Mahi Sorkh Kardeh - Sauteed Fillet of Fish

Ingredients: (4 servings)

60 g (2 oz) plain flour
4 fillets of fish (plaice, haddock or cod)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried fenugreek leaf (optional)

Directions:

Mix the flour, salt, pepper and crushed fenugreek together. Add the fillets covering them completely. Sauté the fish in hot oil immediately. Serve with sabzi polo.

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Mahi Kabab - Grilled Fish Kabobs with Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients: (4 servings)

1 pound skinless swordfish
1 pound skinless salmon
24 cherry tomatoes
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove
Liquid Saffron
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat grill to high. Cut swordfish and salmon into twenty-four cubes (about 1 1/2 inches each); thread against the grain on eight skewers, alternating with tomatoes.

In a blender, purée basil, oil, and garlic until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve half.
Brush kabobs with liquid saffron; season with salt and pepper. Grill until fish is opaque, 6 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally. With a clean brush, coat kabobs with reserved basil oil. Serve over your favorite polo dish.

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Kabab-e Ozunborun - Grilled Rock Salmon

Ingredients: (2 servings)

1 sturgeon or rock salmon, about 1 1/2 kg (3 Ib)
250 ml (8 fl oz) lemon juice
2 medium onions
salt and pepper

Basting sauce
2 dessertspoons melted unsalted butter
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 dessertspoons tomato paste

Directions:

After washing the fish, remove the central bone and cut into 2 1/2-cm (1-in) cubes. Put the pieces into a bowl and cover it with grated onions. Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper and leave the fish overnight in a refrigerator.
To make the basting sauce, mix the tomato paste, lemon juice and melted butter in a pan. Bring to the boil and keep aside.
Thread the cubes on to thin skewers and grill over hot charcoal, basting two or three times until cooked.

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Maygu Zaferun - Saffron Shellfish Risotto

Ingredients: (4 servings)


6 to 8 cups Homemade Vegetable Stock, or canned low-sodium vegetable broth
24 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, cut into thirds, shells reserved
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cups finely chopped shallots
Pinch saffron threads
1 cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice
1/2 cup white wine
4 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for shaving (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper

Directions:

This dish is a modern fusion of rich Persian Saffron with fresh shellfish. Heat stock in pan over high heat. Add shrimp shells to stock. Cover; simmer 15 minutes. Pour stock through fine sieve, discarding solids and sand left in pan. Return stock to stove; keep at simmer over medium heat.
Heat oil in heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and saffron; cook, stirring, until translucent. Add rice; cook, stirring, until rice begins to sound like glass beads, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add wine to rice. Cook, stirring, until wine is absorbed. Using a ladle, add 3/4 cup of hot stock to rice. Using a wooden spoon, stir rice constantly, at medium speed. When rice has absorbed most but not all of the liquid and mixture is just thick enough to leave a clear wake behind the spoon when stirring, add another 3/4 cup stock.
Continue adding stock in this manner, stirring constantly, until rice is mostly translucent but still opaque and slightly crunchy in center. Add shrimp; continue stirring and adding stock until rice is still al dente but not crunchy and shrimp is cooked through, about 3 minutes. As rice nears doneness, watch carefully, and add smaller amounts of liquid. The mixture should be thick enough that grains of rice are suspended in liquid about the consistency of heavy cream. It will thicken slightly when removed from heat.
Remove from heat. Stir in clams, butter, Parmesan cheese, if using, and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Divide among four bowls, and grate or shave Parmesan over risotto, if desired. Serve immediately.

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Mahi-e Aflatuni - Pomegranate-infused Sea Bass

Ingredients: (4 servings)


4 fish fillets of sea bass
1 cup chopped scallions
2 garlic cloves crushed
1/2 cup of cooking oil
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup unripe grape juice (ab ghureh)
1 cup seville orange juice
1 cup tomato juice
2 teaspoons advieh (persian spice)
sugar or honey to taste
1 tablespoon flour
pomegranate seeds for garnish
Salt and pepper

Directions:

You may also use trout, or rockfish if you prefer instead of sea bass. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and sauté the scallions. Add pomegranate juice, grape juice, orange juice, and tomato juice with some salt and advieh. Bring mixture to a boil and spice to taste, using sugar or honey if it is too sour.
Preheat the over to 450 F. Wash the fish and pat it dry. Sprinkle with some sale and flour. In a pan, fry the fish on both sides in the remaining oil.
Place fish on baking dish, and pur sauce over the fish. Bake in over for 7-10 minutes. Remove and garnish and desired. You may serve this with some polo.

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Mahi Sefeed - SAuteed White Fish

Ingredients: (4 servings)

For the sauteed version:

4-8 filets of White fish.
1 large onion.
1 & 1/2 medium lemons (limes will do fine as well).
1/2 (4 Oz.) cup all purpose white flour.
1 table spoon curry powder (optional).
1 table spoon turmeric (Zard Choobeh).
1 cup (8 Oz.) of milk.
1/2 cup (4 Oz.) of cooking oil.
Salt and Pepper

For the baked version:

1 medium-large whole white fish.
1 large onion.
1 large bell pepper, and/or a few jalepenio peppers (if you prefer the spicy taste) .
1 head of fresh garlic, peeled and finely chopped.
2 cups (16 Oz.) of fresh chopped parsely (jafaree).
1/2 cup (4 Oz.) of fresh chopped coriander (gheshneez),
1 package of dried tamarind (tamr-e hendi).

Directions:

To sauté:

Slice the bell pepper, onion, and the whole lemon and set aside. Mix flour, curry powder, turmeric, salt and pepper together. This mixture should have a light orange color. If it is too white, increase the amount of curry and turmeric equally. Pour the milk in a bowl. Pour the cooking oil in a frying pan, put the heat setting to medium, spread the slices of lemon, onion and bell pepper and fry for a few minutes. Dip the pieces of fish in the milk, sprinkle thoroughly with the flour mixture and place in the frying pan on med-low heat. When one side is brown, turn over and squeeze the 1/2 lemon juice over them.

Dipping the pieces in milk before frying prevents them from breaking apart. This is optional. Flipping the filets several times, before one side is completely brown, prevents curling. If you prefer a more zesty taste and are adventurous, add a fewslices of Jalapenio peppers into the pan.

To bake:

Place the tamarind paste in a bowl containing a cup of water. knead the paste until the seeds separate from the dried pulps. Run the mixture through a kitchen stringer to separate the seeds from the resulting sauce. Set it aside.
Stir fry the chopped onion, garlic, fresh peppers at first and then add the remaining chopped vegetables. Stir fry for a few more minutes. Take it off the heat and set it aside.
Set the oven to bake at 350 degrees (F). Place the fish in an oven safe dish, add a touch of cooking oil, salt and pepper, stuff the fish with the stir fried vegetable mixture and pour the tamarind sauce over the vegetable stuffing. Cover the dish with aluminum foil for half of the baking period. Bake at this setting for about an hour. By the end of the baking period, the outer layer of the fish should have a reddish color and the meat should be flaky to the touch of a fork.

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