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A Taste of Persia: An Introduction to Persian Cooking
A Taste of Persia (Mage; $19.95; 176 pages) is a collection of authentic recipes from one of the world's oldest cuisines, chosen and adapted for today's lifestyle and kitchen. Here are light appetizers and kababs, hearty stews and rich, golden-crusted rices, among many other dishes, all fragrant with the distinctive herbs, spices, or fruits of Iran. Each recipe offers clear, easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. Most take less than an hour to prepare; many require only a few moments; many others can be made in advance. Besides its 100 recipes and 60 photographs, the book includes a useful dictionary of Persian cooking techniques and ingredients, a list of specialty stores around the nation that sell hard-to-find items, and a brief history of Persian cookery. Together these make a complete introduction to this wonderful cuisine. |
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Persian Cooking for a Healthy Kitchen
Persian cuisine is exotic yet simple like a poem by Omar Khayyam, healthy yet colorful like a Persian miniature painting. It combines rice, the jewel and foundation of Persian cooking, with a little meat, fowl or fish; plenty of onion, garlic, vegetables, fruit, nuts, herbs; and a delicate, uniquely Persian mix of spices such as rose petals, angelica seeds, dried limes, candied orange peels, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and saffron to achieve a delicious and balanced diet. Drawing on her 15 years of experience collecting and adapting authentic Persian recipes, and inspired by her years in Southern France and the United States, Najmieh Batmanglij has brought about a marriage of ancient Persian cooking, French Provencal food presentation, and contemporary American eating styles. The result is Persian Cooking for a Healthy Kitchen (Mage; $22.50;200 pages), 95 exquisite kitchen-tested recipes that are low in fat yet high in flavor--a feast for both the eyes and the taste buds--that meet the current health goals of limiting the calories from saturated fats.
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Happy
Nowruz: Cooking With Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year
Nowruz – the Persian New Year – is one of the world’s
great festivals, a full month of activities celebrating the earth, the
arrival of spring, and the rebirth of nature. Most of all, it is a festival
for families. Children and adults alike can share in preparing special
meals, decorating the house, and performing the many ceremonies that welcome
the New Year. This book is a guide to customs thousands of years old yet
as vital as ever – enjoyable for families no matter where they live
or what their beliefs. Happy Nowruz offers
twenty-five fun, easy, and innovative Nowruz recipes, with lots of photos
to show you what to do. This is an ideal guide for parents, teachers, and
kids – age six and older – to know more about the origins of
Nowruz and to get everyone involved in preparing for the arrival of spring
by:
• baking
Haji Firuz cookies
• germinating seeds in
eggshells
• coloring eggs
• making a Nowruz garland
• jumping
over fires
• setting the Haft-sinn (seven-s)
holiday table
• planting narcissus and hyacinth bulbs
• selecting
and buying goldfish
• banging spoons for trick-or-treating
• cooking
the Nowruz dinner
• enjoying the Outdoor Thirteen picnic |
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