Jewelled Rice & Roasted Eggplant Dip
I'm not one to cook from recipes. I have difficulty keeping up with too many instructions. I'd much rather just start in the kitchen and see where the dish takes me. Sometimes I totally screw things up -- but mostly, things sorta work out. Tonight however, I decided to try a recipe, and more or less, stick to it.
I had seen a couple of Persian recipes for dishes served during Naw Ruz celebrations in Chatelaine's April 2007 issue. The pictures looked enticing, and I wanted to taste the food. So, when the opportunity presented itself to cook dinner tonight, I went for the Jewelled Rice and Roasted Eggplant Dip (served with pitas) -- click the links for the recipes. The result was pretty good. I enjoyed both dishes -- and my wife must have, as she had seconds.
I did make some modifications to the recipes. For the Roasted Eggplant Dip, I had no tomato paste, so I ignored it. I completely forgot the garlic, so it wasn't included. And since I had no saffron, it was nixed as well. The Jewelled Rice saw some changes as well. I substituted long grain brown rice for basmati rice; I had no idea what barberries were, and didn't have cranberries; instead of chicken thighs, I used breasts; and since I had no saffron, I used tumeric in its place. The recipes both call for about an hour to get the whole meal ready. Yeah right. That's if you have a huge kitchen, and have helpers. From my experience, you'll need to have two hours if you want to eat this meal.
I had seen a couple of Persian recipes for dishes served during Naw Ruz celebrations in Chatelaine's April 2007 issue. The pictures looked enticing, and I wanted to taste the food. So, when the opportunity presented itself to cook dinner tonight, I went for the Jewelled Rice and Roasted Eggplant Dip (served with pitas) -- click the links for the recipes. The result was pretty good. I enjoyed both dishes -- and my wife must have, as she had seconds.
I did make some modifications to the recipes. For the Roasted Eggplant Dip, I had no tomato paste, so I ignored it. I completely forgot the garlic, so it wasn't included. And since I had no saffron, it was nixed as well. The Jewelled Rice saw some changes as well. I substituted long grain brown rice for basmati rice; I had no idea what barberries were, and didn't have cranberries; instead of chicken thighs, I used breasts; and since I had no saffron, I used tumeric in its place. The recipes both call for about an hour to get the whole meal ready. Yeah right. That's if you have a huge kitchen, and have helpers. From my experience, you'll need to have two hours if you want to eat this meal.
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