Sirabij

It is made with garlic leaves rather than cloves, fried first, with the eggs scrambled into them.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg.

Ingredients

• 400 g green garlic leaves, chopped
• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 60 ml sunflower oil

Method

1. IT IS MADE WITH GARLIC LEAVES RATHER THAN CLOVES, FRIED FIRST, WITH THE EGGS SCRAMBLED INTO THEM. Its article is exact about all three parts: the dish consists of egg and chopped garlic leaves, which may be green garlic leaves depending on the season; the leaves are chopped and fried with oil in a pan; and afterwards the eggs are added and scrambled. So the garlic here is a VEGETABLE in bulk -- four hundred grams of leaves -- not an aromatic measured in cloves. The leaves taste mildly of garlic and mostly of something green and sweet, closer to a spring onion top than to a clove, and the dish cannot be made with cloves at all: ten cloves in a pan of eggs would be inedible.
2. THE EGGS ARE SCRAMBLED IN, NOT POURED OVER AND SET. This is what separates it from the other egg dishes on these pages. Beaten eggs added to the fried leaves and stirred continuously over a low heat until they are just set in soft curds. Nothing is turned and nothing is grilled.
3. THE LEAVES ARE FRIED UNTIL THEY COLLAPSE, WHICH TAKES LONGER THAN YOU EXPECT. Eight to ten minutes over a medium heat. They start voluminous and reduce to about a third. Underdone they are fibrous and squeak.
4. GREEN SPRING LEAVES ARE THE BEST AND ITS ARTICLE SAYS WHY. It notes that green garlic leaves are marketed separately, especially in spring when they are fresh and fragrant. Later in the season the leaves are tougher and want a couple of minutes more.
5. THE SEASONING IS THREE THINGS. Its article names salt, pepper and turmeric. The turmeric goes in with the leaves rather than the eggs, so it has oil and heat to bloom in.
6. IF YOU CANNOT GET GARLIC LEAVES, THE PAGE WILL NOT PRETEND. Garlic chives are the nearest thing widely sold, and leek tops with two crushed cloves will give you something in the same direction. Neither is what the article describes and this page does not claim otherwise.
7. IT IS A BREAKFAST AND SUPPER DISH, EATEN WITH BREAD. Spooned straight from the pan onto flatbread.
8. IT COMES FROM THE CASPIAN PROVINCES. Its article places it in Gilan and Mazandaran, where garlic is grown and where the leaves are sold in their own right.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Iran · All recipes