Persian Iftar from Anaar
For a while now I’ve been hearing a lot of raving reviews about Anaar catering. They’ve been open for about a year and whenever the subject of dishes from Persian cuisine is brought up people ask if I’ve tried Anaar and what was I waiting for? Well, I knew that Anaar is a catering business and not a restaurant and since I have only my vegetarian self and occasionally my husband to feed, it didn’t seem remotely possible to order a buffet just for the two of us. That was until I was browsing a friend’s profile before iftar this past weekend and I came upon a meal by Anaar and one thing led to another and before you know it I was at Anaar’s instagram account salivating over the food pictures. Browsing instagram during your fast is a dangerous thing, dangerous indeed, but it did lead me to the knowledge that sometimes if you call in between 12:30 P.M. and 4:30 P.M. Anaar maybe able to cater for a meal or dish for one or two people from whatever they have available on the menu. I wasted no time calling them up to see if I was that lucky.
And you know what, I was! When I called I asked if there was a possibility to order a meal for one person and they told me they had Kababs (chicken and lamb), different types of rice, and all of the stews. After going over their menu with my husband I called back again to place my order and was asked to come at 6:15 P.M. to pick it up from their branch in Salmiya.
It was a scorching hot day outside and it didn’t help that everyone was rushing somewhere on that Saturday evening. People drive like crazy during normal days, so you can imagine how they’d be driving while fasting all day long in this hot weather. However, all I could think about was the food for iftar and how there was less than an hour to go until I could dig in.
Anaar catering is located in Al-Khaled complex in Salmiya, also known as the once upon a time Aalamiya pizza place and the now trendy Gia Cafe. Al Alamiya is long gone but will never be forgotten, Gia Cafe is expanding into the store next door and is currently closed for construction work. Anaar is right there two stores down from Gia.
A few minutes later and the food was paid for and we were on our way back home, battling the horrid traffic conditions. We made it home in the exact minute the sun had set and as my husband went to pray I opened the packaging and rearranged the dishes. The aroma of the food was so strong that a stray cat somewhere in the street began mewing his head off -the door was open-. He didn’t come by for a bite though.
Now I will start with the dishes in the order of my opening their packaging, all the dishes ordered are one portion for one person only. First things first and I suppose the most important dish, is the lamb kebab or the “Kebab Koubideh”. I was surprised by how tall each Kebab skewer was, almost twice as tall as normal kebabs you’d get anywhere else. You also notice the generous amount of “sumac” powder glistening on top of the grilled kebabs.
Next came the Bagali Polo or Rice with bajela (broad beans) and shbint (dill). I love Bagali Polo, its a favourite dish from my childhood and I’ve always eaten it with yoghurt, its actually on my comfort food list and occasionally I tend to cook it from time to time. In fact, the Bagali Polo is the reason I placed my order in the first place.
At home they make the Bagali Polo with chunks of meat and my husband says they also make it with chicken or hamoor fish therefore he doesn’t mind having kebabs with it. To me I find it absurd to eat it with anything other than yoghurt given that its so flavoursome already and deserves to take centre stage taste-wise but that’s just me I suppose. How did it taste? Exactly exactly like my mother makes it at home. If I hadn’t picked up the order myself I would’ve thought that somehow the dish came from my parents place.
Saying that the Bagali Polo tastes like the one my mom makes is a compliment by the way. Its good, fluffy and herby, and quite light with not so much oil involved. My only complaint would be that it needs a tad more broad beans but it doesn’t affect the taste at all. I’m having it again for iftar today by god’s will with a cup of low fat cool yoghurt. What about the kebab? To me it looked tangy and not that oily, I suspected it was a bit dry, but my husband assured me it was really good and juicy without any extra unnecessary fat and was indeed quite tangy with all the sumac on top. The food tastes indeed like something prepared lovingly at home rather than a restaurant.
Another dish that I was looking forward to trying was the Albaloo Polo ba Gelgeli or to be translated as the “Sour Cherry rice with Meatballs”. When I placed the order I didn’t know it came with meatballs and didn’t notice them until I rearrange the rice into the serving plate. The meatballs were teensy and the almost the same size as the cherries.
No meatballs were going to stand between me and trying that fragrant cherry-loaded rice! If you’ve smelled its aroma, if you’ve seen the shades of pistachio green, saffron yellow, and fuchsia cherries, you wouldn’t let little meatballs stand in your way either. I pushed them away and had the rice and not only it was good, it was worth every morsel of extra calories with every forkful of rice I’ve stuffed my face with even though I was too full to continue. Highly recommended but do keep in mind that this dish is more oily than the other rice dishes.
Last but not least, there came the Zereshk Polo or plain rice with saffron and zereshk. Zereshk being barberries and not as I’ve long thought dried pomegranate. If you have them with rice they are quite the treat, so tart and tiny and if cooked well also juicy.
My husband had the Zereshk rice with a side of Maraq Bamiya or Okra Stew or as its written in the menu “Bamiah Khoresh”. He loved the okra stew and kept raving about how good it was. I think he went back for seconds.
We also ordered the Maast o Khiar or Yoghurt with cucumber, the Persian version of Tzatziki. Anaar’s Maast and Khiar comes with walnuts and rose petals. How was it? Its quite cool and mild tasting, if you don’t like cucumbers you won’t feel their taste much, they didn’t add lemons either so if you like yours tangy like I do you might want to squeeze one on top, but the dried rose petals were really good with the yoghurt and because it was cool and mild tasting the flavour of roses was dominant and simply yum!
And just because the order was for take away didn’t mean it came without the complimentary leafy greens, white cheese, nuts, and Iranian bread with sesame. In my humble opinion the greens with cheese, nuts, and bread are the most exciting thing about dining in a Persian restaurant especially if you have a cup of tea on the side.
It was quite a wholesome iftar we had yesterday and the portions were quite generous! Even though all the portions are for one person they are really enough for four. Total cost? 12 KD which isn’t bad for such a big spread. I can now understand why people are raving about Anaar all the time.
If you are planning an event you might want to check Anaar’s catering dishes, especially the cherry rice which is a heartbreaker. If you want to dine in alone or with a couple of friends you can give Anaar a call and see what they have on offer. In the menu Anaar state they can make vegetarian dishes but I suppose you need to order in catering size for that unless you are lucky of course.
For more information about Anaar you can check their website (link), take a look at their menu and food pictures (link), give them a call at +(965)-25663555 , or follow on Instagram (@AnaarCatering).
