Dream Persia

Persian Cuisines

f4n23kye82tp — Sat, 18 May 2019 14:36:08 +0000

Persian Cuisines

By Atefeh Dehghan

Iranians are very serious about what they eat, and this may be one reason why Iranian cuisine is very healthy and nutritious. Iranian meals include breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and a lot of tea between regular mealtimes. Breakfast usually consists of bread, local sheep’s or feta-like cheese, and tea. A more substantial version consists of boiled, fried, or scrambled eggs; grilled sausages in tomato sauce; and honey or jam. Lunch is usually eaten between 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Restaurants serve lunch from about 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM, and it is almost impossible to find one willing to serve a meal after this. Lunch consists of the inevitable rice served in vast helpings with kebabs or khoreshts. Salads and yogurt are also musts and are delicious aids to digestion. Almost the same choice comes for dinner, though nowadays many prefer fast food. Iranians like to eat without hurry, that is why, perhaps, late dinner remains the main meal of the day. At a private party, do not expect a meal before 10:00 or 11:00 PM. Eating out is popular, and, as a rule, restaurants work from 6:30 PM until 12:00 PM and may have problems with the authorities if they stay open later, even if they only wait for the last client to leave.

Iranian Cuisine

With its excellent local produce, allowing the widest choice of fresh vegetables and fruit during the four seasons, Iranian cuisine is made up of a great variety of dishes. The most popular of them (and those that are likely to be found on the restaurants’ menus) are presented:

Polo

Polo, often called pilaf in the West, is the name applied to rice with which other ingredients are mixed in the cooking process.

Kebab

Kebab is skewered meat or chicken grilled over charcoal. It has three main varieties (from top to bottom): kubideh (ground meat), jujeh-kebab (chicken), and barg (chopped mutton). All three are often served with barbequed tomatos.

Khoresht

Khoresht is a sort of stew with meat, vegetables, and other ingredients. Both kebab and khoresht are served with chelo, plain rice.

Rice, meat (mainly mutton), and vegetables are the main ingredients of Iranian cookery. They come in a countless number of combinations, all delicious. Iranian long-grain rice is among the world’s best. However, because it is quite expensive, it is seldom served in restaurants. Iranians serve rice as chelo or polo. Chelo is white rice, boiled and steamed, often decorated with yellow rice, dyed and flavored with saffron. If the rice is cooked in the way common in the West, it is called kateh. Often the cooks steam a layer of chela, mixed with yogurt and an egg yolk on the pan’s bottom to make a crunchy golden crust called tahdig. This is served in addition to the plain rice.

Places to Eat

Finding a place to eat is seldom a problem. Very few restaurants risk their reputation by serving inferior food, and the prices are more than affordable. Special requirements, however, are seldom met, and true vegetarians do not fare well in Iran. Nonetheless, the restaurant staff are generally helpful, and with some ingenuity and good will a solution is often found. No restaurant is equipped for wheelchairs but most can be easily accessed. Many restaurants have, for women and families, a special area from which solitary men are barred – the waiter will usher you to the right place. The restaurants in the list below have been selected for the excellence of their food. Many hotels also have good restaurants, although their prices often reflect the atmosphere rather than the quality. In smaller towns, however, there are few eating places, so the hotel restaurants are often your best bet.

Other traditional dishes

Abgusht is the most traditional Iranian dish. It contains meat, potatoes, peas, beans, onions, and dried limes, and is spiced with turmeric. Abgusht is both the first and the main course. Eating abgusht requires some skill. First, its liquid is poured into a bowl and eaten with bread. Then the meat and vegetables are mashed and eaten with fresh herbs and pickles.

Bread

Four main kinds of bread are baked throughout Iran: sangak (made in thick flaps and baked on hot stones), barbari (thick, oval bread), taftun (round thin bread with small holes pierced it it with a knife), and lavash (thin bread baked on the sides of the heated oven). Every kind Sangak bread is best when at least 60 c fresh and crisp. In many places, an assortment of local bread is also baked.

Drinks

Tea is always served at home and in the workplace. Fruit juices and carbonated beverages are also popular. The sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages have been prohibited since 1979.

Fruits

The Iranian climate allows a great variety of fruit in every season. Fruit is served after tea to guests at home and offices. The plate of seasonal fruits often includes small cucumbers.

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The post Persian Cuisines appeared first on Dream Persia.

