We went to Little Persia on Westwood Blvd to try some Persian/Iranian food which I’m not familiar with. We wanted a not-so-heavy lunch and I was attracted by the rice menu at Shaherzad.
House Rice Specials ($13), in which you can choose either Lamb Shank or Chicken. I chose: Rice Mixed with orange peels, pistachios, almonds, saffron with a hint of Rosewater. It taste like how perfume on rice would have taste: sweet, florally and lovely… I can eat this all day! The subtle sweetness of orange peels and the nutty textures made a great combo. The Lamb shank is very delicious, it’s tender (the meat fall off from the bone with just a slight touch) and deeply flavored.
Ghormeh Sabzi – Sauteed fresh herbs mixed with red kidney beans, served with Veal. The stew is shockingly sour and could get overwhelming after a few bites. The veal is very tender. Served with Basmati Rice.
From the little samples we’re very impressed by the way they cooked their meat, I’d love to come back to try the kebob and other dishes.
Shaherzad Royal Persian Cuisine
1422 Westwood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tags: Lamb, Middle Eastern, Persian
i’m sad to hear you didn’t like the ghormeh sabzi. although all of nate’s persian students say that restaurants never do it well. wholesome choice (perian supermarket) in irvine has a really good one. i dont think it’s made with veal but we love it. you can also request extra tadik, the crispy burnt rice that goes so well with persian food.
I am doing rose research and have been unable to find out if roses were grown for rose water BEFORE the scholar Avicenna invented a way to distill this important ingredient in the 11th century. I also suspect that rose petals were added very early in history to Persian recipes, but I have been unable to find out if pre-Islamic Persian cooks made rose water for cooking (for example by steeping rose buds in water or some other liquid. Does anyone have proof of this? Thank you for your attention. Cheers, Jeff Panciera