Autumn foods of Iran; Refreshing flavors in cool weather

Autumn in Iran is associated with pleasant flavors and pleasant colors; A season in which a table of local and special dishes is spread in every region of the country. Iran’s autumn dishes are very special not only in terms of taste, but also in terms of raw materials for this season, such as pomegranate, pumpkin, peach and spinach. This cold season is the perfect time to taste foods such as pomegranate soup, plum stew and other sweet and sour foods.

In Iran’s food culture, autumn foods, in addition to being tasty, have warming and tonic properties that are well-harmonized with the cold nature of autumn. Iran’s local autumn foods are not only delicious, but also a symbol of people’s deep connection with Iran’s rich culture and nature. If you are looking for an authentic and diverse experience, don’t miss the unique autumn flavors of Iran in this beautiful season!

Learn more about local autumn foods in Iran:

Pomegranate juice

“Ash Anar” is one of the most autumnal local dishes of Shiraz, which is usually served during the Yalda night ceremony. To prepare this soup, you need minced meat, cod liver, green vegetables (leek, parsley, coriander and spinach), wheat semolina, onion and pomegranate seeds. The combination of these ingredients gives the soup a sour and mellow taste that is specific to this season.

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First, cook the beans and bulgur, and then cut the meat into meatballs and fry. After adding the vegetables to the pot, add the meatballs and finally the pomegranate seeds and pomegranate paste to the soup and finally let the soup settle down well. This soup can be served with hot onion and hot mint.

plum stew

“Plum stew” is one of Isfahan’s local dishes, which has many fans in autumn, when plum fruits are fresh and fragrant. The basic ingredients include mutton, fruit, prunes, onions, saffron and a little cinnamon. These combinations give a sweet and sour taste to the stew, which becomes very pleasant along with the smell of saffron and cinnamon.

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To prepare this stew, first fry the meat with onions and then add chopped fruits and plums and fry. At the end, add the brewed saffron and cinnamon and wait for the stew to cook on a gentle heat. This stew can be served with rice to bring out the colorful autumn flavors better.

Pumpkin Rice

“Pumpkin Plow” is a Mazandaran food and one of the other delicious and autumn dishes that is prepared with the combination of pumpkin, rice, cumin, onion and cinnamon. If you want, you can add some sugar to its ingredients. Sweet and colorful pumpkin gives this dish a special flavor and makes it a hearty dish.

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To prepare pumpkin rice, first chop the pumpkins and fry them with garlic and onions. Then add the drained rice to the ingredients and cook it layer by layer with the pumpkin. Finally, add spices like cinnamon and saffron to the food and let it infuse. This dish has a unique and long-lasting taste along with pickles and nimru.

Spinasak stew

“Spanasak Stew” is one of the authentic, healthy and delicious Mazandaran stews, which has a high nutritional value due to the presence of spinach in it, and is considered one of the popular dishes of the autumn season. This stew is usually cooked using fresh spinach, lamb or chicken, carrots, fresh herbs such as parsley, coriander, leeks and mint and some local spices. Spinach, as the main ingredient in this stew, gives it a unique taste and has many nutritional properties.

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When preparing Spanasak stew, first fry the meat or chicken with hot onions and spices such as turmeric and cinnamon; Then add chopped spinach and other fragrant vegetables to it. In the next steps, add a little water, salt and pepper to the stew to cook with a gentle heat. Adding carrots to stew also depends on people’s taste. This stew is usually served with white rice.

Pumpkin soup

“Pumpkin soup” is usually prepared on cold autumn days and is a good option for colds. This soup can be considered as one of the local dishes of Isfahan and Gilan provinces, with the difference that in Gilan pumpkin soup, they use half-grain rice and it has a sweet taste, and in Isfahan pumpkin soup, there is wheat bulgur.

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The main ingredients of Esfahani squash soup include squash, legumes such as chickpeas, mung beans, white beans and chiti and wheat semolina, soup vegetables (such as leeks, coriander and parsley) and onions. To prepare this soup, first chop the pumpkins and roast them so that they have a consistent texture and are not crushed. After that, cook wheat semolina and beans separately and add to the vegetables in the pot and let the soup settle well. Hot onion and hot mint are used to decorate this soup and give it a mild and hearty taste.

For Gilani pumpkin soup, you need ingredients such as pumpkin, half-grain rice, sugar, powdered walnuts, ginger powder, and pepper. In cooking this type of soup, you must first cook the pumpkins and puree them and put them in the pot together with the softened rice. Next, put this mixture together with walnut powder, ginger and other spices on a gentle heat until it melts.

Pomegranate soup

“Pomegranate soup”, which is also known as “Pomegranate Ashi” among Azerbaijanis, is another nutritious and delicious food for autumn. You can prepare this delicious soup with pomegranate juice or pomegranate paste; But in autumn, it is better to use fresh pomegranate juice and take advantage of its properties. The basic ingredients of pomegranate soup include rice, cobs, minced meat, parsley, dry mint and spices.

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To cook pomegranate soup, you must first cook the pith separately and add it to the mixture of pomegranate juice, rice, mint and angelica. At the end, fry the minced meat in the form of meatballs and pour it into the soup and decorate it with pomegranate seeds and hot onions.

Pumpkin roe

Pumpkin is a characteristic fruit of the autumn season and can be used in various dishes, salads and desserts; But one of the most delicious dishes prepared with it is Qazvin “pumpkin roe”. In addition to pumpkin, walnut kernels, pinto beans, pomegranate paste and cherry paste are also used in this colorful and glazed stew.

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To cook pumpkin roe, you must first soak the pinto beans and drain the water several times to remove the swelling of the beans. After doing this, the beans should be cooked separately. After that, cut the pumpkin into cubes and fry. Roast the powdered walnuts together with turmeric and at the end add all the ingredients to the mixture of pomegranate paste and cherry paste and put it on the heat until it is cooked well and the roe gets a sweet and pleasant autumn taste.

Azari sour soup

“Ash Tarsh Azeri”, as its name suggests, is one of the local dishes of Azerbaijan. This soup is prepared with various legumes such as peas and beans, aromatic vegetables and sour seasonings such as abghoureh and pomegranate paste.

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First, cook the beans separately and then add chopped vegetables and sour seasonings to it. This soup is usually served with hot onion and hot mint, which makes its taste unique. Of course, you can put some garlic, hot onion and hot mint into the soup while cooking.

Plum spinach stew

“Plum Spinach Stew” is one of the other delicious autumn dishes belonging to the north of the country. This stew is prepared with mutton (preferably stew), fresh spinach, onion, Bukhara plum, turmeric, salt and pepper. In some regions, a little water or pomegranate paste is also added to the stew to give it a more special taste.

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To start, fry the meat with onions and a little turmeric until the meat smells and changes color. Next, add the washed plums to the stew and let them cook and soften together with the meat. This step is usually done by adding enough water to cook the meat so that the meat is cooked well and the stew fits. Cooking plums together with meat gives a sweet and pleasant taste to the stew. In the last step, fry the chopped spinach with a little oil separately and add it to the stew. At this stage, the stew should be cooked on a low heat until the spinach softens and gives the stew its flavor. After settling down and combining the flavors, the stew is ready to be served.

Pumpkin soup

“Pumpkin soup” is more common among Tehranis and is considered one of the hearty and tasty autumn soups. There are different examples of this soup and it is usually cooked with different ingredients such as chicken, milk and lentils; But pumpkin soup in Tehran is prepared from basic ingredients such as pumpkin, potato, onion and cream.

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To cook Tehran-style pumpkin soup, first chop the pumpkin and potatoes and fry them with onions. Then by adding water or chicken stock, cook the soup until it becomes soft and smooth. Finally, add the cream and serve it with desired seasonings such as cinnamon.

Shelamin

“Shalmin” or “Shalam” is one of the traditional and popular Kurdish soups that is usually served when the weather gets cold; However, it is common to prepare it in spring or summer as well as Tarkhine. This food has a special and sour taste. Shalmin is the name given to the turnip plant and is the main ingredient of this soup.

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To prepare Shalmin, first chop the turnip and its leaves and then cook with water. Buckwheat should also be cooked separately. Next, mix the cooked turnip and its juice with pomegranate seeds and local vegetables, pour it on the bulgur and knead this mixture in a special container. This mixture will remain for a few days until it is well flavored and ready to be consumed. After a few days, separate the prepared ingredients into small pieces like tarrakhina. These pieces are used during the winter as the base of Ash Shalmin.

To cook shalemin, in addition to shalem, you need ingredients such as peas, lentils, meat, onions, walnuts, ghee, apricots, and raisins. The cooking steps are as follows: first, you have to soak the mushrooms and fry the onion with the meat in a separate dish. After that, cook the meat together with the peas, and after it is half cooked, add the lentils and scallions to the contents of the dish. At the end, it’s time to add walnut kernels, apricot kernels, apricots, and raisins, and you have to wait until the soup settles down.

Ash Shuli

“Ash Sholi” which is also known as “Sholi” or “Omacho” is one of the traditional and hearty foods of Yazd which is usually cooked in autumn and winter. This soup is prepared with local vegetables, wheat flour, sugar, beets, beet leaves, lentils and vinegar; Of course, you can use pomegranate paste instead of vinegar.

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To cook this delicious soup, you have to half-cook the peeled and sliced ​​beets and then add lentils and vegetables to the contents of the dish. In the final stages of cooking, add the mixture of flour and water to the cooking pot and give time for the flour to boil with the cooking ingredients and reach a concentration. At the end, add vinegar or pomegranate paste and spices to the soup to give it a sour and delicious taste. This soup is served with hot onions.

itch

“Dolme Beh” is one of the special and hearty autumn dishes that is cooked in Azerbaijan. It is interesting to know, “Delme” is a Turkish word meaning “filled”. To prepare this dolma, empty the “fruit” and fill it with a combination of minced meat, rice, cobs, raisins, blackberries and walnuts; Of course, you have to cook the ingredients inside “Mew Ba” separately, and after the rice, cobs and meat are fully cooked, add some raisins, blackberries, chopped walnuts, salt and pepper to them and put it on the heat until they get a uniform taste.

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Put the filled “be fruits” in the pot and cook by adding a little water and pomegranate paste. After a few hours of cooking, “Delme Ba” gets a sour and sweet taste and is suitable for the autumn season and cool nights of this season.

Pomegranate stew

“Enardon Stew” or “Nardoni Chicken” is one of Mazandaran’s autumn dishes, which combines the sweet and sour taste of pomegranate with chicken, giving it a pleasant and special taste. Its main ingredients include chicken, pomegranate, onion, saffron, cinnamon and a little chicken broth and pomegranate paste; Of course, you can use Turkey, goose or duck instead of chicken.

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First, fry the chicken with onions and different spices to get the taste. Then add fresh pomegranate seeds and a little pomegranate paste and let the stew cook slowly. Note that sour or sweet pomegranate paste depends on your taste. This stew is usually served with rice and has a mild and delicious taste.

meek

Halim is one of the traditional and popular dishes that is usually served for breakfast on cold days of the year. This dish is prepared using wheat, mutton or turkey meat, onion and simple spices, it has a soft texture and it is decorated and served with cinnamon, sugar or salt.

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To prepare Halim, first soak the wheat the night before to make it soft. Then cook it with water until it is completely crushed and has a uniform texture. Cook the meat separately with onion and a little salt and turmeric and shave it. Next, add the shaved meat to the cooked wheat and stir with gentle heat until the halim becomes thick and elastic. Continuous use of a meat grinder or hand mixer at this stage will make the texture of Halim softer and more uniform. In addition to its unique taste, Halim is full of nutrients and provides the necessary energy for daily activities.

Beetroot soup

“Beetroot Ash” is one of the traditional and healthy foods of Isfahan, which has many fans in the autumn and winter seasons. This soup is prepared from the combination of fresh beet leaves, legumes such as peas, cowpeas, mung beans and lentils, rice or wheat groats, and aromatic vegetables. Due to its many properties and mild taste, beetroot leaf is considered the main ingredient of this soup and turns it into a nutritious food rich in vitamins.

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To prepare this soup, first cook the beans, which have been soaked the night before, separately. Then, in a large pot, fry the hot onion with a little turmeric and add half-cooked beans, rice or wheat semolina and water to it. After the initial cooking, add chopped beetroot leaves and aromatic herbs such as coriander and parsley to the pot and cook the soup on low heat until all the ingredients are well combined. At the end, decorate the soup with hot mint, hot garlic and sometimes a little curd to give it a unique taste and effect.

Domle Sirabi

“Delme Sirabi” is one of the local dishes of Lorestan and popular in the cold autumn nights. To prepare this red and delicious dolma, you need basic ingredients such as clean and finely chopped sirabi, rice, parsley, onion, garlic, spices such as turmeric, pepper and cinnamon, and tomato paste.

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First, half-cook the rice and chop the aromatic vegetables. In a pan, fry the onion and garlic with a little oil and then add the rice, vegetables and spices until the ingredients are uniform. If you wish, you can add some minced meat or semi-cooked cob to the ingredients to make the dolma stronger. Set aside the prepared ingredients to cool. Cut the sirabi leaves to the appropriate size and put the ingredients inside. Then wrap the leaves in the form of small packages and after sewing the packages, put them in a pot. Add some water, tomato paste and spices to the pot and wait until it is completely cooked.

Mesma pumpkin stew

“Kudo Mesma Stew” in the style of Saroi is another popular autumn dish that is prepared using pumpkin, chicken or red meat, onion, tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, cinnamon, brewed saffron, salt, pepper and turmeric. One of the differences between this stew and other versions is the use of pomegranate paste and in some cases a little sugar to create a sweet taste. Sometimes ground walnuts are also used in it.

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To cook pumpkin stew, you need to peel the pumpkin and cut it into large pieces. Fry them in a little oil. In another pot, fry the onion, meat and tomato paste and after the color changes, add enough water and let the meat cook. When the meat is half-cooked, add the pumpkin pieces, pomegranate paste, and ground walnuts if desired to the stew and put the stew on a low heat until it is completely absorbed. If you want, you can add a little sugar to the stew for a smoother taste.

to rice

Isfahani “beh pilou” is mostly cooked in autumn and winter seasons, when its raw materials such as “beh fruit” are available, and the use of saffron and spices adds more depth to the taste of the food. In this dish, rice is cooked with various ingredients such as saffron, raisins, sliced ​​almonds and pistachios, along with meat or chicken, and it is usually known as a ceremonial and special food in ceremonies and celebrations.

In preparing Isfahan “beh pilaf”, you must first fry the meat or chicken with onions, spices and saffron and fry the peeled and chopped “beh” fruits separately. Then infuse the drained rice with various ingredients such as cooked meat, fried “mew ba”, raisins, almond slices, pistachios and saffron, so that all the flavors go well with the rice. “Beh Plou” is usually served with Shirazi salad or yogurt and cucumber.

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If you know a delicious dish in your country or in a region you have traveled to, which is delicious to eat in the fall and cold weather, we would be happy if you could share it with the audience.

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