The Sabzi Saga

I've mentioned Sabzi, or herbs, before in other posts. A very common part of Iranian cooking and dining, I'm still getting adjusted to using them. For awhile I told my husband to stop buying them because the way they are packaged at our local store makes it very difficult for me to prepare. Okay, maybe not "very" difficult, but it's a bit of a task. The produce here is not pre-washed before packaging so it's dirty. Let me show you...

Mixed herbs in the store's package with some whole radishes thrown in:

Oh no,  look at the dirt!

Soak all the herbs in a big pot of water to clean them!

Ew, look at the dirt that came off!

Now spread the mix on a large surface to dry and sort.

Oh no, look, another bit of dirt. Must examine all the bits again.

My husband says it's strange 

that I take the time to separate all of the herbs, 

but I need to know what I'm working with! 

Speaking of sorting herbs, I'm not the only one. While watching an Iranian drama series on YouTube called, "5 Kilometers to Heaven," I remarked, "See! You need to sort the herbs!" Here, I made a little clip for you of the scene in which a woman is sorting her sabzi, but then her husband mixes them up, and she asks him, "Why did you mix up the herbs?" The best part of this short clip is the other lady's facial expression at the husband's silly answer:

Then comes chopping the various herbs and storing them in containers.

Speaking of knowing what I'm working with, I'm still not an expert there. I didn't use herbs in my cooking back in the States (mostly found them to be too expensive for our budget), so I'm still figuring out what is what. And with the bag not being labeled, I'm trying to guess what things are based on Mr. Google and asking friends. Here's what I think so far, but feel free to correct me!

I needed only basil and oregano for a recipe once so I asked my husband to buy just those two. He did not find them at the local store so he went to a small "farmer" stand near his school and asked for 5 TOMANS (under $2 U.S.) worth. He came home with a huge bag of greens, complete with the roots and soil as if the farmer had simply pulled them out of the ground before selling them to my husband. I'm all for being natural and avoiding chemicals, but it was a big mess! Clearly, I'm a spoiled American used to pre-packaged, pre-washed, expensive items indeed! It was after this incident that I told my hubs, no more herbs please!

Nevertheless, sabzi is a delightful Iranian treat! I put them on a plate and enjoy eating them raw! You should give it a try! Check out this recipe for Kuku Sabzi, an Iranian frittata like dish with loads of these great green gifts from the gardens! 

Thanks for reading!