Zereshk Polow (Barberry Rice)

The best thing about coming home from a trip is eating home cooked food, especially when you don't have to cook it. When I arrived in Ottawa, I called my in-laws and they invited me over for dinner and to look at my pictures from New Zealand.

I happily agreed because my mom in-law makes the best Persian food. Nine out of 10 times, she is cooking Persian food. I would have to say that Persian is in my top 3 for favourite cuisines. It is delicious, full of taste, natural, and very healthy. I can't rave enough about Persian food and I'm sure you will see many more posts about it.

When I arrived for dinner, I was even more excited because she had made my favourite, zereshk polow or barberry rice. Along with the barberries and saffron rice, she usually adds slivered almonds, pistachios, and carrots.

Barberries are not sweet at all. They are tart and sour, and when added to rice, it gives it a real kick.

The zereshk polow was served with saffron chicken with tomatoes and onions, and tah-deeg.

Now tah-deeg is something worth fighting over! Tah-deeg in persian means bottom of the pot, and that is exactly what it is: crispy rice at the bottom of the pot. Usually, potatoes, bread, or lettuce is added, and it ends up being encrusted with crunchy rice.

What you see below on the right is potato tah-deeg. It basically tastes like fresh potato chips with a hint of saffron.

It didn't end there. For dessert, we had an awesome apple and almond yogourt cake. It was super moist and not too sweet, just the way I like it.

The cake was served with a strawberry and mango fruit salad...yum!!

Mmm...home sweet home! Although I was quite jet-lagged, I stayed late to show them my pictures over hot tea.