Salam! Ramadan Mubarak!

From Thailand to Iran without the jet lag. Pretty neat, huh? Iran is on my bucket list, but more than that I feel we only ever see one side of it in the media. When do you ever read about how it’s an ancient culture filled with history and a relentless love for food and family? Every Iranian person I’ve had the pleasure to meet is among the most hospitable I’ve come across. Plus it’s Ramadan until May 23, so there’s no better time to broaden our culinary horizons.

Something to ponder: what associations come to mind you hear the phrase “Middle East” versus “Western Asia”? Iran is as much one as the other.

Let’s start with the big news. The reason there are two parts to this dispatch, other than my general excitability and tendency to become consumed by whatever I’m researching, is that I’ve locked in a chat with American-Iranian chef Samin Nosrat tomorrow. You might know her brilliant cookbook and/or Netflix show, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. If you have any burning questions for her about food and heritage, email me before tomorrow. I’ll share the chat in part two of the Iran Dispatch this Friday. Just as impressive as Samin are the two resilient, selfless cooks I interviewed. They came to Australia seeking asylum and now passionately share their culture through food. The least I can do is eat it and tell their stories. FYI: the welcome newsletter you received before the Thailand Dispatch asked for alternatives to the word “pivot”. The most positive were “evolve” and “propagate”. Thanks to Cass for pointing out that “pirouette” refers to returning to the same spot ­– far from desirable during a pandemic!

VIDEO » This Chef opened a Persian Cafe to give Asylum Seekers the chance he never had

Chef Hamed Allahyari came to Australia seeking asylum. After being turned away from every kitchen, he started his own to give new migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum the foot in the door he couldn't find.Thanks to Liam Neal for the footage. Any substandard editing is my bad alone.

READ » These “Boat People” are your ticket to Persian Food

When the Iranian authorities discovered that chef Hamed Allahyari was atheist, he had two choices: stay and risk death, or leave forever. The owner of social-enterprise Cafe Sunshine and SalamaTea left Tehran on a fishing boat, arriving in Melbourne in 2013 via Indonesia and a five-month stint in a detention centre. Chatting to Hamed during Ramadan, he tells me that although he doesn’t practice Iran’s official religion, he still loves this time of year. “I love Iftar,” he says referencing the evening meal that breaks the Ramadan fast. “It’s different food. It’s beautiful; so fresh, sweet, salty – there is many options for everyone. The culture is everyone eating that together.”

Back in Tehran, Hamed’s family invites more than 100 people over for an Iftar feast, where guests beg Hamed’s mother to make her famous koofteh tabrizi, giant Iranian meatballs. Regardless of religion and worldwide lockdowns, Ramadan is a fantastic opportunity to explore Persian food, which is often overlooked. Hamed realised this while volunteering in the kitchen at the

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

, which prompted him to run cooking classes through

Free to Feed

. “In three years I’ve met over 2500 people in my cooking classes. Ninety-five percent of people, this is their first time trying Iranian food,” says Hamed. “It’s my dream Australians try at least once in their life.”

 Mahshid Babzartabi, who also taught cooking classes through Free to Feed and fulfils small catering jobs from home, agrees that Australians have a lot to learn about Iranian food. A USA-educated translator, Mahshid came to Australia after “some contradiction with the government” that arose while translating a political book. “The maximum they’ve tried is a kebab in a Persian restaurant, which is completely different from homemade food,” she says of Aussies. “I’ve had about 1000 students now and I’ve never ever come across anyone who didn’t like it.”

