Traditional dishes; Healthy flavors

Traditional foods that are prepared in simple and healthy ways, give a taste of health to the table and several types of these foods have been nationally registered in South Khorasan province, such as Qaroot, Gholour and Nojosh. According to IRNA, the types of foods and how to cook them are the most interesting. There are tourist attractions in every region and the traditional food of South Khorasan is prepared from materials available and suitable for the weather conditions. The materials used in traditional food show that the people of this land have long cared about their food health and always try to They have prepared healthy and nutritious foods.

In addition to healthy cooking methods, deliciousness, the use of nutritional values ​​in the form of various groups such as cereals, legumes, dairy products, vegetables and medicinal plants is one of the characteristics of traditional foods of South Khorasan.

Lifestyle changes in the country and consequently in South Khorasan in recent years have forgotten the enjoyment of local food and endangered people’s health.

But one of the researchers in the field of traditional food in South Khorasan said that the most important feature of this type of food is the use of ingredients from the same region and said: the reason why it is recommended to eat food from the same region wherever you travel is because .

In an interview with IRNA, Zahra Mazrouei said: “Especially if you are going to live in an area for a while, you need to adapt to the conditions of that area, and one of the ways to help the body adapt is to eat food in that area.” .

He said: “We need public participation to introduce more traditional foods of South Khorasan, and in the first stage, this work should start with the help of mass media.”

The need to change people’s tastes

The popular culture researcher stressed the need to change people’s tastes, adding: “For example, in all restaurants, a small glass of qarvat or coriander should be presented to guests as an appetizer, side dishes or dessert for a while, and the properties of these foods in a small brochure with a dish.” Can be introduced.

Referring to the variety of traditional foods in South Khorasan, he said: Qarvat Birjandi has many properties that are also known as the only purple food in the world.

Mazrouei mentioned yellow curd or yoghurt-swallowed curd with other traditional foods of South Khorasan and added: “Such foods can also be used in the list of restaurants.”

He said that Nojoosh is one of the other traditional foods in South Khorasan that has recently been nationally registered. “This food can be introduced and presented to people as a food in sandwiches in order to increase the general popularity of traditional foods.”

The researcher of traditional foods, while emphasizing the basic and correct education of traditional foods, especially through the national media, added: “Certainly, expressing the properties of traditional foods will also help their use.”

He mentioned holding festivals in other provinces as a way to introduce more local food of South Khorasan and said: expressing the properties of foods, their benefits and contradictions by mentioning scientific reasons in these festivals can be useful.

Mazrouei said that in order to introduce more traditional food, government agencies can be required to invite their guests to eat traditional food, or this will be possible through special festivals for students and soldiers.

He called one of the main dishes of South Khorasan, which is the national record, “Qaroot” and said: “This food is prepared with different mixtures such as eggplant, spinach, coma, potatoes, chicken and other products.”

Referring to another local food called “coriander”, the researcher added: “Coriander is a product in the foothills and is rich in nutrients and protein.”

“Baked turnip is another food of South Khorasan that was used as nuts and food and is now used for various colds and diseases due to vitamins such as magnesium and sodium,” he said.

Mazrouei added: “Even some local dishes of South Khorasan are used with small changes in other provinces and even other countries, and we have had foreign tourists who have asked for our local recipe by eating our local dishes.”

“We have also had foods that are made with herbs such as coriander, dill, tomatoes and other ingredients and have a high nutritional value,” he said.

“In South Khorasan, we have halva, kachi and savari, which are made with wheat, and now it has been proven that whole-grain bread is good for the body, while at that time wheat semolina, which is rich in bran, was used,” said a popular culture researcher.

Referring to the local food called “Gholour”, he said: “This food is an energy bomb because it is made from meat, wheat and various grains. Also, each city of South Khorasan, according to its environment, has a variety of local food such as goat sprinkling and other things.” It was prepared in a special ritual and ceremony.

Mazrouei said: “Even in the sweets section, we have sweets such as tube bread and rolled bread, which are sugar-free and suitable for different people, and nutrients such as wheat, sesame and cinnamon have been used in it.”

Traditional food on the tourist reception list

A tourism expert in South Khorasan also pointed out that foam is popular among tourists as a traditional dessert with winter ice cream.

Ehsan Dorostkar added: Birjandi eggplant curd is the only purple food in the country and is the most popular.

He said that other foods such as savory pilaf, wheat pilaf, qatiq baneh and yellow curd are also used to entertain tourists.

The tourism expert said that tourism fairs and events in the province or country have the greatest impact on the introduction of traditional foods and desserts. .

He added: “This year, from the 9th to the 12th of Bahman, South Khorasan will be present in the Tehran International Exhibition by setting up a booth and part of the exhibition will be dedicated to the traditional food of the province.”

Referring to the holding of local rituals in South Khorasan, which was held in December in the Akbariyeh World Garden and Mansion, Drastkar said: “This festival was held with the presence of the province’s universities and with the aim of acquainting students with local food and cooking traditional food.” They had a good time.

Four traditional dishes of South Khorasan in the list of national works

So far, three types of food and a local sweet of South Khorasan have been nationally registered.

Seyyed Ahmad Barabadi stated: Nojoosh is a traditional and nutritious and nutritious local food that is made from bread and is used in noon and night meals.

He said: Birjandi women prepare this food with breads that are crushed on the table or left for a few days and become stale.

The head of the research department of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of South Khorasan, referring to the registration of Birjand bread in the list of intangible (spiritual) heritage, said: “Lule bread is one of the original sweets of Birjand people that is baked by Birjand women.”

He continued: This cake has a mold made of cast iron with long handles. The mold is placed on a lamp or gas and the liquid prepared is poured into the mold, and after baking, it is wrapped in a tube while it is hot, and because it is made in the shape of a tube, it is also called tube bread.

Barabadi referred to the national registration of “Qarwat” and said: “Qarwat is one of the foods that are prepared from animal products and its purple and beautiful color attracts the attention of every viewer.”

He said: “This delicious food has been used more by the general public, but the properties and elders have not been able to ignore the pleasure of eating wealth.”

The head of the Research and Studies Department of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of South Khorasan, stating that qorvat is consumed both hot and cold, said: to prepare hot qurvat, they prepare some hot onion or hot garlic and add qorvat to it. Add a little salt, black pepper and cinnamon and remove from the heat and bring to a boil before boiling.

He added: “Hot ghervat is sometimes eaten with eggplant, potatoes, squash, coma and cooked vegetables such as spinach, and this food is one of the traditional foods of Birjand and South Khorasan, which is still cooked in most places.”

Barabadi said: “Gholour of South Khorasan was nationally registered a few years ago, which is a kind of local food and family of Iranian dishes and is mostly cooked in the month of Muharram.”

He said: “Among Iranians, wheat is called ‘bulgur’ and in the region of South Khorasan it is called ‘gholur’, which like other Iranian dishes is a combination of beans in which red meat is used.”

The head of the Research and Studies Department of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of South Khorasan added: The traditional skills and knowledge of South Khorasan grape juice and the ritual of foaming have also been registered in the list of intangible (spiritual) heritage of the country.