Eat Different, Think Different – at Burgerland!

Burgerland on Andarzgoo Boulevard in Tehran

Who would have thought that some of the best beef burgers are to be found in Tehran?

Our trek into the world of fast food in this fair city would lead us to a place called Burgerland.

Burgerland is a zippy little restaurant located at 62 Andarzgoo Boulevard in Farmanieh, which lies in the northern part of Tehran.  You can’t really miss it, as it is set right on the main street with a huge sign adorned with a neon burger, fries and a drink which flash at you from the outside wall.

The brightly-lit exterior does rather remind me of the fairground attractions from my youth in Scotland.  But the effect is successful and we are drawn in for a fun food ride of juicy burgers and chips.

Gary enjoying one of his Juicy Burgers

The journey starts with the large group of friendly gentlemen behind the counter just waiting to take your order.  And, ordering is not difficult, even if you don’t speak Farsi.  The menu is bi-lingual and, as Gary found out after valiantly requesting – in Farsi – four Juicy Burgers (two for himself), fries and drinks, so is all the staff. 

So what is on offer, you ask with your mouth watering?  Well, it’s quite simple.  There are six different types of burger: the Land Burger, the Smokey Burger, the Double Burger, the Juicy Burger, the Aioli Burger, the Chicken Burger and not forgetting the Special Fries.

All of the ingredients are fresh, juicy and tasty.  And if you are worried about what the meat might be made of, fear not, it is 100% pure beef (well maybe the chicken is 100% chicken) and tastes delicious.  The burger buns are soft and just the right size.  The fries really are special: coated in a spicy flavouring and dribbled with Thousand Island Dressing and a smattering of Parmesan cheese on top.

The Special Fries

It is worth noting that Iranian fast food doesn’t mean having your food slapped down in front of you on a tray in record time.  You do have to sit and chat with your friends for a little while, but the Burgerland burger is worth the wait.

But there is more to the restaurant than friendly faces and fabulous fast food.  Sitting in the diner-style restaurant we were very much reminded of another world far away.   With foot-tapping modern music surrounding us, we could while away our time reading the graphic designs on the wall – all written in English.

Even more entertaining perhaps are the three quirky photographs on the walls of the restaurant owners.  For Burgerland is the brainchild of the three members of the popular underground group known as Barobax. 

I’d give your recipes if I could, but I can’t.  You will just have to come to Tehran and do what Burgerland urges you to do – Eat Different, Think Different!

Feed Your Friends Fake Fesenjun!

There are times when you just have to go with the flow.

We hosted a large dinner party in our house this week to bid farewell to a United Nations colleague.  And, although the food was grown, bought and cooked in Iran, it was, admittedly, not an Iranian menu. 

Fake Fesenjun

But these are mere details.  Given that we were hosting both Iranian and foreign guests, I opted for a fusion menu of recipes from our various travels over this fair and fabulous planet.

One of my “go-to” chicken dishes is a Creole Caribbean chicken recipe from the entertaining food writer Kenneth Gardnier, originally from the lush tropical island of Dominica.  It is one of those recipes that you can adapt to any geographical location and local ingredients.  It always goes down well at dinner parties.

So, when I invited our guests to eat the other night, I was somewhat surprised at hearing a general mumbling amongst the Iranian crowd that there was Fesenjun (see my blog from 8^th April) on the table.

Indeed, one of the more intriguing conversations was with a guest whose identity will remain anonymous.

It went something like this:

Anonymous Guest:  Oh, so you have made Fesenjun.  That's nice.

Liz:                         Well, no, sorry, it isn't actually Fesenjun.

Anonymous Guest:  But it looks like Fesenjun.

Liz:                         Really?  But it's not as dark as Fesenjun.

Anonymous Guest:  It's almost as dark as Fesenjun.

Liz:                        Actually, it's chicken baked in a Caribbean Creole sauce.  The recipe is from Dominica.  That's an island about 170km northwest of where Gary comes from in Barbados.

Brief dramatic pause

Anonymous Guest:  Ah!  So, it’s “fake” Fesenjun then?

As I stood on the brink, I decided that this was a battle I was clearly not going to win and go with the flow I went.  Within minutes, Fake Fesenjun entered the annals of fusion food and was heartily consumed. 

The recipe for it is at the end of this blog.

Along with another recipe for a dish that always goes far at BBQs and large gatherings.  A standard in my dinner party repertoire, Curried Pasta Salad from South Africa is always very popular. 

Well, at least with some!

South African Curried Pasta Salad

I would have to confess that eating pasta cold in any form is not my cup of tea.  In fact, if pressed, I would have to be chained to a fence and force-fed the stuff through a straw.  But, some people do like it.  I even have vegan acquaintances who will eat it.  I do make my own mango chutney, which I add in copious quantities to give the pasta salad a bit more zing!

So, what are you waiting for?  Get into the kitchen and rattle those pots and pans and cook up some fake fusion food for your friends.

Nushijan!

Fake Fesenjun

What you need:

4 to 6 pieces of chicken

Juice of 1 lime or lemon

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon of sea salt

2 teaspoons of hot pepper sauce (West Indian sauce if you can get it)

150ml (approx.) of chicken stock

1 onion

1 tablespoon soya sauce

1 teaspoon curry powder

3 tablespoons dark rum (Barbados rum if you can get it)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon thyme

1 small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 tablespoons olive oil

What to do:

Put everything in a blender or food processor and blend until you have a smooth sauce with no lumpy bits.  Marinade the chicken pieces and leave in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight if you can.  Turn the pieces regularly in the marinade.

