One of the famous traditional dishes of Isfahan province is beryani dating back to 180 years before the coming to power of Reza Shah. The name of this dish originates from the name of another dish called “barre beryan”, which is a lamb kebab. Before beryan was started to be made in its present form, the whole lamb was barbecued on fire and eaten. But today biryan is cooked in a different way. At first meat and liver are boiled and afterwards it is minced. With special spices added the minced meat is put in special copper spoons having long handles and then it is fried in oil. Finally, prepared beryan is put in special dishes and decorated with almond slices and walnuts. Some travelers who visited Isfahan during Safavid and Qajar period mentioned Beryan in their travelouges. Mirza Hossein Tahvildar in his treatise called “Geography of Isfahan” describes beryan and ovens where it was cooked in such a way: “there exist several beryan providing canteens in Isfahan that supply the whole city with it, but beryani is cooked outside those canteens, in a single manufactory. The taste is very pleasant. This food is in between boiled meat and kebab, and in comparison to both of them, it is much tastier. Pierre Loti in his book “Towards Isfahan” also described beryani in such a way: “the most important dish in Isfahan from the viewpoint of Anubanini, which attracts the biggest part of travelers and tourists’
Name Beryan
Fame Isfahan’s Traditional Food
Special Note The transition between Kebab and Boiled Meat
Archaism Ghajarieh Era (180 years before Reza Shah’s reign)
Ingredients Lamb Meat, Lamb’s Liver, Onions, Salt, Turmeric, Saffron, Cinnamon, Pistachio and Almond slices
