10.16.06
I Love It
Living in San Diego and attending the masjid has taught me to love sabzi, cottage cheese, walnuts and bread (iran/persian food). I had a hard time eating leaves at first, but now I love it. I love it, and I don’t think I can live without it anymore 
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photoflo Said:
October 16, 2006 at 7:58 pm
lol i did not know they had a name for it, i guess i love sabzi too (i though sabzi was fish soup?)
naqvia Said:
October 16, 2006 at 10:52 pm
No way.. sabzi is not fish soup.. ! sabzi is that green stuff
mabbas Said:
October 17, 2006 at 9:57 am
YEssss!! Lesssssssss cooking for mee!!!!!!
woooooOohoooOOOoooO
Thank Goodness for Irani food and you living in San Diego!
Abu Zahra Said:
October 17, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Iranian food or death? Are you sure you don’t want a third option?
naqvia Said:
October 17, 2006 at 3:29 pm
Less cooking? Why you say that?
There are many options out there! 
Irving Said:
October 17, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Ah, I love Persian food, especially after living in khaniqah. Torshee and Tzadeek, rice with raisin and spices, fasenjoon (pardon the spellings).
And the ambiance of the sufreh and the company
Ya Haqq!
Ali Said:
October 18, 2006 at 9:45 am
I’ve had an opposite reaction. Where I attend, most of the time, if not all of the time the food is of Afghan ethnicity. Afghan’s food is sorta like Iranian and sorta like Desi but not really either. They have a type of curry but it’s not really spicy (at all). They have a type of potato appetizers but it’s not really a pakora. They have a type of rice pudding but it’s not really ***** (I realized the Urdu word for rice pudding has another meaning in Farsi). Afghan food generally has a lot chicken, whilest desi food has chicken but also tons of goat.
What I do not like is when Afghan cooks try to cater to the desi community by trying to cook desi food. Please do not. I rather have brown rice with raisins than a poor excuse for Bhiryani.
So, anyway, when my wife cooks at home or when I go home to my parents — I can’t help myself but to overstuff. I miss it soo much.
When in college, I had neither Desi, Afghan, Iranian, or Arab … I was stuck with pasta, pizza, and tuna fish — for almost 4 years of my life. I learned to adapt but did I love it? Heck, no. But it made the times I went home 10x better
Can I live without Afghan food? Probably. Will I miss it? eehhh… except for the brown rice and raisins, not really. I can never let go of my salan, my nihari, my bhiryani, my shaami kababs, my tikka, my kutkatay, my haleem, my chapati, my tandoori roti, my paratha, my ***** ….
Wa Salaam,
Ali
amel Said:
October 18, 2006 at 10:33 am
show off.
naqvia Said:
October 18, 2006 at 1:22 pm
I have noticed desi food is really unhealthy, with a lot of grease and it smells a lot more (and sticks to your clothes) than Persian food
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Ali Said:
October 18, 2006 at 10:55 pm
Actually, Desi food isn’t greasy. It’s mainly water. I used to think it was grease but it’s not. It’s just water+juices+oil mixed. And most desi food is made with corn oil or olive oil so it’s not that bad, especially, if you compare it to Iranian food made with animal fat (ghee).
I agree, Desi food have a frangance, it mainly the smell of the spices and herbs.
Look at it this way, colon cancer is very low in Pakistan and India — because the use of spices in food (and the use lotas)
Wa Salaam,
Ali
naqvia Said:
October 18, 2006 at 11:51 pm
We don’t use ghee!? Are you kidding me? Lol. If I remember correctly, you were the biggest of complainers (and still are) when it comes to food! And mom is my witness
Ali Said:
October 19, 2006 at 9:22 am
Ghee = lard. And no we don’t use lard in our food, Abbas. Iranians use it readily, haven’t you ever ate their sweets? You can smell the cow
I don’t complain… I’m just a food critic
Wa Salaam,
Ali
naqvia Said:
October 19, 2006 at 10:03 am
You are wrong. I think you should refer to a urdu-english dictionary. If you want to be exact; ghee is a type of clarified butter important in Indian cuisine and Pakistani cuisine. Ghee has a somewhat nutty aroma that Western clarified butter does not have. It actually comes from a the Hindus (and used in some of their religious ceremonies), and its very unhealthy. It is made up of almost entirely of saturated fat and it readily causes heart disease.
