This Iranian Shirazi Salad is a simple and bright Persian cucumber and tomato salad recipe that’s loaded with herbs and dressed in citrus and extra virgin olive oil! This quick no-lettuce salad is the perfect side to almost any entree.
Table of contents
Ways to Make a Shirazi Salad
This cucumber and tomato salad is best served chilled. Make it a couple of hours ahead of time and refrigerate it so the vegetables absorb the flavors of the dressing. This classic Persian salad can be served with any main dish.
Shirazi salad is sometimes served as an accompaniment to rice such as Loobia Polo, an Iranian rice dish made with green beans and tomatoes.
How to Store Shirazi Salad
Like most food, this salad can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. Because this recipe only takes a few minutes to make you should make only enough to fill your meal requirement for the day. However, if you find yourself with too much and need to freeze it place it in an air-tight container or ziplock freezer bag and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
History of the Shirazi Salad
This traditional cucumber and tomato Persian salad comes from the city of Shiraz in the South West of Iran. It is a relatively modern dish, dating to sometime after the introduction of the tomato to Iran at the end of the nineteenth century.
The Metropolitan City of Shiraz, Iran
Shiraz is a city in south-central Iran, known for its literary history and many gardens. The city, a trading and road center for the central Zagros Mountains, is linked to Bushire, its port on the Persian Gulf. It has cement, sugar, and fertilizer factories and textile mills. Traditional inlay work flourishes, as does weaving in the surrounding region. Pop. (2016) 1,565,572.
A Brief History of Shiraz, Iran
Shīrāz was important during the Seleucid (312–175 BCE), Parthian (247 BCE–224 CE), and Sasanian (c. 224–651 CE) periods. In the early 13th century the Mongols built the New Mosque and the fortress Bāgh-e Takht. In 1387 and again in 1393, Timur (Tamerlane), the Turkic conqueror, occupied Shīrāz, which—with its Congregational Mosque (894), Shāh Cherāgh shrine (1344–49), and Great Library (later the Madrassah, or theological school; 1615)—had become a Muslim center rivaling Baghdad.
In 1724 the city was sacked by Afghan invaders. Shīrāz became the capital of the Zand dynasty (1750–94), whose founder, the vakīl (regent) Karīm Khān Zand, adorned the old city with many fine buildings, including his mausoleum (an octagonal tiled kiosk, now a museum); the Ark, or citadel (now a prison); and the Vakīl Bazaar and Mosque. Buildings in the new city include the Persian Church of St. Simon the Zealot and the university (1945).
Tourism in Shiraz, Iran
The marble Tomb of Hafez, honoring the revered poet, sits within its own garden. To the east, the Mausoleum of Saadi houses the 13th-century writer’s mosaic-tiled tomb and an underground pool. Shiraz is a gateway to Persepolis, the ruined 6th-century-B.C. capital to the northeast, with its immense gateways, columns, and friezes.
Iranian Cuisine
The cuisine of Iran has made extensive contact throughout its history with the cuisines of its neighboring regions, including Caucasian cuisine, Central Asian cuisine, Greek cuisine, Levantine cuisine, Mesopotamian cuisine, Russian cuisine, and Turkish cuisine, among others.
– Featured Restaurant –
Haft Khan Restaurant
مجموعه رستوران های هفت خوان
Shiraz, No. 17، Ayatollah Rabbani Blvd, Iran
Haftkhan or “The Seven Labors of Rostam” are a series of acts carried out by the greatest of Shahnameh’s heroes, Rostam to liberate Kaikaus, the king, and his army. “Khan” also means the table of food in Persian texts. So the seven sections of this restaurant are as follow:
- First Khan: Forood Traditional Restaurant which means down, below.
- Second Khan: Sindokht Mediterranean restaurant which means Phenix, daughter.
- Third Khan: Belian Fast Food which is the name of the prophet Khidr.
- Fourth Khan: Zarrir coffee shop which means golden armor.
- Fifth Khan: Nofel International Restaurant which means bright and resplendent.
- Sixth Khan: Gisia coffee shop which means luminosity.
- Seventh Khan: Barbecue restaurant which means stability.
This restaurant serves more than 500 different Iranian and international cuisine, drinks, and desserts to please everyone’s taste.
How to Make This Iranian Shirazi Salad Recipe
This is another quick and easy salad recipe. Gather your equipment and ingredients and finely dice the vegetables, but do not use a food processor or a chopper for that. Put everything in a mixing bowl and toss it thoroughly.
What You Need to Make the Iranian Shirazi Salad
Equipment Needed
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Mixing Bowl
- 1 Large Mixing Spoon
Ingredients Needed
- 4 ripe tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 red onion diced
- 2 small cucumbers peeled and diced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 tbsp dried mint
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp ground sumac
- black pepper to taste
Time needed: 20 minutes.
How to Make the Iranian Shirazi Salad
- Make the Salad
Mix tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, olive oil, lemon juice, mint, dill, sumac, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.
- Serve
Serve immediately.
This delicious salad is quick and easy to make and is a refreshing change to the same old salad.
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Iranian Shirazi Salad
Please Rate this Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Knife
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 red onion diced
- 2 small cucumbers peeled and diced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 tbsp dried mint
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp ground sumac
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, olive oil, lemon juice, mint, dill, sumac, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.4 tomatoes, 1 red onion, 2 small cucumbers, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 lemon, 1 tbsp dried mint, 1 tsp dried dill, 1 tsp ground sumac, black pepper
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Other Dishes That Go Well With Shirazi Salad
Photo Credits:
- By Taste The World Cookbook – Copyright 2022 All rights reserved.
- By Haft Khan Restaurant – By https://haftkhanco.com/front
