• KatieK1 on December 14, 2025

  This beautiful book is not pr0perly formatted as an ebook.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Breakfast bread (Barberi)

  • Melanie on March 06, 2012

    Easy to put together - knead dough in mixer and allow to rise for about 2 hours. Then quickly shape and throw in oven for about 10 minutes. Good to serve with dips.

• Stone bread (Sangak)

  • RMcEwen on June 26, 2014

    Easy and delicious -- it takes time to make, but is certainly worth the effort. A majority of the time is hands-off, and the breads cook very quickly in the oven. I use pizza trays, left in the hot oven for ten minutes or so, because I don't have a pizza stone or similar. I also omitted the pebbles and the breads were still delicious, if not quite as interesting!

• Classic Persian rice (Chelow)

  • JLDuck on November 25, 2019

    It is time consuming and I ended up using many bowls. It taste great and the texture is fabulous. However I would only cook it on special occassions. I am sure basmati rice either using the steamed or absorption method would work for everyday meals.

• Sour-cherry rice with lamb (Albaloo polow)

  • MissQuin on June 10, 2013

    I think this could have been cooked for a little less - maybe half an hour rather than 40 mins. Otherwise it's delicious.

• Persian Gulf-style shrimp and herb rice (Maygoo polow)

  • thekitchenchronicles on November 04, 2014

    http://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2014/08/26/persian-gulf-style-shrimp-and-herb-rice/

• Shiraz salad (Salad-e Shirazi)

  • Melanie on March 06, 2012

    Made this salad in a masterclass with Malouf himself. Very impressive salad visually - blew me away. Also tastes great and there is a lovely mix of textures. Dress salad at last minute - use of salt and pepper is key.

• Shaved cucumber and pomegranate salad

  • JLDuck on April 13, 2018

    This is one of the most delicious salads I have eaten. Easy to make which is an added bonus.

• Persian-style Russian salad with tarragon mayonnaise (Salad-e olivieh)

  • tges on March 14, 2026

    A different take on a Persian favorite. The tarragon is a lovely variation and I make this salad often. Do as the Persians do and have wrapped in lavash bread or a French bread roll. Wonderful for a Persian picnic, roadside or not.

• Spinach, turmeric and golden-raisin dip (Borani-ye esfenaj)

  • KarinaFrancis on March 22, 2016

    Sadly this was not a winner. Not sure where it went wrong but I don't see enough promise in it to try again or tinker with it

• Soft herb omelette (Kuku-ye sabzi)

  • e_ballad on September 04, 2019

    Wow, this was surprisingly terrible. The flavour was really off & the flour made this really rubbery.

• Creamy pearl barley soup with candied carrot (Soop-e jo)

  • tges on March 14, 2026

    Very popular soop in Iran. My husband enjoyed it particularly in Isfahan at Shahrzad. Easy to make.

• Persepolis onion soup with soft-poached eggs (Eshkeneh)

  • meggan on November 09, 2012

    Delicious - the seasoning is perfect and it is simple to make.

  • tges on March 14, 2026

    The first recipe made from this book when it came out and it delighted the whole family. Eshkeneh recipes can be quite varied, but I have to admit, I am very partial to Malouf's as it's clean, tasty, and I love that is it titled "Persepolis onion soup".

• Mortar and pestle soup with chickpeas, lamb and flatbread (Dizi)

  • viperchicken on March 29, 2015

    Pg 148 Delicious!

• Fresh herb stew with lamb and dried limes (Khoresht-e ghormeh sabzi)

  • JLDuck on November 25, 2019

    It takes time however this time can be used to cook the chelow rice. It is delicious. I used significantly less stock (half) and it was still rather liquid. I also used canned kidney beans. My success rate with soaked dry in stews is very low. Worked a treat.

• Lamb and split pea stew (Khoresht-e gheimeh)

  • RMcEwen on June 26, 2014

    This went down very well with my dinner guests. It is quite rich and filling, but the lamb cooks down beautifully and is incredibly tender. I served it, as recommended, with shirin polow. The sweetness went well with the earthiness and richness of the lamb. However, as shirin polow is a bit of an effort, I think it could also be served with bread and yoghurt and a nice green salad.