And I don’t think you know anything about Iranian food
. Your an arm-chair critic, always complaining about food, but can’t cook!
Ali Said:
October 19, 2006 at 11:30 am
Well, young one, if you want to go into that much detail, you should have also posted the following result from your search:
The Sanskrit word for clarified butter. Ghee is the butter oil without the lactose and other milk solids. Ghee has numerous health benefits.
But then again, when was the last time mom made food with Ghee? We use Corn Oil or some other Veg. oil. We’re Pakistani, not Indian
Just in case you forgot.
Wa Salaam,
Ali
naqvia Said:
October 19, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Pakistan didn’t exist until recently (do you think theres a big difference between india and pakistan?) and the majority of moms family is still in India.. buddy
And if we really want to get technical.. we should be eating ‘arab food! 
naqvia Said:
October 19, 2006 at 1:25 pm
btw, i think you defination of grease is lacking
Ali Said:
October 19, 2006 at 10:33 pm
There’s actually a huge difference between Pakistanis and Indians. When Pakistan was created there was a deliberate attempt by the people of Pakistan (the Muhajirs in particular) to shed itself of Hindu-Indian influence. For example, Muhajir (those that migrated from India) would wear a Kurta Pajama under their Sherwani when they lived in India. But when Pakistan was created, the Kurta Pajama was replaced with the loose fitting Shalwar Kameez as the “official” dress of Pakistan. Another example is the replacement of the The Nehru cap with the Jinnah cap.
Same differences occurred in food. If you were to compare Pakistan and Indian food you will find that Indian food is more yellow or golden because of the excessive use of “haldi” (tumeric). Pakistani food uses less haldi. Another noticable difference would be that Pakistani food is more meatier than Indian food. Indian meals consists of more vegetables and daal (beans), while Pakistani food is more beef, goat, and chicken.
I’m glad you mentioned Arab food. Kabab (or Kebab for our Iranian friends) is a dish that was brought to India by Arabs. The native indians adopted the Kabab by replacing the meat with different types of vegetables (mainly beans) since meat was unlawful. This fusion brought about the Shaami Kabab (beef + egg), Chicken Kababs (since Indians are more relaxed with eating Chicken meat than beef), the modern “Garden Burgers”, Seekh Kabab, and several other variety of Kababs.
“majority of moms family is still in India.. buddy”
–Yes, but Mom doesn’t cook like an Indian. She cooks like a Pakistani.
Wa Salaam,
Ali
naqvia Said:
October 19, 2006 at 11:17 pm
Generalizing India like that was the first mistake you made. India is too diverse to generalize (Hydarabad, Luknow, Mumbai, Tamul, Gujarat, etc) like the way you did. Your arguements are isolated instances and if they are not, then you need to specify. It takes thousands of years to change culture and heritage, not 57 years. Stop being such a nationalist. Not like we had a choice anyway. And stop flooding my blog
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Jaas Said:
October 19, 2006 at 11:43 pm
paneer + sabzi + noon= my own personal heroin. i could probably just eat that until i started withering away from lack of other essential nutrients.
Ali Said:
October 20, 2006 at 2:14 am
Stop asking me questions…
I can generalize. Hindu is not a religion. It is a culture. Saying not to generalize is a weak rebutal.
I never said Pakistan has a different culture, I said, “a deliberate attempt by the people of Pakistan (the Muhajirs in particular) to shed itself of Hindu-Indian influence.” When you force something, i.e., unnaturally — things no longer evolve they change drastically.
I’m not being a Nationalist. I haven’t put down any culture or people. I’m telling you history as I learned it through our grandparents. Did you ever see Papa wearing a pajama under his Sherwani? Heck, no. He always wore a Shalwar and made it a point by saying it’s the Pakistani dress.
Plus, you’re getting more hits from me posting on your blog
Wa Salaam,
Ali
naqvia Said:
October 20, 2006 at 10:27 am
Get over it
Hasan Said:
October 22, 2006 at 2:18 am
I have had Irani food….desi food kills it.
Irani food–good yet no match
Abbas bhai just wants to “fit in”
End of Story…
Fidan Said:
October 27, 2006 at 2:24 am
ok ok ok the best food is Azeri