Nowruz Mobarak!! In other words, Happy Persian New Year!!! And welcome to my 3 part Persian food series in honor of the new year.

Here’s what you need to know: My dad is Persian which means I grew up eating tons of delicious Persian food. Not so much from him cooking…but from the BEST Persian restaurant in Atlanta (shout out Rumi’s Kitchen), my late grandmother, and tons of family friends in London. This type of food holds such a special place in my heart, it is truly my comfort food. Here’s the problem… Persian food consists of a lot of meat and yogurt. Quite the issue for someone vegan. I’m lucky enough to live in Los Angeles where you can find vegan versions of virtually any food, but most people don’t have that option.

What am I gonna share for this series? Glad you asked! We have…

1. Mast-o-Mousir (Persian Shallot Dip)
2. Koobideh Kebab
3. Tahdig (crispy rice)

Let’s start with the easiest recipe: Mast-o-mousir. When I say this is one of my favorite dishes, I sincerely mean that. When we would go out to dinner, my sister and I would each request that we needed our own order because we couldn’t share it. The sad thing here is I haven’t had it in 4 YEARS!!! I had made peace with the fact that I was never going to eat this again because I haven’t found a vegan version anywhere, but then I decided why should I settle?? This is also so simple it’s ridiculous.

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Recipe

Serves: 16oz

Cook Time: 10 minutes + 4 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of dried Persian shallots
• 16oz container of vegan greek yogurt
• 1 1/2-2 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

• Add dried shallots to a bowl and allow to soak for ~4 hours
• Once rehydrated, drain
• Finely mince shallots
• Add to a bowl with yogurt and salt
• Mix thoroughly
• Enjoy with warm pita or lavash!