Stewing in Iran

Wars took Persian food across the world; the latest conflict in Tehran may offer the world another taste of change.

Wars such as those of Alexander the Great and the Crusades not only shifted ownership of vast territories back and forth, they also stimulated other kinds of exchange — food, for instance.

Alexander’s Macedonians took back to the West such items as citrus fruit, pomegranates and saffron. The Crusades introduced the West, among other things, to Persian sauces and almond pastries.

And armies from Persia and Central Asia went the other way, to India, where they also inspired a great deal of what we now consider Indian cuisine — naan, biryani, and so on.

This hint of universality may be why a full modern Iranian meal will sound so delicious and wholesome to people from other parts of the world. The typical large meal starts with a naan-like bread, eaten with, for example, a brinjal and yoghurt spread, with fresh onion, cheese and herbs on the side.

The main course involves meat — kebabs and thick meat stews or fish stuffed with pomegranate seeds. These are inevitably finely spiced, though not spicy, and eaten with rice.

For dessert or as a snack, fruits and fruit preserves are sometimes eaten with bread or yoghurt. Prunes, raisins and dates are particularly favoured (and often used in main dishes). There is also halva, a relative of ours. As in India, you can buy a multitude of fresh snack foods on the street, from roast corn to puffed rice.

To wash all this down there is a dizzying variety of sharbats, and Iranian tea — drunk black, hot and spiced in small, sociable glasses.

Clearly Iranian food is related to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. With its emphasis on fresh ingredients and fruit, it is also healthy. This cuisine has great commercial potential — the trouble is the name: Iran is hardly synonymous with peace and harmony.

Its recent, violently disputed presidential election is keeping Iran in the headlines. This ongoing conflict, too, like the wars of the past which brought Iranian foods to the world, may prove to be fruitful.

Already observers see this struggle weakening the Islamic regime. For international news agencies, long the bugbear of Iran’s hardliners, it is a wake-up call: much of the news is coming through online networking sites like Twitter. Something new is cooking in Iran, and the rest of the world can expect a taste.