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Najmieh Batmanglij

Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies Hardcover – Illustrated, 18 August 2020

by Najmieh Batmanglij (Author)

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Completely redesigned for today's generation of cooks and food enthusiasts, the 25th Anniversary Edition of Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies by Najmieh Batmanglij provides a treasure trove of recipes, along with an immersive cultural experience for those seeking to understand this ancient and timeless cuisine. This edition is a more user-friendly edition of the award-winning and critically acclaimed cookbook series which began in 1986. Food of Life provides 330 classical and regional Iranian recipes as well as an introduction to Persian art, history, and culture. The book's hundreds of full color photographs are intertwined with descriptions of ancient and modern Persian ceremonies, poetry, folktales, travelogue excerpts and anecdotes. The 2011 Edition of Food of Life is a labor of love. The book began in exile after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 as a love letter to Batmanglij's children. Today, as accomplished adults in their own fields, her two sons, Zal and Rostam, encouraged her to redesign the book for their generation.

Food of Life propels Persian cooking into the 21st Century, even as it honors venerable traditions and centuries of artistic expression. It is the result of 30 years of collecting, testing and adapting authentic and traditional Persian recipes for the American kitchen. Most of its ingredients are readily available throughout the U.S. enabling anyone from a master chef to a novice to reproduce the refined tastes, textures, and beauty of Persian cuisine. Food-related pieces from such classics as the 10th century Book of Kings, and 1,001 Nights to the miniatures of Mir Mosavvar and Aq Mirak, from the poetry of Omar Khayyam and Sohrab Sepehri to the humor of Mulla Nasruddin are all included. Each recipe is presented with steps that are logical and easy to follow. Readers learn how to simply yet deliciously cook rice, the jewel of Persian cooking, which, when combined with a little meat, fowl, or fish, vegetables, fruits, and herbs, provides the perfect balanced diet.

ABOUT THE BOOK'S TITLE
Food of Life, the title of the book, comes from the Persian words nush-e jan, literally "food of life"--a traditional wish in Iran that a dish will be enjoyed. For the updated 1993 edition the title was changed to New Food of Life. Now, for the 25th anniversary edition the title returns to its original name, Food of Life.

The full-color Food of Life 25th Anniversary Edition contains 50% more pages than its 2009 predecessor and special added features:
*New Recipes adapted from Sixteenth-Century Persian cookbooks
*Added vegetarian section for most recipes
*Comprehensive dictionary of all ingredients
*A glance at a few thousand years of the history of Persian Cooking
*Master recipes with photos illustrating the steps.
*Color photos of most recipes with tips on presentation
*Updated section on Persian stores and Internet suppliers
*Fahrenheit and Centigrade temperatures for all recipes
*Choices for cooking recipes such as kuku in oven or on stovetop.
*Encourages use of seasonal and local ingredients from farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) sources or one's own backyard

Print length

640 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Mage Publishers
Publication date

18 August 2020
Dimensions

22.45 x 4.55 x 24.71 cm
ISBN-10

193382347X
ISBN-13

978-1933823478
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Product description

Review

"One of the most exciting cookbooks I've seen in a while I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Iran's glorious food culture." ----Yotam Ottolenghi, The Guardian

"A classic cookbook made even better...Gorgeous expanded edition." ----Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times

"Chefs across the country are at the forefront of Najmieh's fan base. They know what's good, and they are inspired by the ingredients and techniques she brings to the table." ----Bonnie S. Benwick, The Washington Post

From the Back Cover

Cooking plays important roles in every culture, but Persian cuisine can claim a relationship to its native land that is uniquely deep and intricate. This book celebrates the central place of food in the life of Iran, a story extending back almost 4,000 years, when recipes were first recorded in a cuneiform script on clay tablets. At the same time, Food of Life--updated and expanded in this new edition--is designed to be used by today's cook. It provides a veritable treasury of recipes: 330 in all, presented in an easy to-follow format, along with standard variations and, in many cases, a vegetarian version. The title of the book comes from the words nush-e jan, literally "food of life"--a traditional wish in Iran that a dish will be enjoyed.

Along with daily gifts of pleasure, Persian cooking has figured intimately in numerous Iranian festivals and ceremonies. The menus and recipes associated with such events are described in Food of Life in detail, from the winter solstice celebration, Shab-e Yalda, or the "sun's birthday eve," to the rituals and symbolism involved in a modern Iranian marriage. Also woven through this book are many examples of how food has inspired artists, poets, and other luminaries of Persian culture. The book includes the miniatures of Mir Mosavvar and Aqa Mirak; excerpts from such classics as the fourth-century tale Khosrow and His Knight, the tenth-century Book of Kings, and the Thousand and One Nights; poems by Omar Khayyam, Rumi, and Sohrab Sepehri; and the humor of Mulla Nasruddin.

