This guide is a transliterated list of herbs, spices, foods, and cooking terms that I needed to know to learn my Persian family recipes.
A big part of this blog is getting to share the recipes I grew up with. In building the Persian recipes section on the blog, I went to my mom and Maman Joon (grandmother) for help. I made recipes with them, talked with them about their likes and dislikes, and asked questions about their cooking journeys. However, learning how to make the Persian recipes on the blog from my mother and grandmother presented a few roadblocks.
My mom speaks fluent English (with an accent, of course) but doesn’t always know the names of spices and herbs in English. My grandmother doesn’t speak much English at all. What that means, is that I was sometimes able to figure out what the spice was by the label on the container, or I had to go searching for the herb and spice by guessing and Googling.
This guide is a list of herbs, spices, foods, and cooking terms that I had to learn to make my family recipes. Most of the resources I found have the word in Farsi, which I cannot read. So this list uses the Persian word transliterated so you can recreate the Persian recipes from your families without the language barrier getting in the way.
I hope you find this list helpful, and if you do, please let me know in the comments below… and if you think I’m missing something helpful, please let me know that, too!
Herbs & Spices – Sabzi & Adviya Ha
| Basil | rey-han |
| Borage | gol gov zaboon |
| Cardamom | hel |
| Cayenne Pepper | felfel hendi |
| Chamomile | ba-bune |
| Chili | felfel ghermez |
| Chives | tareh |
| Cilantro / Coriander | gishneez |
| Cinnamon | dahr-chin |
| Cloves | mikhake khoshk sho-deh |
| Cress | shahi |
| Cumin/Caraway | zire |
| Dill | shevid |
| Fenugreek | shanbalileh |
| Garlic | seer |
| Ginger | zanjabil |
| Mint | nah-na |
| Oregano | puneye kuhi |
| Parsley | ja-fari |
| Pepper | fel-fel |
| Saffron | za-ferun |
| Savory | mahr-zeh |
| Scallion | piyaz-cheh |
| Sesame | konjed |
| Spearmint | nah-na tohnd |
| Tarragon | tahr-khoon |
| Thyme | avishan |
| Tumeric | zard-choobeh |
Fruits & Vegetables – Miveh & Sabzijat
| Apple | seeb |
| Beet | choghondar |
| Bell Pepper | fel-fel dolmeh |
| Cabbage | kalam |
| Carrot | haveej |
| Cauliflower | golkalam |
| Celery | karafs |
| Corn | zorrat |
| Cucumber | kheeyar |
| Eggplant | bademjan |
| Garlic | seer |
| Green Bean | lubijah sabzi |
| Lemon, Lime | limu |
| Lettuce | ka-hu |
| Onion | piyaz |
| Pomegranate | anar |
| Peas | nokhod farangi |
| Potato | sibzamini |
| Pumpkin | kadutanbal |
| Radish | tarbocheh |
| Sour Orange | nah-ranj |
| Sour Cherry | albaloo |
| Spinach | esfanaj |
| Strawberry | toot farangi |
| Tomato | gojeh farangi |
| Turnip | shalgham |
| Zucchini, Squash | kadu |
Other
| Bread | noon |
| Cheese | paneer |
| Chicken | morgh |
| Cooked / Baked | pokh-teh |
| Cut / Chop | ostekhan |
| Eat | boh-khor |
| Fire | awtish |
| Fish | ma-hi |
| Oil | roh-ghan |
| Meal | gha-zaa |
| Meat | goosht |
| Milk | sheer |
| Minced | khord karde |
| Rice | beh-renj |
| Soup | ahsh |
| Sour | torsh |
| Spicy | tohnd |
| Sweet | sheer-een |
| Tender | nahrm |
| Yogurt | mah-st |
Here are some of my favorite Persian recipes: