Delicious Northern Iranian Food

Delicious Northern Iranian Food

 

North of Iran, the small paradise on the earth, located in the south of the Caspian Sea and North of Alborz Mountain, where nature is the king. The fertile land is the mother of millions of green trees and planets. Everywhere is the smell of fresh air born of pristine nature. 

Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan are three provinces in the North of Iran.

To know the culture of a place and touch it, in addition to traveling there, talking to local people, studying the history, and tasting the local foods. We can consider food as a bridge to communicate and transfer the history and culture of every district to others.

Gilan province one of the most beautiful and greenest places in Iran, has a humid climate. It has fertile lands for rice, tea, and citrus cultivation. You can be familiar with the Gilak people through their lifestyle, customs, and food. Gilan food diversity is in the highest rank in Iran. Today more than 170 different types of local foods are cooked in Gilan, many of which are registered as cultural heritage. 

Mazandaran province is one of the most popular districts in Iran. Not only covered with green trees and plants but also the highest mountain in Iran, Damavand, is located in this province. In addition to the pleasant clean climate and pure nature, this area has delicious, nutritious foods.

Golestan province is the most professional province in the country for cooking ethnic foods. Because of different nationalities with great tastes and eating habits, it is a rich area in culinary culture. For example, different types of bread cooked in this province are registered as a cultural heritage of the country.

Indeed, both excellent climate and fresh crops make the north one of the most productive places for local cuisine. Now let’s take a Yummy Trip through some of the most famous and delicious Iran’s Northern cities food.

The two main ingredients of northern food are rice and garlic. Rice is a northern agricultural product cooked in the form of Polo (Pilaf ), Chelo, and Kateh. Garlic is served inside or next to every lunch and dinner. The positive point is that due to the high humidity in the north, garlic loses its bad smell quickly after eating. 

They also love fish and cook it in different ways. The sour flavor is another property of their food. It is excellent for whom like this taste, but people with sensitive stomachs should be careful about what food to choose.

Mirza Ghasemi  

You heard the name of Mirza Ghasemi among the northern food. The main ingredients of this food are eggplant, garlic, tomato, and egg. It is also a good choice for vegetarians.

Baghala Ghatogh

One of the most famous northern foods is Baghala Ghatogh which also has a lot of fans among tourists. It is made with beans, dill, garlic, and egg and served with rice. 

Kebab Torsh

Anyone who traveled to Gilan once has felt the taste of the Kabab Torsh with their flesh and skin. It has made of fresh mutton, aromatic vegetables, Pomegranate paste, chopped walnut, and grated garlic. Fresh mutton stays several hours with a mix of other materials so that ingredients go well with the mutton. Then It is grilled on charcoal.

Sour chicken 

one of the most delicious and popular northern dishes is Sour Chicken. The two main ingredients of this dish are pomegranate paste and aromatic vegetables. It authentically belongs to Gilan but is cooked in other parts of the north of Iran with different recipes. Usually, it serves in special ceremonies and occasions.

Torsh Tareh

Torsh Tareh is a food without meat and with a sour taste. It is cooked with egg, garlic, and aromatic vegetables like mint, parsley, cilantro, and dill. The sour taste of it is for orange juice used as a flavor. It is usually served with rice or with fried anchovy.

Kal Kebab

Despite its name, there is no meat in this food, so it is a good choice for vegetarians. Grilled eggplant, chopped walnut, sour pomegranate juice, a local vegetable called Chochagh, mint, and garlic. After the ingredients are pounded with each other and placed inside the grilled eggplants, they put them on fire. It is a very delicious food because of the taste of Choghagh. It is a mountain vegetable of the north that grows in spring. So, the best time for eating Kal Kebab is Spring.

Anarbij

Anarbij is one of the most delicious northern foods, making it inevitable for every traveler to taste. It is like one of the most famous Iranian foods, Fesenjan. There is only one difference, instead of using chicken in Fesenjan, meat is used in Anarbij. It is cooked with plenty of pomegranate paste, walnuts, green vegetables, and minced meat. It will take a few hours to cook this dish. 

Sir Vavij

Sir Vavij is a simple stew commonly cooked in the garlic leaf season, autumn and winter, in Iran’s northern cities. The main ingredients of this food are garlic, eggs, salt, pepper, turmeric, and oil.

Malabij

If you like to taste seafood, you can have a wide variety in the northern cities of Iran’s menu. Malabij is one of the most popular seafood in Gilan and Mazandaran. They fill the white fish with aromatic vegetables, walnut, and pomegranate paste and make it on fire or charcoal.

Espenasak

It is one of the rare northern dishes whose main ingredient is spinach, and when you eat it, you will find out that spinach has a unique flavor! Other ingredients of this delicious dish are meat, aromatic vegetables, garlic, peppermint, onion, and carrot. It doesn’t taste sour, but if you like, you can ask the cook to use some sour taste when cooking.

Aghoz Mosama

One of the most local nutritious foods of Mazandaran is Aghoz Mosama. It is cooked with duck meat, chopped onion, oil, dry pomegranate seeds, pomegranate paste, sugar, and walnuts. The ingredients used in this food remove the unpleasant smell of duck meat and make the food very tasty.