Pomegranates and Roses, My Persian Family Recipes, by Ariana Bundy

We’re lucky here in Melbourne that we can eat almost any cuisine in the world: there are Iranian restaurants serving Persian cuisine all over the city, and that’s probably true of the other Australian capital cities too.  But if you like the cuisine it’s not so easy to find a good recipe book to try making your own at home.

Pomegranates and Roses: My Persian Family Recipes (2012) is an ideal introduction to Persian cuisine.  Published in the UK, it is based on the premise that Persian cooking is unfamiliar, so there are explanations about unfamiliar ingredients and techniques, and there are suggestions for substitutes if some of the more exotic items are unavailable.  (Cranberries, for example, can be substituted for barberries, but they are available online from Herbies).

The book includes the family story that seems obligatory for recipe books these days, and there are B&W photos…