Iran

🇮🇷Isfahan, Iran

Sohan asali

سوهان عسلی

A saffron-honey brittle from Qom, studded with pistachios and almonds.

🇮🇷Iran

Soup-e Jo

سوپ جو

Barley cooked in chicken stock with carrot and cream and finished with lemon, served as a first course everywhere.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Sumac

سماق

The dried and ground berry of the sumac shrub, deep red-purple and sharply sour, dusted over salads, onions and grilled meat.

🇦🇫Herat, Afghanistan

Sumalak

Sprouted wheat is ground with water and flour, then stirred overnight into a dark, naturally sweet Navruz pudding shared from a cauldron.

🇮🇷Iran

Taftan

تافتان

Leavened bread of milk, egg and yoghurt scented with cardamom and saffron, baked into a thick, soft round.

🇮🇷Iran

Taftoon

نان تافتون

Thin round bread with a pocked surface baked fast against the oven wall, softer than lavash and sold folded in quarters.

🇮🇷Iran

Tahchin

ته‌چین

Rice bound with yogurt, egg and saffron, packed around chicken or lamb and baked until the whole thing turns out as a golden cake.

🇮🇷Iran

Tahdig

ته‌دیگ

The crust at the bottom of the rice pot — rice, thin bread, potato or yogurt-and-saffron batter — lifted out in shards and served on top.

🇮🇷Iran

Verjuice

آب غوره

Juice pressed from unripe grapes and bottled as a souring agent for stews, soups and salads — sharper and less fruity than lemon.

🇮🇷Iran

Zereshk Polo

زرشک پلو

Saffron rice topped with barberries fried briefly in butter and sugar, served with chicken braised in saffron and onion.

🇮🇷Rasht, Iran

Zeytoon Parvardeh

زیتون پرورده

Green olives crushed with walnut, pomegranate molasses, garlic and mint into a dark, sour, pungent relish from Gilan.

🇮🇷Iran

Zoolbia Bamieh

زولبیا بامیه

Two fried sweets always sold together: lacy saffron spirals and small ridged fingers, both steeped in syrup.