Persian Fish Recipe

There are many kinds of Seafood recipes in Persian cuisine that have a vital role in Persian culture, especially in the coastal areas of Iran. There are various kinds of fish in the seas of Iran. So we face an enormous menu of fish and its cuisine in Iran. In this article, we want to talk about the Persian fish recipe. We call it “Mahi-e-Shekampor” (ماهی شکم پر). In the Persian name of this meal, “Mahi” refers to the fish term of “Shekampor,” which explains the preparing method of stuffing it. It is a pleasant meal that anybody can hardly say they don’t like. This special meal usually serves in particular ceremonies such as Norooz holiday and Shabe Yalda. This recipe is a kind of stuffed fish bursting with amazing flavors. We surely serve it as the main meal on the table of Persian party tables.

Different type of Persian fish:

If I want to talk about fish and its recipe, I should speak for hours. But I can summarize it and tell that as mentioned earlier, we have various kinds of fish in Iran such as Salmon fish, white fish, trout fish, Ozone fish with caviar, Carp fish, Halva fish, Walrus fish, Kilka fish and so on. We can also prepare these fishes with a different recipe such as grilling, frying, baking, steaming, and stuffing. So it depends on your taste and preference to choose which method to prepare your fish. Of course, I must add that we cannot use some techniques for some fishes. For example, we cannot use the stuffing method for Halva or walrus fish.

I should mention here that anybody prefers Persian fish stuffed form (Mahi-e-Shekampor) to other methods. Because stuffing fish with unique ingredients makes a fantastic taste that no other techniques can create.

Important nutrition facts:

I should talk about the meal’s fish part if I want to talk about the benefits of Persian fish (Mahi-e-Shekampor). Creature fish are wonders of creation. It is the most important source of protein, minerals, vitamins, and essential fatty acids, including Omega3. I should say that fish is the only source of omega three and vitamin D.

The antioxidant and protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals properties of fish used in Persian fish (Mahi-e-Shekampor) provide more health to our body and reduce aging and risk of most diseases. The diseases that fish has a prevention role include Diabetes type 1, heart diseases and heart attacks, brain disorders, especially Alzheimer’s and brain stroke, mental disorders, especially Depression, and rheumatism, and bone disorders such as osteoporosis. It also improves the ability of sight, especially in old age and sleeps quality. It also can balance blood cholesterol. So we advise you to put fish meals in your diet at least three times a week. Of course, because of the fish’s cold temperament, you should balance it if you are cold temperament, too.

Vegetarian tips:

I am so much more sorry than a vegetarian, and a vegan cannot have this popular delicious meal and taste its unique flavorings because the main ingredient is fish meat in preparing Persian fish (Mahi-e-Shekampor).

Serving style of Persian Fish:

We can serve Persian fish (Mahi-e-Shekampor) along with pure white rice or even herbed rice that we call it Sabzi Polo in Farsi. Of course, serving Persian fish with herbed rice is more common, especially during the Nowruz holiday. Sometimes some people like to have it without polo and with a piece of flatbread, especially fresh Noon-e-Sangak. We can put single slices of salty cucumber, tomato, and chips, slices of Seville orange, or lemon beside it as side dishes.

A good drink next to Persian fish is lemon beer or coca-cola. It is not advised to add dough (Persian yogurt drink) beside Persian fish because of both fish and cold dough temperament.

What are the ingredients of Persian Fish?

Preparing the ingredients of Persian fish (Mahi-e-Shekampor) is almost a consuming process. You may need to make them a few days ago, and we will have a long list of ingredients for cooking it. The elements we need include fish, olive oil, onion, garlic, rosemary, thyme, barberry, pomegranate, soy sauce, spices, and flavorings such as turmeric, salt, and black pepper and slices of walnut. The best kinds of fish for making Persian fish (Mahi-e-Shekampor) are trout and whitefish.

How to cook Persian fish (Mahi-e-Shekampor)?

Cooking Persian fish (Mahi-e-Shekampor) contains two separate steps. One step is preparing fish, and the second one is making the mixture for stuffing. For preparing the fish, you need to run the olive oil, salt, turmeric, and pepper all over the fish. You should put the fish in a tray, pick the onion and garlic, and squeeze the lemon juice. Then you should cover it and let it sits for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, you should prepare a mixture of fish inside. So you should dice the onion and garlic and sauté them. Then you must add salt, pepper, turmeric, barberries, rosemary, thyme, pomegranate, soy sauce to it, mix them well, turn down the flame, and cook for some more minutes. Finely you can stuff the fish with the mixture and put it in the oven and cook it for 30 minutes. I should tell it to hear that you need to preheat the oven for 20 minutes before putting the fish in it. You can add some of the mixtures on the fish for its topping. You can also pick single slices of salty cucumber, tomato, and chips, slices of Seville orange, or lemon around the tray for dressings.

Recipe:

This recipe is adequate for four people. The preparation time is 40 minutes and the cooking time is about 45 minutes.