Recipes From a Persian Jewish Community ‘That Knows it All’

Armando Rafael

Shared by Orly Elyashar
Recipe Roots: Hamadan, Iran > Tehran > Jerusalem > Los Angeles

Orly Elyashar has a sense of humor about the community she grew up in. Called the Hamadani or Hamedani Jews, the name, she explains “translates to know it all. Hama means everything and everyone and dan means knowledge.” In addition to being well educated, the community has a reputation for dressing stylishly. “There are all these jokes about hamadinis taking showers with suits on,” Orly adds. 

The community, which mostly cooks Persian food, comes from Hamadan, a city and province by the same name, in the west of Iran, halfway between the capital Tehran and the border with Iraq. Often cited as one of the oldest Jewish communities outside of Israel, it’s home to the tomb of Esther and Mordechai, and in the late 19th and early 20th century, nearly 5000 Jews lived there. Today, there are just three families in Hamadan, according to linguist Saloumeh Gholami, and the unique language of the community has nearly disappeared.

The women of Orly’s family in the mid-1940s in Iran. Her grandmother Simin is the back row on the far right.

Orly’s family, like many others who lived in Hamadan for generations, fled the country after the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s. Orly was still a little child when her family split up with her grandparents and brother escaping to Los Angeles so he could avoid conscription into the Islamic army. He was 13 when he was “sent off into the desert…. They basically smuggled these kids out of there,” Orly says. 

She and her parents made their way to Israel to meet up with other relatives and a few years later moved to Los Angeles. The transition from life in Iran to one outside of its borders was hard. “I think this story is so common for first generation immigrants,” Orly explains. “Basically, you have no work, no language, no direction, nothing, and you are placed in this environment where ok, figure it out.” In Iran, her father was a prominent doctor, her mother went to Paris to shop, and the clothes they wore were handmade in London. 

In late 1980s LA, Orly could easily spot the other kids at school like her. “There was always a group of kids that you saw that you just knew were on the same page as you are…. They were wearing the pair of shoes that were two sizes two big because that’s what was on sale at the time,” she says.

Orly’s mother, Soror, in Tehran in 1972.

Her family found support in the community and relatives who took them in. For a time, she lived with her parents and brother in the master bedroom of her aunt’s condo and later, she moved in with her grandmother Simin, a petite and striking woman with blondish hair and blue eyes, whose cooking comforted Orly in her new home. 

“Every morning, even though she had nowhere to go,” Orly says, Simin dressed in a skirt and silk blouse, and donned high heels as she headed to the kitchen to prepare recipes like baked rice with eggplant called tachin and cabbage dolma or stuffed leaves with split peas, rice, herbs and spices that she would make with Orly’s mother and aunts. 

On Fridays for Shabbat dinner, she always made a Hamadani version of gondi berenji, or meatballs made with rice and stuffed with prunes, and served in a broth with potatoes, chickpeas, and cannellini beans. One of Orly’s clearest memories from childhood is of laying her head on her grandmother’s lap. “Her skirt always smelled like that gondi recipe,” Orly recalls. 

Now a private chef, recipe developer, and culinary instructor, Orly didn’t learn to cook until she was an adult. But, as her love of time in the kitchen deepend, she became determined to master the family recipes, making them over and over until she matched the taste of grandmother’s cooking. When she became a mother, she wanted to pass on Simin’s legacy to her children who never met her. “It’s so important for us to pass that torch,” Orly says. “It’s going to die out otherwise.” 

Eggplant Tachin

Armando Rafael

Serves: 6-8
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes, plus baking

Ingredients
For the tachin and filling:
3 tablespoons avocado oil, plus more for frying 
4 onions, diced
2 large bulb eggplants or 4-5 long Italian eggplants (about 3 pounds)
1 ½ cups basmati rice, rinsed
3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
½ cup mayonnaise 
¾ teaspoon rose water 
½ teaspoon saffron, bloomed in 3 tablespoons of hot water 
3 egg yolks
Juice of ½ lemon

For the barberry mixture:
1 ½ tablespoons butter or non-dairy butter like Earth Balance
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon rose water (optional)
1 ½ cup barberries

For assembly and garnish:
Cooking spray
½ cup slivered pistachios
Dried rose buds (optional)

Preparation

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the diced onions, and gently cook them until they caramelize, about 45-50 minutes. If your pan gets too dry, add a tablespoon of water to prevent burning. Set aside to cool.

2. While your onions cook, prepare the eggplant: With a sharp knife or mandolin, slice the eggplants lengthwise into ¼-inch slices. Place them in a colander and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of salt. Let them sweat in the sink for 30 minutes to remove any bitterness. 

3. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the remaining tablespoon of salt, and cook your rice for 8 minutes, or until it is just cooked. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside. 

4. In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons of salt, rose water, saffron water, egg yolks, and lemon juice. Add in the rice, and mix well.

5. Blot the eggplant slices with a paper towel to remove excess salt and any moisture. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet, and fry the eggplant slices until they get a light golden color, and begin to soften, about 2 minutes on each side. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with the remaining slices.

6. Make the barberry mixture: In a small pot on low heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar and rose water, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the barberries, and mix well to coat them with the butter until warmed, 2 minutes. Add the caramelized onions to the mixture and remove from the heat. 

7. Assemble the tachin: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and spray a 7-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment, and spray again.

8. Form a circular overlay design with the eggplants along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Orient the slices so the round end is in the center of the pan, and make sure to overlap the slices so there are no gaps along the corners and up sides. Press down to secure the slices.