  • tges on March 14, 2026

    One of my favorite khoreshts. Very flavoursome and easy to cook. Wonderful with the sweet rice, and lovely with the potato straws strewn atop which is how they serve it in Iran.

• Lamb with prunes and honey (Khoresht-e aloo)

  • e_ballad on April 20, 2018

    I used lamb forequarter chops as suggested in the author’s note & would agree that the prunes cut through the fattiness of that particular cut. A good make-ahead dish. I wonder if a sprinkling of flaked almonds or pistachios would be a welcome textural element.

• Duck with pumpkin and cinnamon

  • JLDuck on September 15, 2017

    Unless you are confident about your beans suggest you par cook beans first. Ended up having it without the beans (they will form a stew another day) and it was delicious.

• Giant meatballs stuffed with fruit and nuts (Koofteh Tabrizi)

  • tges on March 14, 2026

    Easier to make than it reads. Delicious and feels like an achievement when finally cooked and served. Very true to the koofteh-ha found all over Iran. I bought little lidded copper pots in Shiraz specifically for this dish, and it brings back wonderful memories every time I use them. I found the best way to cook them are indeed in individual serving pots as they ensure they stay intact as you're not moving them about to serve. I never cook these ever on the stovepot now.

• Spinach with chicken-and-orange koofteh (Khoresht-e esfenaj)

  • tges on March 14, 2026

    My family love this recipe, and it must be Greg's as I have never chanced upon it in my travels throughout Iran nor seen referenced anywhere or in recipe. It's full of nourishment and that is why I particularly love that my children love it. Meatballs are always a hit, and you can even have them help you make them. The flavours are lovely and fresh with the orange, but rich and filling with the chicken. I cannot say it is Persian really, but I do love it as a change from the other meatball recipes I make.

• Silky braised eggplant (Khoresht-e badenjan)

  • Piprocks on April 26, 2019

    Absolutely divine! My new favourite way with eggplants.

• Skewered tamarind fish with dried-lime butter and chives (Kabab-e mahi)

  • JLDuck on April 13, 2018

    I reduced the amount of butter by nearly half. It was still delicious.

• Yoghurt baked fish with walnut-herb crumbs (Mahi-e mast-gerdu)

  • ozfoodie on February 01, 2022

    I use almonds instead of breadcrumbs and it works really well. A simple and tasty meal that I cook in the air fryer and keep going back to again and again.

• Spiced roast lamb with pumpkin and sultanas (Run-e bareh)

  • MissQuin on October 14, 2013

    Be warned. The cooking times for this recipe are way off. The lamb leg i roasted was a good 1 kilo lighter than the 2.5 kg specified and even though I cooked it 10 minutes longer than recommended it still came out quite rare - this was perfect for me as I like meat rare but I imagine that if it had been the specified weight it would have been almost raw near the bone. Also the list of ingredients ask for verjuice but it's not mentioned in the instructions. Despite this it was actually a very tasty dish. I used chopped up dates instead of the sultanas as it was what I had on hand. Veggies were in with the lamb for 40 mins and I then splashed over a little white wine vinegar (i didn't have verjuice) and roasted for another 20 while the lamb was resting. I tossed some roughly chopped coriander parsley and green chilli through the veg. Thumbs up.

• Plum sorbet with nougat

  • MarciK on August 05, 2024

    The sorbet froze well. It’s tasty, but I had to make it without the almond nougat. I’m not able to find in stores here, and there was no recipe in this cookbook for it.

• Wild fig preserve with ginger and orange (Moraba-ye anjir)

  • e_ballad on August 08, 2019

    Whilst the flavours were excellent, we found this was cloyingly sweet.

• Homemade yoghurt (Mast)

  • tges on March 14, 2026

    This is more than a book of recipes; it is beautiful hardcover book containing the rich, dignified, and beautiful culture of Iran. I used this book for inspiration for my first visit in 2015. I followed Greg and Lucy's itinerary stopping at many of the same places they wrote about in Saraban. For months I perused over each chapter many times, savouring the impressions of a distant land waiting to be explored. Many interesting details are to be found in Saraban, and alone, the book stands as a worthy assist in drafting your own itinerary. Spend extra time in Yazd; the sweets there alone are worth the visit.