More about Khoresht Mast

Khoresht Mast is one of the foods that Isfahan people cook under their own special environmental conditions; it is considered as a kind of porridge.

In this article, we are going to gain more information about Khoresht Mast and also the recipe for this delicious food.

More about Khoresht Mast

Khoresht Mast is a local food of Isfahan. This food is being prepared from dripped yogurt, sheep’s scrag, saffron, sugar and yolk and a little barberry and almond slices or walnut and sometimes rosewater in being poured in it.

This Khoresht is being served cold.

This porridge-like and elastic food is being served as a dessert. This food is usually being prepared with sheep’s scrag, but some people use chicken meat in it.

Also, some people prepare it Indian- style and instead of sugar and rosewater, they use salt and pepper.

The first point about this authentic appetizer is the cold temperature and then, its resilience property;

A subject that many tourists referred to it when they select Khoresht Mast with curiosity from the menu of restaurant.

Although Khoresht Mast is more known as a ceremonial food in parties and weddings, but its fame has always changed the path of tourists toward Isfahan and researchers say that it’s being prepared in other provinces and countries of the world.

Nutritional value of Khoresht Mast

This local appetizer has high nutritional value. The high parentage of dripped yogurt in Khoresht Mast is a rich source of calcium and vitamin B, so its consumption is so beneficial for pregnant women, children and elders.

The existence of sheep’s scrag in this food is the source of saturated fatty acids and also it provides protein and essential amino acids.

Short History of Khoresht Mast

There is not much information about the short history of Khoresht Mast, but it is more than one century that it is being seen in big and luxurious parties of Isfahan.

In past, Khoresht Mast was the court’s main food, but today, it is being consumed as a dessert.

Recipe of Khoresht Mast

Ingredients for 4 people:

• Dripped yogurt, without salt 2/5 k
• Scrag, without bone 250 g
• Onion: 1
• Yolk: 2
• Sugar: 1 cup
• Water: 2- 3 cups
• Salt, turmeric, rosewater and brewed saffron
• Almond, pistachio slices and barberry for decoration

At first, put the meat with onion and a little turmeric and water on heat to get cooked over low heat.

When meat cooked, add a little salt before getting it from heat to get flavored. Then, separate cooked meat from the bone and beat it in a copper dish with a meat masher to get stretchy.

In next step, mix yolk with sugar and yogurt and stir well and put on low heat to boil. When leaven is boiled, pour beaten meat in it and stir well to get mixed.

In this step, the ingredients should get stretchy. In the last step, add saffron and rosewater and stir well until Khoresht is well-cooked.

After Khoresht Mast got cool, serve it in a dish and decorate with barberry, almond slice and pistachio.

Tips for cooking Khoresht Mast

It’s better to ready Khoresht Mast 24 hours before serve and keep it in the refrigerator.

This Khoresht is being served cool.

Don’t use zinc dish for beating, because the color of food gets dark and bad.

The cooking time for Khoresht Mast is 1 hour and 30 minutes

How to prepare Khoresht Mast with Indian- style?

In the Indian style, salt and Perrier are being used. The meat is being stir- fried with oil, the onion gets fried and salt is being added to it and gets boiled.

Then, the spice of food is added to it including:

• ground saffron
• a little salt
• pepper
• cumin
• and crushed coriander.

The yogurt is stirring to get smooth and after some boiling of spicy meat, it is being added inside the Khoresht and get mixed.

After adding yogurt to Khoresht, it shouldn’t boil and it’s enough that the yogurt gets warmed.

Food tourism

Culture and food heritage can be considered a kind of attraction. Food tourism is one of the ways that we can introduce the farthest regions of country to world tourists.

Although there are hundreds of local foods in Iran, but a limited number of them are being served limited in restaurants or houses.

“William James Durant” wrote in his book, the story of civilization:

“the issue of human’s food and it’s preparing is consisting the foundation of civilization; grand church and temple, art museum and music hall, library and university are all the external parts of foundation civilization; we should have eye and see the beyond of kitchen appearance.”

Although at first sight, Local foods are displaying Iranian tablecloths, beyond this colorful puzzle of tastes, there is a valuable treasure of Iranian culture, beliefs, and traditions are hidden that we can achieve with the development of food tourism.

Isfahan and its place in Iran’s authentic civilization and culture

Iran’s Historical background is a clear witness of the importance of Iranian tablecloth; so that local, simple and nourishing food is always its decorator.

By paying attention to the compound of food ingredients and local meals, we can understand well the place of nutrition in the authentic civilization and culture of Iranians.

Today, we need to create a network of traditional house kitchens in the country; many traditional foods have been forgotten and the menu of restaurants is consisted of repetitive foods or according to the pattern of other countries.

Isfahan is one of the axis provinces in the part of food tourism and it should be planned in a way that its local foods like Khoresht Mast and Beryani don’t have only nutritional aspects, but be an opportunity for cultural exchange, economic valuation, and entrepreneurship.

Besides having historical and cultural attraction, Isfahan has a unique diversity of tastes, colors and the scent of foods that each contain the secret of the lives of the past. Many foods are unique in this province and not found in other place of country.

The researches shows that the foods in Isfahan are being divided into two parts: they are broth- like and the bread gets sop in them or they are porridge- like and consist an attractive combination of rib or neck’s meat with beans the get beat all together and often served with bread and fresh vegetable.

FAQ

Conclusion

Isfahan province with more than 22 thousand historical monuments, 1850 national monuments, 7 global-recorded works, and more than 600 historical houses is the center of attention of internal and external tourists.

Have you ever tasted Khoresht Mast? Did you like it? Which restaurant did you ordered this Khoresht?

Do you think you can cook it in your house with this article’s recipe?

Which cooking style of Khoresht Mast do you like more? Traditional or Indian- style?

Share your comments with us…