Soboor – A Fishy Tale!

Like all Scots, I do like a good “fish supper”. So, during our recent trip to Khuzestan Province, I was very excited when we were invited by friends to try the local dish of soboor – which is a type of shad fish grilled in the traditional manner with a deliciously coriander-based sauce.

Eating soboor, is an art form in itself and I was forewarned that I would have to eat it with my fingers. Having lived in India for almost five years, I knew this would not prove a problem.  And, as luck would have it, I was also given a personal demonstration on the skills required for this feast from a new acquaintance whose name was Mola Soleh.

Mola Soleh demonstrating how to eat soboor

Mola Soleh is an Iranian gentleman who was once stigmatized by his countrymen for collaborating with Saddam Hossein by serving – himself a prisoner of Iraq – as an interpreter for the dictator. However, the true story behind his heroism – and how he managed to save many Iranian prisoners from certain death in Saddam’s dungeons – has only emerged in recent years and the record has been put right.

This man was my teacher on eating soboor. 

Now no longer a “caged bird” as he had been in prison, Mola Soleh took great joy in everyday things – including demonstrating the fish-eating technique. The soboor arrived flat on the plate, smothered in a thick green herby sauce consisting of onion, coriander and spices. According to Mola Saleh, the soboor starts its journey as a young fish in east Africa and then migrates to the Persian Gulf. The more mature fish is then caught, grilled and eaten on Fridays.

The key to eating soboor is to pull it apart by taking one end of the spine of the fish and tearing it in one smooth move.  You discard the spine and pop the fish on your plate, already filled with a mound of rice. Mola Saleh did this with consummate ease, and then quietly tucked into his lunch.

Well, that looks easy, I thought. And so, with the delicacy of a dancing bull, I managed to plaster the green sauce up to my elbows, with a disobedient little blob landing on my headscarf. With even less finesse, I scooped up some of the tender white flesh and dropped it on top of my rice, hoping that no one really noticed the proper mess I had succeeded in making.

A sudden silence overtook the lunch table as all the soboor eaters busied themselves with the next step in the consuming process – removing the bones from the now-spineless fish. And here was where my fingers came in very handy, as there were lots of bones. It was hard work, but worth it for the tasty experience.

As soon as Mola Saleh finished his soboor, he immediately picked up a plate of fresh Bam dates and munched away peacefully. I asked if this was the normal accompaniment for this particular repast, and was immediately inundated with an Iranian culinary history lesson on hot and cold food.  The fish, I was informed was cold, and the dates were hot!

I was puzzled.  I pondered over the fact that the fish had just come from a hot grill.  The dates, on the other hand, seemed a tad on the cool side to me. This led to further explanations.  The term “hot and cold” food has nothing at all to do with the temperature the food, but with harmonious bodily balance. My friends told me that Iranians believe food is fuel for the body and that each food item has its own nature. The key to healthy eating is balance.

Freshly Grilled Soboor

This concept of “hot and cold” food piqued my culinary imagination and so after a little digging around I found some possible origins. 

Although some sources claim the origin is with the ancient Persian religious philosophy of Zoroastrianism, the jury tends to weigh more on the side of ancient Greek origins.

Iran has been host to many “visitors” throughout its history and the invasion around 326 B.C. by Alexander, brought with it more than battle-weary soldiers. The ancient Greeks had further developed the medical theory for a healthy body by their famous physician, Hippocrates. This science proclaimed that our good health was the result of a balance of the four bodily “humors” – earth, water, air and fire.

While we in the West still spout out the old line that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, modern Iranians continue to believe in keeping sickness at bay by controlling the diet. My reliable source of all Iranian information, Mr. Rashidi, informed me that if you don’t eat the correct balance of “hot and cold” food every day, you can just feel that your body is not right. I experimented with the theory by eating too much shrimp and rice in Abadan and, yes, I think it’s true.

So, I will leave you with a brief list of hot and cold foods.

Try it for yourself and see!

Hot Food

Chicken, animal fats, eggs, honey, dates, wheat, sugar, dried fruit and vegetables, walnuts, banana, mango…

Cold Food

Fish, most beef, rice, dairy products, pomegranates, most fresh fruit and vegetables…