[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
MAZ: See how you like that.
PADMA: Mmm!
[SILVERWARE CLICKING]
Mmm.
Oh, my God.
Mmm!
Mmm.
Mmm, mmm!
- It's amazing, right?
- Amazing.
Yeah. What is in there?
Love.
I'm getting the perfect bite.
I know.
You got a lot going on there.
[CHUCKLES]
PADMA: I'm gonna
keep it all on here.
Watch this.
Mmm, mmm. Oh, my God.
I'm drooling
and I don't even care.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
I came to America
when I was four.
I'm an immigrant,
and I'm not alone.
I've spent my life
writing about food
and tasting the world.
Now, I want to explore who we
are through the food we eat.
My game is strong.
What exactly is American food?
And what makes us American?
I'm Padma Lakshmi.
Come with me
as we taste the nation.
♪ ♪
GROCERY EMPLOYEE: The Iranian
culture loves food.
When they're happy,
they're eating Persian food,
when they're sad,
they're eating Persian food.
[ALL GREETING IN FARSI]
You know, the food
is blessing for people.
♪ ♪
Mmm.
Persians tend
to eat till they're tired,
not till they're full.
I have traveled
all around the world,
but somehow I always circle back
to my own culture and the food,
because it's simply divine.
♪ ♪
PADMA: I love Persian food.
It's one
of my favorite cuisines.
[BELL RINGS]
♪ ♪
And it's crazy to me that it
hasn't gone more mainstream.
♪ ♪
But I think I know why.
It's because Persian food
is really Iranian food,
and Iran and America have been
in conflict for decades.
As a result, members
of the Persian community
have faced discrimination.
Many of us don't know very much
about their stories,
their food, or their culture,
but I hope that
breaking bread together
can finally help us overcome
some of these
ridiculous misconceptions.
- ♪ Maz Jobrani ♪
- ♪ Hey! ♪
MAZ: Welcome to another episode
of "Back to School"
with Maz Jobrani.
I am excited today to have
with me today Padma Lakshmi.
Thanks for having me.
Thanks for coming on the show.
PADMA: Meet Maz Jobrani.
He's an actor,
a hilarious stand‐up comic,
and one of the most prominent
Persian voices
here in America.
I was born in Iran and, uh,
I've grown up in America,
so I'm also American.
I have the American passport,
I have the American passport,
'cause, you know,
I like to travel.
I like to travel. [LAUGHTER]
'Cause if you only have
an Iranian passport,
you're not going far. [LAUGHTER]
Not a lot of countries
that open you with open arms
these days.
It's, like, Syria, Venezuela,
and North Korea,
that's about it. [LAUGHTER]
So do you cook?
I'm a disgrace
to the Persian community
when it comes to cooking.
But you know
good Iranian food?
As a touring comedian‐‐
Mm‐hmm.
Wherever I go in the world,
people think
I want Persian food.
Right.
MAZ: People will be like,
"By the way, there's a place
called Hootan's," you know?
Or, like‐A great cook.
"Great, you gotta go
to Hootan's."
I go, "First of all,
let me tell you something."
I go, "I'm coming from LA,
which right now, I think,
is the Mecca of Persian food."
♪ ♪
LA is the center
of Iranians in America.
It's the biggest population
of Iranians outside of Iran.
And all these high‐rises here
are filled with Iranians.
♪ ♪
What's amazing about America
is people come here
for the American Dream.
Nobody goes to Russia
for the Russian Dream.
No one goes to Iran
for the Iranian Dream.
PADMA: It's estimated
that there are nearly
half a million Iranians
in Southern California,
with many living in LA.
And Iranians are actually
a relatively recent
immigrant group.
The vast majority arrived here
after the '70s.
The first wave that came
were the ones
who could afford to leave.
PADMA: Okay.
MAZ: I was born in 1972 in Iran,
and my father
was doing business in America
in late '78.
We got on a plane,
we flew to America,
and we were packed
for two weeks,
and we stayed for 40 years.
♪ ♪
You talk about, like,
a culture shock
to the white people
of these areas,
when more and more
family members came,
and they all had some money,
and they started buying.
