Iranian cuisine in the context of Central Asian cuisine

A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef, pork, venison, rabbit, lamb, poultry, sausages, and seafood. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, stock is also common. A small amount of red wine or other alcohol is sometimes added for flavour. Seasonings and flavourings may also be added. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature (simmered, not boiled), allowing flavours to mingle.

Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat that become tender and juicy with the slow, moist heat method. This makes it popular for low-cost cooking. Cuts with a certain amount of marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry.

Sumac or sumach (/ˈsuːmæk, ˈʃuː-/ S(H)OO-mak, UK also /ˈsjuː-/)—not to be confused with poison sumac—is any of the roughly 35 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus (and related genera) of the cashew and mango tree family, Anacardiaceae. However, it is Rhus coriaria that is most commonly used for culinary purposes. Sumac is prized as a spice—especially in Iranian cuisine, and other Eastern cuisines—and used as a dye and holistic remedy. The plants grow in subtropical and temperate regions, on nearly every continent except Antarctica and South America.Native to Persia, it holds cultural significance as a symbolic item on the Haft-sin table during Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

Ghormeh sabzi (Persian: قورمه‌ سبزی), also known as khoresht sabzi (خورشت سبزی), also spelled qormeh sabzi, is an Iranian herb stew. It is considered the national dish and is a very commonly served dish in Iran. Ghormeh sabzi has different variants, which are based on the difference between beans and meat.

Nougat refers to a variety of similar confections made from a sweet paste whipped to a chewy or crunchy consistency.

The usual version in Western and Southern Europe is made from a mousse of whipped egg white sweetened with sugar or honey. Various nuts and/or pieces of candied fruit are added to flavor and texture the resulting paste, which is allowed to harden and then cut into pieces for serving. Forms of this confection are first attested in Middle Eastern cookbooks during the Middle Ages, but it was greatly popularized as the French Montélimar nougat in the 19th century. Similar confections are staples of regional Iranian cuisine.