The Ramadan fast is usually broken with tea and something sweet, like bamieh (think Iranian churros) and zulbia (like Indian jalebi), both sticky with saffron or rose syrup. Next people eat something warm and liquidy, like halim (meat and wheat porridge) or ash reshteh (noodle and whey soup). Mains can follow and vary depending on where you are in Iran. “South of Iran, they eat spicy food, but in north of Iran it’s less spicy, more herby, because in north of Iran it’s very green,” explains Hamed. He was surprised to discover that his cooking class students preferred home-style Iranian food to kebabs and designed the SalamaTea menu accordingly. “It’s more homemade, like from my mum’s taste, my grandmother’s dishes… not very restaurant style,” he says. His favourite dish is fesenjan, chicken simmered in pomegranate molasses and walnut paste with nutmeg and saffron. Both Hamed and Mahshid recommend ghormeh sabzi, diced lamb stew cooked with dried lime, fenugreek and other herbs. Hamed adds a dash of rosewater to his, a trick he learned volunteering as a cook at a local mosque to help feed 2000 during Ashura, a Muslim holiday. Hamed was inspired to open SamalaTea Restaurant after he struggled finding a job when he arrived in Australia. In 2019, Hamed received a grant to open SalamaTea. Before coronavirus hit he had 11 staff on the books, all refugees and people seeking asylum. Now Hamed has cut back to one worker. “He doesn’t get support from Centrelink. He needs to work and he only knows hospitality, and now cafe and restaurant don’t need workers, you cannot find a job. If I stop him as well, he’s going to be homeless,” says Hamed. Mahshid is unable to teach people to cook for the time being, but is employed as a carer and helps manage a Facebook group that supports 1700-plus people seeking asylum. She misses her students. “Since I was very little, every time I was stressed I started cooking. It gives me comfort and I’m completely far from everything when I start working with the pans and pots,” she says. Living alone in lockdown, Mahshid’s Instagram feed is a collage of colourful Iranian dishes. She jokes that her neighbours love it when she’s stressed. I ask Mahshid if she celebrates Ramadan. “Right now the religion I really believe is humanity and making the world a better place for other people to live,” she says.

Mahshid Babzartabi fled Iran after translating a political book. Now she's on a mission to support others and share her food with Australians. Image: Free to Feed

How you can help:

- Hamed’s restaurant, SalamaTea, remains open for takeaway in Sunshine and delivers within a 5km radius. Visit the website here (vegan options available). He’s also launching ticketed online cooking classes every Monday night, starting next week. Hello, Mother's Day present.- Mahshid offers small, low-key catering if you’d rather buy Iranian food than cook it. Contact her via email or Instagram, she’s happy to make suggestions.

VIDEO » Eat Curiously at Home: Persian Room 248

Eager to learn more about Iranian food, I tasted three traditional dishes from Persian Room 248 in South Yarra, including a noodle soup that's often eating during Iftar. Iranian noodles, who would have thought?

Persian Room 248 is open for takeaway and delivery at 248 Toorak Road, South Yarra.

RECIPE » Hamed's Dadami Dip

“It is not Iranian dish; you cannot find that dish in any shop or restaurant, you can only find in my house.”

I adore the story behind this dip as much as the dip itself. It’s shared in the video above, but in short, Hamed’s father would make it after visiting his sister’s farm north of Iran and returning with a tub of labne that lasted the family a year. “When I was going to primary school, my mum was making wraps with this and I put in my bag and I had in my school and I love it always,” says Hamed.Dadami, by the way, is how you say dad in northern Iran. You can buy it at Cafe Sunshine and SalamaTea, but Hamed also provided the recipe as part of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s Feast for Freedom, which unfortunately was kicking off as the world was shutting down. Find the recipe on the ASRC website and consider donating while you’re there.

Persian-influenced Dadami dip named after Hamed Allahyari's dad. Image: Sam Biddle

SPOTLIGHT » Delivery that makes a Difference with Free to Feed's Brave Meals

Free to Feed is a not-for-profit social enterprise that assists refugees, people seeking asylum and new migrants by providing employment and training through cooking classes, workshops, events and catering. In light of COVID-19 restrictions, Free to Feed launched BRAVE MEALS, which generates employment for Free to Feed participants who cook nourishing meals for pick up or delivery. Check out the new May menu here, which includes feasts from the Middle East, Malaysia and Nepal as well as sides from Israel to Iraq. Vegan options available.

BOOK CLUB » The Last Days of Cafe Leila by Donia Bijan

I stumbled upon this beautiful book while researching Iranian food and have fallen in love with the stunning descriptions of Persian meals and themes of love, heartbreak, healing, politics and identity.The novel follows Noor, an Iranian woman living in America who returns to Tehran in bittersweet circumstances. She takes her stubborn teenager to meet her kind-hearted father who runs third-generation Cafe Leila, a safe haven for customers throughout turbulent times.

Spread curiosity, not coronvirus

If this newsletter transported you somewhere, even just for a moment, please forward it to someone who might like it.And should you find yourself cooking or ordering Iranian food, remember to share your #EatCuriously snaps and tag @SeasonedTravellerHQ (socials linked below) so I can repost them.