avocado tip & questions

[Nungali]

 

   Except  your  brain is a bit bigger ..... no  ?  

 

  

 

Here is a dish distinctly Persian  ;   Fresenjan 

 

 

  , it goes back to ancient ( Sassanian )   times , made mostly from walnuts and  pomegranate .Fresenjan Morg  or even  Fresenjoon Ordak  ( duck , but its very rich, so usually I made the chicken version .  )  Served with rice - Persians make excellent and unusual rice dishes  , some times  platters of rice come out , all made a different way .

 

 

Tahdig .   When I first started working for my Iranian boss he said;  " I make  the best rice today ,  and you will get a chance to taste real Persian cooking ."  Afterwards he asked me what I thought , "Not very good, a rush job for people you think know no better ."

 

"What !   What would you know about it ?"

 

" I know its not proper Tahdig .... proper Tahdig is not proper until the cook brings it out   and shows it to that part of the table where the older aunties sit , it is presented to the head unhappy auntie that looks growling at you , then she will take a spoon and turn it over and wack the top of the rice with the back of the spoon . It should crack, and then she will smile and the rice may be served ." 

 

He was      " How on earth do you know about that !  ? : 

 

  

 

(   I had previously worked in refugee relocation during the aftermath of the Iranian Islamic revolution and after families were relocated they would often invite me around for the extended family meal . )  

 

Two Fresnjan  tricks ;   keep the onions whole and slice rings as thin as possible  .  What difference could that make ?  Well, it did, it made a surprising difference .  Don't worry if your sauce seems like a disaster of clotted split lumpy nastiness .... keep going ,   stirring and  watching it , then at the crucial moment the texture will change to a nice rich thick  smooth sauce . . . then stop . 

 

 

[old3bob]

 

A man of many talents, with cooking being right up there!

 

[Nungali]

Its a job I have had many times  . The last place was in the film industry ... they can get pretty fussy there .  

 

" That was great sticky date pudding ! I'll have that again for desert tomorrow ."

 

Me :  " Sorry ,  we make  different deserts each day , but you will get that again soon ."

 

{self important glare ) " I said  I will have that for my desert tomorrow  ... and you will make it  tomorrow  !  "  

 

(   )  

 

Me :   " Then  you better take it up with my boss ."         (   I knew what he would be in for  )  

 

Didn't work of course ... but then  ;   'Mr Self Important gets on the phone , rings up a restaurant in Melbourne  ( we were at Brisbane studios ,  in another state  )   orders a sticky date pudding , gets it air freighted up and taxied from the airport  to the studio and brings it into the mess tent and eats it gloatingly in front of me  .  

 

     WTF would I care  .... you want to spend  $850  on sticky date pudding to 'teach me a thing or two '    ... go for it !