In Episode #32, co-hosts Bita and Beata welcome a very special guest, Maz Jobrani.  Maz is a well-known Iranian American comedian who has been featured in numerous films, specials, shows, and comedy clubs.  He has more recently also started a podcast called “Back to School”.  Maz is well loved in the Iranian community and Bita and Beata are happy to have him talk about their favorite topic, Persian food, specifically Maz’s personal experiences with eating and enjoying Persian food in childhood, as a young adult, and more recently with his family.

 

Maz immigrated to the US at the age of 6 and grew up in northern California, in Marin, with Beata’s brothers. He now resides in Los Angeles, Southern California.

 

Foods and traditions Maz remembers from his childhood

Maz’s favorite dishes to order from Persian restaurants

• Enjoying tea with parents and grandparents - chai shirin, Persian tea with sugar
• Eating traditional Persian breakfasts of tea, bread, cheese, and delicious jams
• Sabzi polo ba mahi (herb rice with fish, white fish)
• Kashk bademjoon (Persian eggplant dip)
• Mast-o-museer (yogurt with shallots)
• Appetizers
• • Sabzi khordan (fresh herb platter)
  • Gerdoo (walnuts)
  • Paneer (Persian cheese, typically feta)
• Stews served over Tahdig (crispy rice from the bottom of the pot)
• • Khoresh ghormeh sabzi
  • Khoresh ghemeh
  • Khoresh fesenjoon

 

Maz’s favorite restaurants in the LA area

• Darya Restaurant
• Shamshiri Grill 
• Raffi’s Place
• Attari Sandwich Shop for their sandwiches, i.e. mortadella sandwiches (with pickles, tomatoes, and butter), kotlet sandwich, kookoo sandwich, soups

 

Reference to “What I Eat - Around the World in 80 Diets” - one of the couples/authors sited Persian food as the best in the world.

Reference to Padma Lashmi’s special, “Taste The Nation'' where he was one of the guests and joined in at the Elat Market.  (Persian breakfasts)

Reference to Anthony Bourdain in his episode about Iran where he refers to Iranians as “the most hospitable people in the world” 

 

Eating Persian food as a young adults/ in early 20’s

• Beef soltani plate
• Rice with oil, extra butter, raw egg
• • All seasoned with sumac

 

Experiences traveling as a comedian with Persian food

• Restaurant hospitality (Australia, DC, SF)

 

Food as a bridge to cultural gaps.  Food as the #1 way to teach other people about people different than themselves and bring them closer in a way everyone understands, eating and food.  A great foray into other cultures.  Like comedy, food brings people together in joyful experiences of laughing and eating.

 

Ask the Beats!

Maz asks Bita and Beata after sharing that he is good at eating food but not so much at making it, “what is the simplest Persian dish to cook?

• Bita answers with Tacheen
• Beata answers with Maast-o Khiar or Maast-o Laboo 

 

Resource links and recipes from this episode:

 

• Maz Jobrani
• Back to School with Maz Jobrani Podcast
• Darya Restaurant
• Shamshiri Grill
• Raffi’s 
• Atari Sandwich Shop
• Amoo’s Restaurant 
• What I Eat by Peter Menzel, Faith D'Aluisio
• Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi
• Parts Unknown

 

Tacheen Recipes:

• Bita’s recipe for Tacheen Baked Persian Chicken and Rice Casserole
• Bita’s recipe for Persian Crispy Rice Cups Tachchin Bites
• Beata’s recipe for Persian Jeweled Tahchin

 

Yogurt dip/sides Recipes: 

• Beata’s recipe for Maast-o Laboo | Persian Beets and Yogurt
• Beata’s recipe for Persian Salads: Maast-o-Khiar with Shallot and Salad Shirazi
• Bita’s recipe for Persian Cucumber Yogurt Dip Mast o Khiar

 

Stews:

• Beata’s recipe for Walnut and Pomegranate Stew | Khoreshteh Fessenjoon
• Bita’s recipe for Khoresh Fesenjan | Persian Pomegranate Chicken (an Instant Pot recipe)
• Bita’s recipe for Khoresh Gheymeh | Persian Yellow Split Pea Stew

Podcast production by Alvarez Audio