There were some white people
who were kind of like,
"Ugh, you're another Persian."
PADMA: Right, you're
taking over our Los Angeles.
Took over our Westwood,
for sure.
♪ ♪
[PERSIAN ACCENT]
Welcome to Tehrangeles
and Vestvood Boulevard.
Vestvood.
MAZ: Where the kabob is hot
and the sun is not.
PADMA: [LAUGHS]
[PLAYS DRUM SOFTLY]
♪ ♪
[BLOWS KISS]
Ow! [BLEEP].
- MAZ: What happened?
- Look what I did.
- MAZ: Oh, no, what was that?
- [LAUGHS]
That's what I get
for trying to be cute.
♪ ♪
So we're in the heart of it.
This establishment, Attari,
was the first actual place
that set up shop
in what then became known
as Persian Square.
PADMA: Mm‐hmm.
♪ ♪
Here's my man.
Always gives me pistachios.
Hi. How are you?
Good to see you.
This one, ATT vacation,
was a travel agency.
And I believe
with the travel ban
there's not much for them to do,
so they're closed.
Right, people must be afraid
to go home.
They may not be able
to come back.
They might not be able
to come back, right?
Yeah.
MAZ: A lot of Americans don't
really know much about Iran.
It's such a warm, open,
elegant, learned culture.
I always tell people, I say,
if you want to know
an immigrant culture,
go to their restaurants.
It's non‐threatening.
Yeah, you can't get mad
at a plate of delicious food,
you just can't.
It's the most primal way to
commune with another person.
♪ ♪
MAZ: For us,
kabob is almost like
an olive branch to Americans.
And it's a delicious food.
♪ ♪
[NEON SIGN BUZZES]
[ELECTRONIC MUSIC]
♪ ♪
Kabob is the king
of the foods for Persians.
It's juicy, tender,
and flavorful.
The perfect kabobs
comes cooked insides
a little bit burned outsides.
I think it dates back
to several thousand years ago
when the Persian soldiers
would conquer cities
and they would put the meat
on their swords
in order to barbecue them.
I had it yesterday. [LAUGHS]
♪ ♪
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]
♪ ♪
What does the kabob mean
to you?
It's a way of life, I guess.
Kabob shows love and care
and brings people together.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
PADMA: You may think that a
kabob is just meat on a stick,
but in the hands
of Hamid Mosavi,
it is so much more.
Hamid is one of the original
kabob kings of Tehrangeles.
When he opened his doors
in 1982,
there were only Persians
eating there.
But today, that humble,
succulent, and delicious kabob
has made Samshiri Grill
an institution for everyone.
I want to make Persian food
the same as Italian food
or Chinese food in America.
♪ ♪
So this is, uh‐‐
the base is good meat.
Okay.
You have to use good meat.
Shoulder clod, briskets.
PADMA: Mm‐hmm.
HAMID: Angus beef is good.
[MELLOW ELECTRONIC MUSIC]
♪ ♪
See how simple it is?
This is it.
Koobideh in Farsi,
koobideh means this.
Punch? This means koobideh,
To smash.
Can I try?
There's something beautiful
about kneading and mixing
something with your hands.
In India, we smash a lot,
you know, bakers will do it.
It's nice to get your hands
into the food.
HAMID: Yes.
See, this is the way
you build a strong hand.
[CHUCKLES] Good exercise.
PADMA: It is good exercise.
- It's a good moisturizer, no?
- [LAUGHS]
Pure beef fat?
Yes, I would imagine it is.
[LAUGHTER]
♪ ♪
HAMID: I was a young kid,
I came to US.
I wanted to be an architect,
build bridges.
Everybody that I knew that
went to America got a degree
and came back to Iran
and became a real success,
but in '79, as they say,
the poop hit the fan.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
The Revolution happened.
Everything changed.
[AUTOMATIC g*nf*re]
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
Today, Iran has moved
one step closer
to becoming a nation
which will be run
under the guidelines of Islam.
[RADIO CRACKLING]
PADMA:
The new fundamentalist regime
pitted the United States
as the enemy
and anti‐American
sentiment grew.
