I had no idea what to expect when I walked into Ati and Ash Sadeghi's house for the Mail's latest In My Kitchen.
The pair are from Iran and promised a 'Persian feast'.
Mr and Mrs Sadeghi left Iran over six years ago so Ash could study in Perth.
The pair made many friends in Perth, but a business opportunity for Ati arose in Bunbury in 2015 that she couldn't refuse.
Never having eaten Persian food before, meant I had to be completely open to what was offered to me.
Luckily, I was in for an absolute treat.
Starting out with an appetiser called Aash.
Mrs Sadeghi said there was no direct translation of Aash to English but the best way to describe it was like a soup.
I really like to make the polo morgh, always reminds me of good memories
- Ati Sadeghi
There is plenty of different ways to make this appetiser which usually includes fresh herbs, noodles and a range of beans and chickpeas.
"It is especially cooked in winter because it is warm but people still feel hungry afterwards," Mrs Sadeghi said.
The main dish was a combination of two meals, called polo morgh which means rice and chicken.
"It is one of the traditional foods for parties and weddings because its tasty and chicken is a meat that most people eat," Mrs Sadeghi said.
The polo morgh always takes Mrs Sadeghi back to her childhood growing up in Iran and going to big events where she would enjoy the people and the food.
"I really like to make the polo morgh, always reminds me of good memories," she said.
While a dish called chicken and rice sounds simple, this one is far from it.
Mrs Sadeghi used the technique called tahchin for the rice which means crispy.
When trying to describe to someone who had no idea what she was talking about, Mrs Sadeghi said it looks like a rice cake.
To make the 'rice cake' you boil water, add the rice and cook until it is nearly done, then drain the rice and a mixture to the bottom of the pot.
Mrs Sadeghi said the mixture could be thin bread, potato, lettuce or in this case it was a mix of egg, yoghurt, saffron rosewater and cinnamon.
You then add the rice on top and steam again until there is a crispy layer on the bottom.
"It doesn't make you bloated and tastes yummy and different," Mrs Sadeghi said.
To dish it up, it is flipped upside down so you can see the crispy layer and then barberries are added as part of the decoration.
Barberries are native to Iran and are very similar to cranberries but smaller and slightly more sour.
You would think that putting these ingredients together would be for a dessert and while it does give the dish a bit of sweetness it is still a savoury sensation.
It was a bizarre feeling to taste something so different that I didn't know how to explain it.
The tachchin was a nice balance of sweet, savoury, fluffy and crispy rice.
It also went well with the tomatoe based marinade on the chicken.
To make sure I did not walk away with any space left in my stomach, Mrs Sadeghi also made a side dish and dessert to go along with the feast.
The side dish is called boorani which was fried spinach mixed with Greek yoghurt.
It is one of Mrs Sadeghi's favourites to make, but her husband had to admit he didn't like it mixed with the other food.
The dessert was called shole zard which is a yellow dessert.
"It is one of the most delicious dishes in Iran because the ingredients are luxurious," Mrs Sadeghi said.
For the shole zard Mrs Sadeghi uses rose water, saffron, cinnamon, good quality rice and almonds.
The whole process took her five hours the night before serving, she admitted.
But the finished product is lovely, creamy rice style pudding.
Being in the kitchen and hosting people was very much part of the Persian culture Mrs Sadeghi said.
She said her grandmother was famous for her cooking, but she also learnt from her mother and aunty as well.
"The ability to cook is somehow in our genes," Mrs Sadeghi said.
Which was handy because Mrs Sadeghi admitted she wouldn't know how to survive if she couldn't cook.
"In Australia you cook something quick and not wanting to waste time in the kitchen, but Iranian people love food and spend a lot of time preparing and it is difficult to make," she said.
Like in many cultures, food brings people together and Mrs Sadeghi said back home in Iran, most weekends were spent having 20-25 people over for a meal.
"It was the responsibility of that house to feed everyone, but everyone would always help cook," she said.
"It is very enjoyable."
With just being the two of them, Mr and Mrs Sadeghi don't always cook up a storm in the kitchen.
Being part of the Bunbury Multicultural Group has really helped in this regard as Mrs Sadeghi loves to cook for the Come Dine with Me event and the annual multicultural festival.
The Come Dine with Me event allows people of different cultures to bring a plate of food and share stories and games in diverse community.
Mrs Sadeghi has been volunteering for the festival since 2019.
She said she loved the event because it was great way to see her and other cultures highlighted to residents.
Do you know a local who loves to cook and would like to share their story? Send an email to editor@mandurahmail.com.au.
