#doogh

DIY Abdoogh Khiar

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You have tried Turkish, Greek, Lebanese, Indian but not Persian food. Embarrassingly, you do not take note of the name of the restaurant. You only recall it’s the one on the left (there are two) with the entrance being the grocery store bit - with stacks and stacks of dried goods piled on the counter to the point you can’t see the said counter.

Persian food is your exotic familiar friend next door. Some food names foreign and rolls off your tongue strangely but not all. There, on the menu you read b-r-i-y-a-n-i and n-a-a-n. ‘Cultural appropriation!’ Copycats!’ some may scream, but not you. You, the educated scholar, and keen researcher of Wikipedia, historical novels/Mangas. In particular, you dedicate your ‘extensive’ knowledge to the eye-opening read, ‘A Bride’s Story’ by Kaoru Mori on Central Asia.

Back to the main point, Marco Polo is said to have brought ‘pasta’ from China to Italy in the 13th Century. Archaeological evidence does show noodles existed 4000 years ago in China, lending much strength to said story. Likewise, they say that it was the Mughal royalty that brought briyani and naan to India. There is evidence of such food existing in Central Asia for eons. Does that make Indians the cultural appropriator!? ∑(ﾟﾛﾟ〃) Honestly, it really depends, doesn’t it, what is fusion? Adaptation? Cooking flavours from home? If a Mughal royal goes to India, eats Mughal food, and spreads the love of Mughal food to Indians. Does that make it cultural appropriation? Does the Medici who married a French and hence brought Italian pastries to France, make macaroons cultural appropriation? Or is only cultural appropriation if a ‘great’ royal conquers another land and takes their recipes home? Such is a table-side conversation while you peruse the menu, only to then see “French Fries: Potato strips in deep fry”. Definitely, absolutely, Persian…because its strips in deep fry ╮(╯▽╰)╭

Besides the rather familiar names, was the taste exotic? You say it still is. Goat curry, lamb briyani, kebabs, and naan were all savoured. Each bite bringing familiarity but not quite. The spice blend being a little different, tasty but different.

When it comes to curries, it is all about the secret blend. Perhaps it was a Persian blend, perhaps it was just the secret blend of the restaurant. Perhaps, one day, you will eat at another Persian restaurant and think, this tastes like my dad’s!

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED THIS STRANG DOOGH?

Doogh is a traditional food in our country and has been used by people for a long time. In our culture, there is a lot of talk about doogh, and many proverbs such as "Who says my doogh is sour" show the antiquity of doogh consumption in Iran.

The sweet type of buttermilk is mostly obtained by adding ingredients such as rose, mango or lemon, and the sour type is a combination of yogurt, water, salt and pepper, to which fragrant vegetables such as mint and mint can be added. Doughs are also made in India, Afghanistan and the United States, and lasse, known as lasi, is made in India and is eaten both salty and sweet. Doogh in America is called yogurt drink or yogurt drink. In Iran, we mostly use salty doogh, and it is recommended that people who have problems with high blood pressure avoid using salt in doogh. The body of a person growing daily needs four shares and normal people three shares of calcium, which is 2 glasses of milk equivalent to a glass of yogurt or a glass of milk and meets a quarter of the body's need for calcium.