What happened next
created a rift
between our two countries
that still persists today.
♪ ♪
The US Embassy in Tehran
has been invaded and occupied
by Iranian students.
The Americans inside
have been taken prisoner.
PADMA: As a child, I remember
the terrifying images on TV.
Their eyes bandaged,
their hands bound.
The hostage crisis lasted
It was a scary time that felt
like it would never end.
And here at home,
Iranian immigrants everywhere
were the targets of increasing
racism and violence.
I was working in Beverly Hills
in House of Iran
at the restaurant.
NEWSCASTER: The crowds
gathering in Beverly Hills‐‐.
HAMID: There was threats
all the time.
They were coming in with chains.
With chains?
HAMID: Chains and baseball bats.
NEWSCASTER: As the crowd
of Iranian students
began to grow, a shouting match‐.
One night as we were closing
there's a radio, big radio
in the front of the door.
I was gonna pick it up
and something actually
grabbed me from the back
and pulled me back.
Some energy or something,
I don't know what it was.
Mm‐hmm. And, uh,
as I was pulling out
the parking, it blew up.
[TENSE AMBIENT MUSIC]
♪ ♪
Do you remember
how you were feeling,
knowing you don't have a home
to go back to?
HAMID: I felt alone,
I felt scorned.
The Iran that I know is gone.
I don't have a place called,
you know, like, home anymore.
Mm‐hmm.
I was drinking.
Got into drugs.
Mostly, you know,
I hid in the kitchens.
Saved my life, to be honest.
You think you'll ever
go back to Iran?
I always say I'd rather go
to Hawaii
[CHUCKLES] Than Iran,
because of the way
that things are.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
PADMA: Hamid isn't alone.
Many Iranians don't want to go
back because they're scared.
In Iran, anyone
who criticizes the government
risks being imprisoned
or much worse.
♪ ♪
Now most Persians realize they
are here for the long haul,
and one of their only
remaining ties
to their homeland is food.
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]
Make sure your skewer is dry.
So you get a piece and
you put it on the skewer.
If‐‐it's between
these two fingers.
Okay.
So you give it these ribs
in order for the temperature
to get into the meat, right?
People don't realize
the key to cooking
is actually the little details
that add up to a big difference.
Yeah.
I have a little mitten that
oven mitten
that someone gave me.
It says, "I'm
the secret ingredient, b*tch."
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah, it's the hand
that's doing the cooking.
HAMID: Yeah.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
♪ ♪
Make sure the top is closed,
otherwise it's going to fall.
PADMA: How is this?
Yeah. Not bad.
Put it here, put it here,
I'll fix it.
You'll fix it?
Why do you need to fix it?
- HAMID: I'll finish it.
- Oh, okay.
Finish it. Okay. [LAUGHS]
♪ ♪
My life changed its course
from what it was supposed
to be and is‐‐what it became.
You've built a lot of bridges.
Metaphorically, yes.
[CHUCKLES]
♪ ♪
PADMA: [CHUCKLES]
♪ ♪
Oh, my God.
HAMID: Mmm.
It's so juicy.
[CHUCKLES] It's so juicy.
These are so delicious.
HAMID: Because you touched them.
[LAUGHS] Thank you.
HAMID: My pleasure.
I will never make kabobs
the same way again.
[CHUCKLES]
[RADIO STATIONS CHANGING]
MALE NEWSCASTER:
Good morning, everyone.
A dramatic escalation
of tensions
between the US and Iran.
FEMALE NEWSCASTER:
Iranian President Rouhani
lashing out over
crippling economic sanctions
and warning that w*r
with Iran could be, quote,
"The mother of all wars."
PADMA: Today, tensions with Iran
are once more on the rise,
and if you're
an Iranian immigrant
living here in the US,
you might feel
that aggression bubbling up.
There's an uncomfortable
anxiety in the air,
a feeling that maybe you're
still not really welcome.
We know, obviously,
there's a lot
of anti‐immigrant sentiment
that's out there right now.
Sadly, yes.