Dress Code

f4n23kye82tp — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 15:56:44 +0000

Dress Code

Atefeh Dehghan

Men: There are few restrictions about men’s dress. Only shorts, even knee-length, are unacceptable. Shirts with elbow-length sleeves and T-shirts are fine.
Women: All females over the age of nine must wear a hijab, the Islamic dress. There is no uniformity, however, regarding its type and the amount of coverage it provides. The black chador (the loose head-to-toe covering) is the most covered mode, but foreign ladies have to wear it only in some mosques and shrines (it is handed over at the entrance). The most common wear is the manto, a full-length, long-sleeved overcoat, an overwhelming array of which is readily available in the shops. If you do not want to buy any, bring a knee-length, loose tunic that can be worn with long skirt or trousers (jeans are acceptable). Hair and neck should be covered with a scarf. The colors of the clothes do not really matter. If you travel in Summer, light fabrics are strongly recommended. Sandals are allowed and the hijab is not as strict as the other Muslim countries.

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The post Dress Code appeared first on Dream Persia.

Money

f4n23kye82tp — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 15:44:21 +0000

Iran Money

By Atefeh Dehghan

Iran Money and currency has always been one of the main things each traveler to this country wants to know about. The currency in Iran is known as the rial (IRR). It has been Iran official currency since 1929. The notes and coins are all written in rials. In the notes you find the Persian and European numbers however the coins have just Persian numbers.

Although the rial is the stated currency of the country, Iranian people talks in terms of toman which is considered as the unofficial currency and one toman unit is equal to 10 rials.

What should I expect rial/toman when I want to pay?

Usually foreign travelers find all these very confusing in the first days of their visits. Then they will gradually figure it out the differences and where the prices are in rial/toman.

Imagine you want to buy a loaf of bread, it will cost 10,000 rials but the baker will ask you 1000 tomans, so you just need to omit one zero (divide to 10) when you are being asked in toman.

Another example, a taxi driver shows you 5 with his finger, then you will understand it means 50,000 rials. So that he omits 4 zeros in a way that generally local people do.

To make it easy, when you want to pay, be sure that both of you are talking in terms of either rial or toman. In addition, you can always ask the shopkeeper to show you the final amount in IRR by a calculator

Can I use my credit card?

Foreign credit cards cannot be used and travelers checks cannot be cashed due to the Iran bank sanctions. The functioning network of ATMs (automatic teller machines) can only be used with Iranian issued bank cards.

You have the possibility of paying with your credit card in most of the carpet shops as they are connected to the foreign banks.

What should I do if I cannot use my credit card?

Bring enough cash either in euro or US dollar for your entire journey. In the bigger cities like Tehran and Shiraz, you can also change Australian or Canadian dollars, British pounds, Swiss francs and UAE dirhams.

Where can I pay in euro or US dollar?

Almost everywhere in the cities you should pay in rials. However some of the hotels, travel agencies and some souvenir shops they accept euro or dollar. Most of the carpet shops also accept credit cards. You can also ask the shopkeeper if you sometimes want to pay with the money you have.

Where can I change my money?

Authorized exchange offices (Called Sarafi in Persian) are the best places to change money. You can easily find exchange offices in each city by googling or asking the locals. The offices should not charge any commission on cash. Your banknotes, however, should not be marked or damaged.

Some of the banks also offer changing money however the price is not as good as the exchange offices and sometimes it is more time consuming.

There is also possible to change your money at the airport upon your arrival or at some of the hotels but if you want a better price, the exchange offices are more suitable.

Note: Do not use the services of street money changers offering you a good price since they are illegal. You will not probably be robbed or cheated, but still it is risky and sometimes you will not get the updated price.

What should I need for exchange?

You just need your passport to have with you. By a calculator there and a screen to show the updated price, therefore you can simply count the money you have to collect from the cashier.

How much should I change first?

It depends on when you arrive and what you need. But generally you should change for your one day needs. Remember if you arrive on Friday, most of the places are closed and you should wait for Saturday to change your money at an exchange office.

What if I have a lot Iranian money on the last day?

Do not worry! You can change back your money at the airport or exchange office. There is also possibility to take some as Iran memories or souvenirsJ

Can I do International transfers?

Due to the sanctions, international transfers into or out of Iran have been impossible for some years. So, bring enough cash with you.

Is it safe to carry a lot of money with myself at the streets?

Most of the hotels have safety box at their rooms. So you can take cash as much as you need with you. It is also advisable to have a travel waist bag or neck bag which is very safe and you will not have any worries.

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