9. Add 2 ½ cups of the rice mixture and smooth it along the bottom of the pan, making sure to pack it down well. Spread 1 cup of barberry mixture in an even layer over the rice. Repeat with the remaining 2 ½ cups of rice mixture, packing down well.

10. Layer a few eggplant slices on top to secure the rice mixture. Press down so the tachin is densely packed and secure. If there are slices that come up past the sides of the pan, trim them down flush with the pan edge.

11. Cover the pan with foil, and place onto a baking sheet to catch oil leakage in the oven. Bake for 45-55 minutes. 

12. Remove from the oven and let the tachin rest uncovered for 10 minutes. Carefully, flip over onto a serving platter, remove the springform pan, and garnish with remaining barberry mixture, slivered pistachios, and rose buds.

Hamadani Style Gondi Berenji

Armando Rafael

Serves: 10-12
Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Special Equipment: Extra large stock pot

Ingredients

For the gondi:
¾ cup basmati rice, rinsed well and drained
2 pounds ground beef 
1 tablespoon avocado oil
½ tablespoon cumin seeds
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
¾ teaspoon black pepper
5 pitted prunes
3-4 teaspoons water, or as needed 

For the soup:
¼ cup avocado oil 
3 skinless whole chicken legs 
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper 
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
14 cups water or broth of choice
4 eggs in their shells (optional) 
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
10 prunes
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
Juice of 1 large lemon

Preparation

1. Make the gondi: In a large bowl, thoroughly combine the rice, ground beef, avocado oil, cumin seeds, garlic powder, coriander powder, salt, and pepper. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. Hollow out the middle of each portion and nestle a prune in the center. Wet your hands, and form each portion into a round ball, sealing the prune inside. Transfer to a plate, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes while you make the soup.

2. Make the soup: In an extra large pot on a medium-high heat, heat the avocado oil. Add the chicken legs, season with salt and pepper. Sear until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate, and add the sliced onions to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes until translucent, then add in the turmeric and saute 1 more minute. Add the chicken legs back into the pot, along with the water or broth, prunes and eggs in their shells (if using). Stir to combine. 

3. Add the garbanzo and cannellini beans, prunes, potatoes, and lemon juice. Cover, and lower the heat to a simmer. 

4. Add the chilled gondi to the broth, and gently simmer for 45-55 minutes. Your gondi will begin to float, which is an indication that they are cooking properly. Once they are fully cooked, remove from the heat and skim any excess oil off the surface. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove the chicken and eggs from the soup. Peel the eggs and serve with the chicken on the side. Serve hot. 

Cabbage Dolmeh

Penny De Los Santos

Prep: 2 hours
Cook: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Serves: 6 

Ingredients

For the filling:
½ cup yellow split peas (not fast cooking)
½ cup basmati rice
¼ cup + 1 ½ tablespoon kosher salt, divided
1 large head savoy cabbage
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon dried savory spice (optional)
2 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
½ cup dill sprigs and tender stems, roughly chopped
½ cup mint leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
¼ cup tarragon leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
¾ cup dried pitted prunes, ½ cup chopped, the rest kept whole
Aloo bukhara (dried plums), optional

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
½ teaspoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon saffron brewed in ¼ cup hot water

Preparation

1. Rinse and pick through the split peas. Bring a pot of water to boil, and cook the split peas until just tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. 

2. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, drain. Bring a pot of water to boil, and cook the rice until just al dente, 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

3. Prepare the cabbage: Remove 3 to 4 outer leaves and set aside. Use a knife to carefully carve out the core. Bring a large pot of water and ¼ cup salt to boil, and gently submerge the cabbage. Place a small plate heat-proof on top of the cabbage to make sure it is completely submerged. Cover the pot and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until the leaves are tender. Set aside to drain and cool.

4. Prepare the filling: In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat, and add the ground beef. Break up with a wooden spoon, and saute until evenly browned, 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Wipe out the pan, return to medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onions, and cook for 8 minutes, until they are translucent and begin to soften. Add in the turmeric and cook for 2 minutes longer. Add the ground beef back in. Add the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of salt, pepper, cinnamon, and dried savory spice. Mix well, and cook for 2 minutes to incorporate the flavors. 

5. Next, add in the tomato paste and mix well, cooking until the paste turns a dark brick red color, about 3 minutes more. Add the chopped herbs, split peas, rice, and chopped prunes. Cook for 2 minutes, mixing to combine. Remove from heat, taste, and adjust seasoning if needed.

6. In a medium-sized pot, place a layer of the reserved outer cabbage leaves along the bottom.

7. Assemble the dolmeh: Lay a single cabbage leaf on a cutting board. If the leaf includes a thick core section, gently shave it down and use a paring knife to trim down the thickness. Spoon in a few (2-3) tablespoons of filling into the leaf, depending on the size. Fold up the lower leaf, tuck the sides in, and roll tightly, making sure the filling is encased completely. Then place the dolmeh seam-side down into the pot, and repeat with the remaining leaves. Nestle them tightly in a single layer, then stacking on top when you run out of space. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

8. Make the sauce: Heat the oil over medium-high in a small pot, and add the tomato paste. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato paste turns a dark brick red color. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and mix well. Cook another 2 minutes, and pour over the dolmeh.

9. Add the whole prunes and dried plums (if using) to the pot. Cover with a heat-proof plate to ensure the dolmeh stay sealed during cooking. Place the lid loosely on the pot, and cook on medium-low heat for 90 minutes, basting often. When the cabbage leaves are tender, remove from the heat and serve.