Not a good period
for brown people.
A lot of us
that are immigrants
have come here and we
love America,
and we try to make‐‐
That's why we come here.
- That's why we came here.
- Yeah, yeah.
Nobody's in a great situation
in their country,
going like, "Oh, wow."
Uh, you know,
"Making a ton of money."
Right. "Life is good."
"Let's go somewhere
where we're not wanted
and see how that goes."
Right.
We all want the same things,
right?
I didn't think that has
to do with nationality,
I think, you know,
there's plenty here
in this country for all of us.
♪ ♪
I came to America in 1993.
I was born in Tehran, Iran.
We migrated here.
My parents' generation,
they came here
for a better life,
but they also got to bring
their Iranian‐ness here,
and have their kids
appreciate that.
I think it's
very meaningful to them,
'cause they never wanted
to lose that to begin with.
♪ ♪
PADMA: Naz Deravian
is the author
of one of my all‐time
favorite cookbooks,
"Bottom of the Pot."
I've used my dog‐eared copy
countless times
in my kitchen at home.
Her writing is filled
with love and longing
and her recipes
are super user‐friendly.
They help break down barriers
by making Persian dishes
and ingredients
feel so familiar,
accessible, and enticing.
♪ ♪
Welcome to my home away
from home.
Oh, my God. Right?
No, we need to just
go slowly down every aisle.
We will.
So the spices‐‐
we're serious about our spices.
Have you had
sangak bread before?
- Yes, yes, yes.
- You've seen it?
So its, like, this [GASPS]
Right? Wow, this is great.
The tamarind paste
as a child,
I used to just snack on it.
♪ ♪
Mm!
NAZ: [LAUGHS] That's the sound.
All the different types
of sour pickles.
And I can't eat a Persian meal
without the sours or the herbs.
Okay.
NAZ: Persian basil.
It's like lemon verbena.
NAZ: It's like‐‐yes.
They're the golden sour plums.
It's very fragrant.
I'm gonna have
to get two of these.
These are not gonna make it
back to New York.
I love that you guys
use so much rose water.
We use it a lot
in Indian stuff, too.
Saffron.
CASHIER: Medjool dates.
PADMA: [GASPS]
Sorry, I'm overstimulated
right now.
- Please, yeah.
- There's nowhere to look.
[LAUGHTER]
NAZ: We actually have
the feta cheese for breakfast.
That is a big,
beautiful block of cheese,
I have to tell you.
NAZ: It's in the morning
with sour cherry jam.
Mmm.
Welcome to our
[SPEAKS FARSI] breakfast.
Oh, my God. This is so juicy.
NAZ: The biggest misconception
is that our food is kabobs.
PADMA: [LAUGHS]
NAZ: I love kabobs.
Kabobs are delicious.
But I think Americans
I think we're ready
to look beyond kabobs.
PADMA: Mm‐hmm.
♪ ♪
Yes, now what is the deal
with the saffron?
So if you come to the Iranian
market, the saffron's always‐.
- Behind the counter?
- Behind the counter.
- Because it's a treasure.
- Wow.
Speaking of which, can we
look at the saffron, please?
CASHIER: Oh, yeah, sure.
NAZ: So this is‐.
Please give us the good stuff.
[LAUGHTER]
Where I keep
my beautiful baby.
Wow. [LAUGHTER]
There we go. Wow, that's‐.
Wow.
And how much does
something like this go for?
That one, maybe $70.
PADMA: Really? CASHIER: Yeah.
They have to pick up the‐‐
one by one, by hand.
- By hand.
- That's why it's so expensive.
It's the labor. Yeah.
Yeah, so each crocus flower
has I think,
like, three stigmas in each one.
So imagine how many flowers
are in here.
Yeah, yeah. So beautiful.
[MELLOW PIANO MUSIC]
I get that not everyone has
saffron in their spice rack.
It's a sensuous
and subtle seasoning
and I think many Americans
just don't know what
to do with it.
But learning
to cook with saffron
is actually really easy.
It amplifies
the flavors of a dish
and imparts vibrant color
and an aroma that
envelops the whole house.