Even as it honors venerable traditions and centuries of artistic expression, Food of Life propels Persian cooking into the twenty-first century. Today, with most of the ingredients in this book's recipes readily available throughout the U.S., anyone can reproduce the refined tastes, textures, and beauty of this great cuisine-- ancient, and also timeless.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mage Publishers; 4th Edition (18 August 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 640 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 193382347X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1933823478
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 22.45 x 4.55 x 24.71 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 54,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 44 in Middle Eastern Food
- 72 in History of Iran
- 117 in Gastronomy History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
821 ratings

About the author

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Najmieh Batmanglij

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Najmieh Batmanglij was born and raised in Iran. During her childhood, her mother wouldn't allow her in the kitchen. "Concentrate on your education," she would say. "There will be plenty of time for you to cook later in life."

Najmieh came to America in the 1960s to study at university and would cook Persian food with fresh local produce using recipes sent by her mother in letters. Her housemates loved the food she made and encouraged her to cook all the more. Little did she know that the American food revolution had just begun. Later, when Najmieh returned to Iran with her master's degree in education in hand, her mother welcomed her into the kitchen and started to work with her.

At the end of 1979, as the Iranian Revolution took a more fundamentalist turn, Najmieh and her husband fled to France, where their first son Zal was born.

It was in France that Najmieh decided to follow her passion for cooking. With the help of her friends and neighbors, she wrote her first cookbook, Ma Cuisine d'Iran.

In 1983 she and her husband emigrated to America, where she gave birth to their second son, Rostam, and wrote her first book in English, Food of Life.

Najmieh has spent the past 35 years cooking, traveling, and adapting authentic Persian recipes to tastes and techniques in the West. She has been hailed as "the guru of Persian cuisine" by The Washington Post. Her Food of Life was called "the definitive book on Iranian cooking" by the Los Angeles Times. Her Silk Road Cooking was selected as one of the 10 best vegetarian cookbooks of 2004 by The New York Times; and her book From Persia to Napa: Wine at the Persian Table won the Gourmand Cookbook Award for the best wine history book of 2007.

Najmieh is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier and lives in Washington, DC, where she teaches Persian cooking, and consults with restaurants around the world.

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Bill Medley

Absolutely without parallel . Fantastic book.

Reviewed in Australia on 4 March 2022

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These recipes always work, I had to have a bit of faith when I started cooking from this book as I had never attempted anything like these meals, salads, & desserts. EVERYONE IS HAPPY. The ingredients are easy to source here in Brisbane. I thoroughly recommend this to novice & more experienced cooks. you will not regret it.

Reviewed in Australia on 4 February 2022

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TBH I was a bit pissed about the price but but my partner wanted it so I got. However, after finally getting it I can say it worth's every cent. The pictures, stories, poems and the detailed instructions of the recipes are phenomenal. This is a great buy.

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This is it!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 September 2017

Verified Purchase

For all of you out there who want to get into Persian cooking, this is it!

We are not exactly spoiled for choice with books on Persian cuisine. Maybe this is because Najmieh's book is so good that no one else could even come close? The price is steep, yes. But you get two in one: you get the recipe part, which over the years has grown so much that you may have difficulty deciding which dish to cook first; then you get an extensive essay about Persian history and culture. For me, these have always been intertwined and I firmly believe that one cannot truly master the cooking without understanding the history, culture and geography of a people, which are the roots of a cuisine. Najmieh is an exile Iranian lady, full of pride and love for her country and roots, and it shows in this book.

Persian cuisine is one of the oldest civilized cuisines in the world. Of course, it has been gifted with Mediterranean foods by the country's conquerors, like the armies of Alexander the Great from Greece; the Turkic tribes from Central Asia; seafaring traders from Arab countries long before the dawn of Islam. (Which cuisine hasn't drawn on foreign influences?) But it has, in turn, influenced more peoples with its own culinary gifts, foods and most namely cooking techniques. Nan-e barbari, for example, may have originally been left behind by Central Asian tribes in a more rudimentary form, then enhanced to perfection by the Persians (yes, a tandoor is Persian!) and finally "exported" by Persia's own armies in a much more refined form on their conquest through Afghanistan, Pakistan, and all the way into northern India. And so have the khoreshes and polos (polo = pilau).

But enough of this now. I can, of course, pick holes in this book:

1) Ingredient lists are almost endless. I mean it. Sure, it is better to grind spices for immediate use, and this is what the recipes call for with each of the polos and khoreshes calling for up to a dozen different herbs and spices, but I cannot imagine that Iranian people do this on a daily basis. Thankfully, Najmieh gives us three different recipes for Advieh, the Persian spice mix -- one of these is always suitable for use instead of gathering together a huge array of different individual spices, but you will initially have to find out just how much of which Advieh to use for which dish instead. You can also pass on the garnishes, which are used in Iran only for special occasions. That will make things a lot easier!

