Traditional Summer Lunch in Iran with cucumber
It is summer here, and the first thing would cross the mind is to avoid dehydration.
Back to the traditional local Iranian lifestyle, there are traditional summer snacks and meals, and by using them, you will enjoy all hot days, and your body benefits from nutrition provided by following traditional meals.
The Persian Walk team decided to dedicate a series of posts about traditional local snacks. You Could test them on the Once Upon a Tajrish Tour.
Cucumber in Iran (Khiar in Farsi)
Do you know that Iranians eat cucumber as a fruit???
Cucumber in Iran has a taste and really good smell, and it is not as big as police batons. You always find it in the fruit bowl at home. Mostly, it is the first option for everyone to choose when the host Taarofs you. We, as locals, either peel it and add some salt and Angelica powder (Golpar in Farsi) to it or even just divide it into two parts with our hands and eat it with our hands (like Banana).
Do you know that one of the side dishes that is so popular in Iran is Mast-o-Khiar (yogurt and cucumber)?? The taste is different compared to Tzatziki dip found in Europe, thanks to dried mint, rose flower powder, and sometimes walnuts and raisins added to Mast-o-Khiar. It is a side dish in almost every house and restaurant.
Interestingly, if you replace a Yogurt drink (Doogh in Farsi) with yogurt, you have a yummy summer lunch cold soup called Ab-doogh-Khiar. Sometimes, we add some radish and other herbs to that cold soup. Normally, we add some small pieces of bread inside, and we eat it with a spoon.
It keeps you hydrated and full. We really recommend you try this on your visit to Iran in the summertime. In our evening walking Tajrish Tour, we usually try this as one of the local meals in the summertime.
As I always say in our free walking tour in Tehran, Iran is a cradle of herbal extracts. Although we do not have alcoholic drinks served in restaurants, instead, we recommend you try different syrup drinks (Sharbat in Farsi) on your trip to Iran. One of the most popular ones in summer is Oxymel syrup (the mixture of vinegar and honey) with grated cucumber (Sekanjebin-Khiar in Farsi).
Try this on hot days in Iran and get refreshed for your next stop.
The beauty secret of Iranian women using Cucumber
Women making salad at home normally put the skin of cucumber on their face to moisturize their face naturally while peeling the cucumber.
In the next post, we disclose the application of Rosewater in Iran. Stay Tuned!
Are you interested in this kind of insider information about Persian culture?? So reserve your spot on our evening walking tour (Tajrish Tour), and we reveal the local traditional secrets we learned from our grandparents.