When you get a whiff
of that saffron,
the combination, I would say,
of the saffron with the rice
encompasses everything
that it means to be Persian.
Yep. It represents us.
Okay, and what do you think of
when you smell
that beautiful saffron?
[LAUGHTER] You think of work?
NAZ: You can't talk of Persian
cuisine without saffron.
♪ ♪
So we were in Iran
and then the Revolution broke
out in '79 and we left.
We couldn't enter the states
at the time.
You couldn't enter the states?
It was right after
the hostage taking,
So that door was completely
shut and closed.
For us it was either Canada
or Australia.
We all went through
the same feeling
of waiting to hear
where we would be accepted,
which country was gonna take us.
The stuff that was important,
like the family pictures,
we would get back in letters
because when we left Iran,
we didn't think that
we were leaving for good.
PADMA: You just thought
you were leaving temporarily?
We just never went back.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪ ♪
PADMA: In your book,
you talk so lovingly
about what Persian food is,
and the scents
and the fragrances
and is that your strongest way
that you connect to your
culture, is through food?
Yes, for me, personally.
PADMA: Mm‐hmm.
I think that's what's
taken me back to my heritage.
This is the way
we show our love,
and there's nothing more
that we love
than to feed you, right?
PADMA: Yeah.
So if you come through
that door, I'm feeding you.
♪ ♪
[PAN SIZZLING]
PADMA: All right.
NAZ: We'll go
to the lamb shanks.
So this is mahiche.
And we want to salt them well.
And I take a little
poetic license in my cooking.
PADMA: Where would be the
difference, for example?
So for instance,
when I braise these,
I'm gonna add a little
white wine to deglaze.
Oh, okay.
That's not very Muslim, no.
[LAUGHS] But‐‐[CHUCKLES]
NAZ: Let's turmeric them, too.
PADMA: Mm‐kay.
PADMA: What's this?
NAZ: Rose pedals.
It's a damask rose, and there
is a harvesting season in Iran,
and it's really beautiful.
Fragrance is key
in Persian cooking.
It's not just, like,
an afterthought.
We really judge a dish
by its aroma.
♪ ♪
And this dish,
the baghali polo,
the fava beans and dill,
with bread tahdig.
PADMA: Okay.
NAZ: We want it at a medium.
And then I use olive oil.
You want to cover it, you know?
And then...
PADMA: Saffron water.
NAZ: This is the beauty, right?
PADMA: Mmm.
NAZ: So this
is the whole layering process.
Every single grain of rice‐‐.
PADMA: Counts.
NAZ: There we go.
[LAUGHTER]
Well, we'll make it
when we see...
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]
PADMA:
Tahdig isn't just a rice dish,
It's the heart
of a Persian dinner.
The best part
is the bottom layer,
which is pan‐fried
to golden, crunchy goodness.
NAZ: So there's a couple of ways
to know if the Tahdig
is setting.
So we listen to it
I can hear something popping,
what is it?
That's just‐‐
it's doing its thing.
And there's another method.
[CHUCKLES]
Which is you lick your finger
and you tap the side of the pot.
PADMA: Okay.
And if it sizzles, it means
that the pot has heated enough
so the Tahdig is setting and
that's when you turn it down.
Wow. Did your mom do that?
Uh‐huh.
PADMA: Tahdig is notoriously
difficult to make
and easy to burn.
Tahdig is moody.
Ah.
Padma, tahdig is moody.
PADMA: Okay.
So it can just depend
on the day.
Are you gonna tell me, like,
even you don't
get it right all the time?
I don't get it right
all the time.
Nobody gets it right
all the time.
It's an art form, too.
It's not a science.
PADMA: Wow.
PADMA: Ah, okay.
NAZ: Watch out, it's hot.
PADMA: So explain
why you do this.
So to catch the condensation.
So it absorbs here and
doesn't go back into the rice.
Back into the rice
to make the rice mushy.
There we are, and I'm
going down to medium‐low.
Okay, inshallah, as they say.
Inshallah. [LAUGHS]
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
♪ ♪
DREW: Yeah, I did that.