2) Portion sizes are enormous. When a recipe specifies it serves 4 to 6 people you can easily assume it serves at least 8, if not more. A 3 course Persian meal (chelow, khoresh, and a starter, accompanied by bread and a condiment or two), if you assume portion sizes as stated are correct, can easily amount to 2000 calories in one sitting! But this is Middle Eastern and Turkish tradition: always prepare plenty of food, case unexpected guests may arrive (and there is nothing as embarrassing than leaving them without enough food! I have a few Iranian friends, and none of them are even remotely chubby...)

3) Najmieh is a purist, for whom cooking rice and baking bread is a form of art and her love and respect for her native cuisine dictate that she wants you to learn how to cook these things to perfection, so preparation is sometimes a bit fiddly and involves a lot of dedication, time and conscientiousness, or special utensils (such as a baking stone), which most of us do not often have. (While I list this as a negative, it is really a positive as it teaches you how to get things done as closely to tradition as possible!)

So be prepared for a challenge!

Another notable thing is that if you want to get involved with Persian cuisine, you have to like sour and extremely sweet. Barberries (zereshk), sour cherries (albaloo), sour grape juice, and pickles (torshi) are everyday fare for khoreshes and polo, while desserts -- like anywhere else in the Middle East and Turkey -- demand a sweet tooth bar none. (I do not have much of a sweet tooth, barely ever venturing beyond dark chocolatey and lemony things; though I found that sweet treats like sholehzard (Persian rice pudding) are quite nice once I halved the amount of sugar...)

Ingredients here in England are quite easy to obtain. If you do not have a Middle Eastern store or supermarket near you, you can order them in pretty decent quality at "A Taste of Persia" (they also sell Iranian-make rice cookers, case you get hooked -- they are not bad at all...). Persian cooking is not chili-hot; even dishes from the Gulf Coast are manageable for more delicate palates. Fresh herbs are used with abundance, so keep cilantro, parsley, dill weed, tarragon and basil in stock at all times. Also pomegranate molasses, which is not as concentrated as the Lebanese stuff, more liquid instead. And saffron (I know... expensive!)

The book was originally written for the American market, but conversion into metric has been done accurately so the recipes should work out nicely for those who do metric. As for myself, I find cup measures are a lot quicker than going by weight, but the maths is spot on! Like in all Muslim countries or regions, the cuisine revolves around meat, but Najmieh gives vegetarian options for many of the recipes. I myself am not a vegetarian, so I cannot vouch for the accuracy of these alternatives, but they are there.

I can only hope that once you have a bit of practice, you'll agree with me that this is the only book you'll ever need to recreate authentic Persian flavors.

17 people found this helpful

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Go on threat yourself

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2017

Verified Purchase

This was a birthday present to myself. I had been looking at this book for a long time. It is expensive and I was reluctant to spend the money. But I am so glad I finally did. My ex was from Iran and so I used to eat lots of Persian dishes, but never got the hang of cooking very many of them at the time. Now I am literally working my way through lots and lots of the recipes - they are simple yet complex, in the sense that the ingredients are simple e.g. I made chicken in an orange sauce and apart from onion and spices that was all it contained - and very enjoyable it was. The complexity is because there are stages to most of these dishes, and the cooking takes time. Not a quick fix but something to be done when you have a few spare hours.
Also the book contains all sorts of poems and little tales - and some fantastic traditional Persian pictures. Well worth the money.

3 people found this helpful

The Doc

Excellent for vegetarians as well as carnivores.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 October 2015

Verified Purchase

A classic recipe book - and now I know why! The book is both a cultural artefact as much as it is an instrument to create beautiful cuisine. There are simple and clear instructions for baking, mouth-watering photography, and lovingly written anecdotes about some of Najmieh's favourite foods. I am a vegetarian and was therefore delighted to note that every meat dish is given a vegetable substitute in the notes section. A treasure of a cook book!

4 people found this helpful

Nick S

The Best Book on Iranian Cuisine in Print!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 February 2016

Verified Purchase

This is the coffee table book of Iranian cuisine. Incredible images, huge amount of recipes including the most well known and the more rare regional offerings. My partner is Iranian born and raised and finds this book invaluable despite having several good cooks in her family. If you buy one book on Iranian cuisine make it this and not a few of the other not so good books that are out there.

One person found this helpful

PersJohn Akehurst

Not so exciting really-

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2021

Verified Purchase

It needs a little work to look through and the pictures are pretty average. Some interesting recipes though which hopefully will taste good.

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