New in CHCH: Prince of Persia

My dad is good at a lot of things but I’d say he’s most well-known for his kebab. He lives and breathes it. Seriously, the guy loves kebab so much, if he could, he’d marry it (sorry mom). For this reason, he knows all the “Persian” eateries in Christchurch like the back of his hands. I use quotation marks here because most of these restaurants are a fusion of Persian and Turkish. Newly opened Prince of Persia is actually authentically Persian. Their kebabs identical to the kebab restaurants of our motherland. Their tablecloths the same as the ones in our dining area. The food comparison by the way, comes from my mother, AKA the queen of complaints. This woman complains everywhere. Too salty, not hot enough, too little this, too much that. But at Prince of Persia she LOVES, and I mean licksherplate loves everything. So I highly recommend it. Persian food at its best.

As well as Persian-mom-approved food (try the ghormesabzi, it’s unreal!), Prince of Persia is affordable (starting from $13…), spacious and child-friendly. Visit their website HERE for more info.

20 Days In Hell

After 20 excruciating days of receiving zero information from the Iranian officials of my cousin’s whereabouts, his family were finally allowed to “visit” him in Adel Abad prison (Shiraz) in a booth separated by glass. As it turns out, he is being kept in solitary confinement. In “the hotbox”, “the hole”, “lockdown.” And for what? For practising a religion of oneness. Of love, compassion, and justice.

My heart aches for him. For his parents. Sisters. Wife and two young children. But it’s not just him. Countless other completely innocent souls have been, and still are today, victims of the Iranian government’s cruel cruel wrath.

If I could see or speak to Vargha, I would tell him that I am ardently praying for him. And that so are my parents. And my sister, and my friends and my followers. I would beg him to remain hopeful and resilient. Just as I beg you to count your blessings every day. To make the most of your freedom. To work for oneness. To love and to serve. And to stand up for injustice. To stand up, and to speak out for those who cannot speak out for themselves.

Lastly, to please share news of Vargha and the other Bahá’ís terrible state of affairs with your family, friends, and contacts. For perhaps, if the Iranian government is placed under greater pressure for their wicked injustice, they may hopefully reevaluate such inhuman operations.

So This Happened…

I bought a watermelon the size of a Japanese sumo wrestler and made Persian Breakfast for lunch for my Japanese friends.

A friend commented my picture looked like a pregnancy one. I replied, yes and judging by my pants, my water broke too. It IS water by the way. I assure you.

Health Update

I am, after 48 hours, finally craving food. And guess what I am craving? That’s right, a Persian breakfast! With, wait for it…SUIKA! Or in English, watermelon. Though I am missing basil and mint… Anyways, if you aren’t already aware of my watermelon obsession then please take a look at this, or this, or this.  And to all those kind and wonderful souls who have wished me well, I love you, I love you, I love you.

A HEALTHY Persian Salad Olivieh

Come on Persians, let’s face it, there’s a reason our fathers and uncles have those pot bellies; Persian food. It’s one of a kind, always saliva inducing, forever flavourful and smothered in barberries, pistachios and mayo. Salad Olivieh, our version of potato salad calls for at least 2 CUPS of mayonnaise and that particular recipe claimed to be a “healthier” version of the original. And, as if that ain’t heart-attack inducing enough, we Iranians like to spread even MORE mayonnaise on top. My dilemma is, it happens to be one of my favourites. So, my mission? To healthify the shizz out of it.

First, abort chicken – the original recipe calls for shredded chicken.

Next, abort mayo and use a combination of 100% natural yoghurt and avocado instead.

3 free-range eggs, hard boiled
3 medium potatoes, boiled
2 cups of frozen peas, corn and carrots, thawed
1 cup of Persian gherkins, chopped small

Dressing:
1.5 cups natural yoghurt (I used Greek yoghurt)
1/2 large avocado
juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Grate the eggs and potatoes and transfer to a large bowl.

Next, add peas, corn, carrots and gherkins then mix well.

For the dressing, combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Reserve 1/4 cup of dressing then add remainder to the salad.

Mix mix mix again.

To finish, transfer salad to a nice dish, smooth top using back of a spoon then decorate pretty.