NAZ: Yeah, it's your job.
Yeah, it is my job. [LAUGHS]
You guys got it now.
It's like, when people ask
you what your background is,
what do you say?
I'm half Persian.
PADMA: And do you feel Persian?
Do you know
what that feels like?
I feel Persian a lot
when Mama makes Persian food.
[SQUEALS SOFTLY] Mwah!
[LAUGHTER]
♪ ♪
DREW: Okay, you ready?
PADMA: All right, I'm ready.
DREW: Here I go.
PADMA: This step
gets a little physical.
You cannot hesitate.
You have to commit to the flip.
Drum roll, please.
NAZ: Okay, baby. DREW: One‐‐.
NAZ: It's on you.
DREW: Two, three.
[GASPS] [TAHDIG CLINKS]
NAZ: Yes. Good sound.
[APPLAUSE] All right.
NAZ: Please.
PADMA: Ready? NAZ: Please.
DREW: One, two, three.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
PADMA: I'm glad you guys
are so excited.
DREW: Oh, yeah. PADMA: Whoo!
And it's crispy still
after it set.
Yep, crunch, crunch. Shanks.
DREW: I'll get you a good piece.
You like that?
LUNA: Is it good?
Mmm. [CHUCKLES] Let me see.
It's delicious. DREW: Mm‐hmm.
I can still taste
all the spices
from the tumeric
to the rose pedals.
Saffron, of course.
LUNA: I love bread tahdig.
Mm‐hmm. DREW: You do.
NAZ: It's her favorite.
PADMA: That's beautiful.
♪ ♪
PADMA: Your mother
was a poet, right?
She was the first female
lyricist of Iran.
Really? Yeah.
My mom loves her country.
That land is precious to her.
The literature and the art
and the culture and the food,
so I grew up
with that in our home.
[SPEAKING FARSI]
PADMA: Aww. Sorry. [CHUCKLES]
PADMA: That's okay.
It's a beautiful poem.
This poem she wrote in '85
right in the midst
of Iran‐Iraq w*r.
- It wasn't easy to be away.
- Mm‐hmm.
When bombs were raining down
on their homeland.
And hopefully history
will not repeat itself, right?
We'll‐‐we'll learn.
Iranians here
sometimes get a bad rap
because they're pinned
with all the baggage
of the fundamentalists.
I think we're often
generalized.
You know, join us at our table,
have a conversation with us.
We can start with the food
and then we can get
into the nitty‐gritty.
PADMA: Yeah.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
♪ ♪
The saffron, pistachio,
and the white rose
are our signature best‐sellers.
And if you look
into the history of ice cream,
ice cream originated in‐‐
in Iran.
- Is that really true?
- That's what I've heard.
Mm, it's so floral.
CASHIER: Exactly.
♪ ♪
PADMA: Debb Michail
is the very cool,
professionally‐trained chef
behind Logmeh,
a traveling popup
elevating Persian food
through delicious,
family‐style feasts.
Her parents
are Persian Jewish immigrants,
but Debb was born here
and like most kids,
she just wanted to fit in.
I was really embarrassed
of being Iranian.
You were? DEB: Growing up.
Why?
Um, primarily because
I was made fun of having
thick eyebrows, and‐.
Your eyebrows,
by the way, are beautiful.
DEBB: Thank you.
I don't want to talk about
my eyebrows, but yes.
I grew up taking Persian food
to school.
I mean, I feel like every
immigrant has the same story
of that terror
of opening your lunchbox
in front of all your peers
at school.
Oh, my God.
I would open up my lunchbox
and it would
smell like fenugreek
or it would smell like
eggplant and coriander.
Is that where some
of your aversion
to really embracing
your culture comes from,
do you think?
DEBB: Although
I was first generation
and I didn't speak
with an accident,
I was just so embarrassed of it.
PADMA: Debb came to internalize
the widespread prejudices
against Iranians in America,
and she grew up
feeling deeply ashamed.
Did you talk about that
with your family?
No, never. Not to anybody.
I didn't know how to embrace it.
