A Little History

The western Iranian provinces of Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, Lorestan, Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari, and Kohkuliyeh and Boyer Ahmad run from north to south parallel to the Zagros Mountains. They form the main tribal and nomadic region of Iran. According to Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, recounting the myths of the first kings, the Kurds were Iranians who had escaped to the mountains when King Zahhak needed to feed their brains to the snakes that had grown on his shoulders after he made a pact with the devil.

Yogurt and bulgur are the favorite ingredients in the cuisine of the region, which also utilizes mulberries, walnuts, and wild pistachios/baneh (terebinth). Every part of these trees contributes, from the molasses made from the sweet white mulberries to the oil from the pistachios and the sap/saghez from the bark.