To cook you can either BBQ it or put the whole lot in a baking pan and roast in a pre-heated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 for 1 to 1 ½ hours and turn the chicken at regular intervals.

South African Curried Pasta Salad

What you need:

500 grams pasta (macaroni, penne)

100g seedless raisons or sultanas

1 x 410 g can of peach slices, drained and chopped

1 x 410 g can pineapple chunks, drained

1 onion, finely chopped

1 green sweet pepper, seeded and chopped

1 red sweet pepper, seeded and chopped

Dressing

250 ml (1 cup) mayonnaise

15 ml (1 tablespoon curry powder)

60 ml (1/4 cup) chutney

The dressing measurements are basic ones. I always add more mayonnaise and chutney.

What to do:

Cook the pasta until al dente, drain in a large colander and cool under running water. Drain really well and put in a large bowl.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the vegetables and fruit.  Add to the cooked pasta and mix well.

Mix the ingredients for the dressing with a whisk, and then mix with the pasta and veggies.  Stir it around until everything is covered in the dressing. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Jamshidieh Park and the Secrets of Golpar

Near the summit of Kolak Chal

Some may consider it somewhat insane to get up early on a Saturday morning and hike up a mountain in 30°C heat. Normally, I might agree but after climbing the hills in Jamshidieh Park – in the north of Tehran – with Gary, Sarah and our friend Sepideh, it was well worth the effort.

Our dear friends, Sepideh and Mansoor, live in a beautiful apartment in the Niavaran area of Tehran, right at the edge of the Jamshidieh Park.  The park, also known as the Stone Garden, is nestled at the base of Kolak Chal Mountain in the Alborz range.

Sculpted out of the hard rock, Jamshidieh has an interesting history.  Built during the Pahlavi era as a private royal garden, it was opened to the public in 1977.  The park is designed to make the most of its natural environment and stones from the mountains are used for the paving and modern sculptures.  A number of traditional tea-rooms and restaurants (currently closed due to Ramadan) are dotted aesthetically around the park.

But there are also mythical roots to this stony wonderland, which can be found in the pages of Ferdowsi’s spectacular epic history of Iranian kings, The Shahnameh.

Rostam, perhaps the key player in Ferdowsi’s epic poem, is famous for many brave and savage adventures - including unknowingly and tragically killing his own son.  But the main feats of his courage include his performance of the renowned Seven Trials.

View of Tehran from Kolak Chal

In Trial Number Seven, Rostam slays the murderous White Demon or Div-e Sepid in a veritable blood bath of guts and gore.  Years later, the White Demon’s son, Shabrang, which means Dark as Night, allegedly encounters Rostam for a showdown and revenge punch-up.  And where else to do this but on the very same Kolak Chal Mountain we were trudging up last Saturday morning?

It was not difficult to visualize an epic battle between these Titans as we walked through the deep green forest and started to make our way up the side of the craggy mountain.  Dressed in manto and hijab (except for Gary of course!), the heart-thumping, air-gulping, knee-wrenching climb to the top was rewarded by a breath-taking view of Tehran.

As we looked south on this windless, hot day with a little less pollution than normal, we could see as far as Rey – the oldest city in Tehran Province.  With the distant hum of the metropolis wafting up towards us on the thermals, we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the hilltop, interrupted only by the occasional chirping sparrow and a few determined bees.

The walk back down was less pressure on the heart and lungs and we were able to stop and enjoy the other delights of the park.  Sepideh took us to the outdoor gym with a view that is unsurpassable.  After a trial 10-minute workout, we headed down the mountainside to sit under the cool canopy of trees covering the carp and goldfish pond. 

At the carp pond with Sarah, Sepideh and Gary

Meandering down to the bottom of the park, accompanied by a number of gaggling geese, we finally made our way back to Sepideh’s apartment, where Mani was waiting with lunch – the price he had to pay for not joining the hike!

Sepideh and Mani are the most hospitable and generous hosts and lunch with them is always a treat.  We all enjoyed a local dish of rice mixed with lamb cooked in herbs with Mani’s home-made Mast-e-khiar, yoghurt and cucumber, and those wonderful Iranian fava (broad) beans.

When we are in conversation with Mani, we always learn a new perspective about something.  This time it was how to eat fava beans and continue sitting next to your friends.  As we all know, beans do tend to make one – shall we say – a little windy.  But now, thanks to Mani, we have the secret to successful and happy-for-everyone fava bean eating.

Fava beans and golpar

And that secret is golpar.

Golpar’s scientific Latin name is heracleum persicum and is known to the rest of us mere mortals as “hogweed”.  Golpar is a flowering plant indigenous to Iran and grows wild in its mountains.  The seeds are used as a spice in Persian cooking and have a slightly bitter taste.  Normally sold in powdered form, golpar is sprinkled on beans, vegetables and potatoes and sometimes in stews and soups.

When eating beans, mix the golpar with some vinegar (apple vinegar adds a nice tanginess) and dip your fava beans in the mix.  The effect of this culinary wizardry is to reduce the consequences of gas in the digestive tract that is normally associated with eating lots of beans.

It’s a win win situation. You eat the beans, and you keep your friends close!

Mast-e-khiar (Yoghurt and Cucumber)

Chef Mani mixing yoghurt and cucumber

What you need:

225 ml plain yoghurt

1 small/medium cucumber peeled and grated

2 teaspoons sultanas (optional)

60g chopped nuts

2 cloves garlic crushed

½ teaspoon each finely chopped mint and tarragon

What to do:

Mix all the ingredients and chill.  Serve as an appetizer with Persian bread or serve with rice and stew.