After culinary school,
that was the moment
where the light bulb went off
and, like, I was like,
"Oh, sh*t, my grandparents
are getting older.
"I love going to her house
and eating and cooking.
I need to learn how to do this."
♪ ♪
It sounds like you connected
back with your culture,
or really, deeply for the
first time, through food.
I feel like the more I
understand where I come from,
the more secure I'll be
with my food, with myself.
♪ ♪
You know, cooking's fun.
That's the easy part.
But connecting
and understanding?
That's the work.
♪ ♪
Homay is the region
where grapes grow,
and as you know, Iran
is a major Islamic country,
so they can't drink wine.
PADMA: Right.
DEBB: So what they do
is they take young grapes
and they make verjus,
and the leaves are just‐‐.
- PADMA: For eating.
- For‐‐for‐‐yeah.
They will rip.
They're very, very fragile.
After each layer, just
a little tiny spritz of water
just to take the acidulated
solution off of it.
PADMA: Okay.
Grape leaves are everywhere
in the Mediterranean
and the Middle East.
They are typically made
with ground meat and rice,
but you can fill them
with anything.
All right,
the party's gonna start.
Whoo‐hoo!
So take a grape leaf,
shiny side facing the‐.
- Shiny side down.
- Yes, that's what I meant.
Okay.
So dolmeh means really
anything that's stuffed.
Mm! Is it good?
It's so savory.
DEBB: I love a good amount
of filling.
And then you go, like,
a burrito tack.
PADMA: Like a burrito?
DEBB: Yep‐‐one thing.
We want this a little lower
'cause this leaf is gonna
basically cover your bulgur
so you want it a little lower.
- Even though there's a space?
- Yep.
Very nervous, all of a sudden.
DEBB: Don't be, don't be.
It's so intuitive and organic.
Mm‐hmm.
And then when you come here
use these fingers
to tuck it to make it tight.
Also, every grape leaf kind of‐‐.
PADMA: Is different.
DEBB: Mm‐hmm.
That's perfect.
Yours is better than mine.
Look at that.
PADMA: Yay. Beginner's luck.
♪ ♪
DEBB: Those look great, Padma.
PADMA: Thank you.
My game is strong.
One thing I know how
to do is roll.
DEBB: Yes. PADMA: [CHUCKLES]
All right.
- Mmm.
- [CHUCKLES] Isn't it good?
I told you.
♪ ♪
I can't stand here
and eat the whole thing.
[LAUGHS]
♪ ♪
DEBB: I want
to go to Iran one day.
And yes, I can go,
but I have fears.
I'm afraid that I'm a woman.
You can't hold hands
with your spouse.
You can't have a boyfriend
without having a paper
that binds you guys
as being together.
It's called sigeh and
you have to have that paper
in order to be with a man,
and I can't grasp that idea.
I just want to go
as being myself
and not having
to change for anybody.
PADMA: How do you know if what
you're doing is authentic,
because you've never
been in Iran?
The only reference I have
is my family.
That's as authentic as I can be.
Oh, you got it, girl.
[GASPS] Like a boss.
♪ ♪
DEB: I feel like it's my
responsibility and my duty
to share the stories
through flavors
of my ancestors.
♪ ♪
I'm late. How are you doing?
How beautiful. Look at this.
It's sad that what lingers
most for some of us
is the violence and animosity
between our two countries.
We overlook this beautiful,
rich history
and this gloriously delicious,
sophisticated, and subtle food.
Yes!
Oh, yay! Whoo!
We got it.
PADMA: The cuisine
is herbaceous, it's floral,
it's fruity, it's got all
these amazing aromatic spices,
and it's one of the few links
Persians have
to a home
they may never go back to.
And for all of us,
getting to know
this delicious Iranian food
and the people who make it
is a chance to leave behind
some of those
outdated misconceptions.
As they say in Farsi, nooshe jân
may it nourish your soul.
All: Cheers. [GLASSES CLINKING]
♪ ♪
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]
DEBB: It's serrano
and Anaheim chili.
It's so good.
I love my job, I love my job,
I love my job.
[LAUGHS]
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]
♪ ♪
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