Recipes

There’s a little known fact about living in the dorm room that no one will tell you before you go for the first time – you will be hungry. Without access to mom’s kitchen, there is a lot you’ll have to do without. But armed with a microwave? You’d be surprised at what you can whip up to satisfy those dinnertime or midnight cravings.

As a child, I was confused when someone of Persian descent claimed to be a vegetarian. It just didn’t make sense to me. Growing up, we survived on BBQed kebobs, from grilled bite-sized steak (barg), to ground meat (kobedeh), to saffron-marinated chicken (joojeh). What else would Persian people eat? So when Best Buy approached me to write a piece on Vegan Persian dishes, I immediately said it was impossible. After all, the cuisine is pretty meat focused. But my Mama Pej knocked some sense into me by asking, “This entire time, you never noticed the vegetarian options at our parties?” I had to admit they existed. But could these dishes be veganized? They sure can. Here are some Persian vegan recipes.