Celebrate Nowruz with these recipes from the recently renamed Tehran Berlin
Yuma Hashemi, owner of the restaurant formerly known as The Drunken Butler, shares with us his favourite recipes for a feast to celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year
This week, Yuma Hashemi announced he was renaming his much-loved Clerkenwell restaurant. Formerly known as The Drunken Butler, the restaurant will now carry the name Tehran Berlin, a nod to the restaurant's recent switch to a more Persian-centric menu that celebrates Hashemi's Iranian roots.
"Since opening The Drunken Butler back in 2017, we’ve been constantly evolving and with each change we make, we better understand our vision for what we want the restaurant to be," Hashemi tells us. "On a recent trip to visit family, I have reconnected with my Iranian heritage, and now more than ever I realise how proud I am of my origins. I was born in Tehran, raised in Berlin, and now call London my home. Now, as we prepare for new openings with new faces, it is time for a new name. We’ve made the decision to rename The Drunken Butler. From today, our beloved home on Rosebery Avenue will be Tehran Berlin - a love letter to my past, the places and people that make what we do possible." The name change comes in advance of Hashemi opening a new wine bar, Emmanuelle, across the road from the restaurant, as well as coinciding with the celebration of Nowruz, or Persian New Year.
The day's proceedings celebrate the coming of Spring, and the vernal equinox, the date when day and night are of equal length. "Although Iranian culture should always be celebrated, Nowruz is a great time for people less familiar with Iranian culture to try their hand at some Iranian recipes and gather their friends' and family round," says Hashemi. "Nowruz celebrates new beginnings and the return of spring which is important in Iranian culture."
With this celebratory day coinciding with the announcement of the restaurant's rebrand to Tehran Berlin, we asked Hashemi to share with us some of his favourite Persian recipes so that you can create your own feast at home. Dig in, and let this meal serve as a reminder that brighter days are coming.
Noon panir sabzi
Rebecca Dickson
Serves 4-5
Preparation time 10 minutes
“In Persian, ‘noon’ means bread, ‘panir’ is cheese and ‘sabzi’ is the blend of herbs.," says Yuma Hashimi. "The idea of the dish at Tehran Berlin is that it's a perfect way to start the menu and is a great simple way to kick off proceedings at home.”
Ingredients
2 x Fresh Noon Barbari (Persian flatbread, although any fresh flatbreads will work fine)
500g panir (Persian feta, although any fresh, good quality, firm fetas will work)
A handful of each basil, tarragon and parsley
A handful of roasted pistachios
Method
Finely chop your mixture of seasonal herbs and blend into the cheese.
Roll the cheese into little balls, about the size to fit nicely into the cup of your palm.
Blend or finely chop your roasted pistachios and lay onto a plate.
Roll the balls in the pistachio to coat.
Kashk-e-bademjoon
Rebecca Dickson
Serves 4-5
Preparation time 12 hours
Cooking time 30 minutes
“The literal translation for this dish is kashk and aubergine. A pantry essential in Iranian cooking is Kashk, which is essentially buttermilk," says Yuma Hashemi. "I would really recommend making your own. This dish is a great showcase on how it’s utilised.”
Ingredients
1 x Aubergine
Pinch of turmeric
100ml saffron water (pinch of saffron in 100ml warm water)
100ml kashk
Handful of heavily roasted walnuts, microplaned
Mint oil for garnish
Method
For the Kashk
Heat up a small saucepan of milk and just before it starts to simmer, turn off the heat and leave somewhere warm overnight. The next day, you should have yoghurt and some leftover liquid from the milk.
Drain the liquid and retain the yoghurt.
Spread the yoghurt thin on a baking tray and place in a very low oven.
Once it has dried out (think dried toothpaste consistency), remove from the baking tray into a bowl.
Dilute with water to get a nice consistency (think buttermilk/light cream).
For the mint oil
Heat up a small saucepan of neutral oil until shimmering.
Add a handful of dry mint and fry until the bubbles have stopped and drain the oil.
It should be fragrant and have a nice green colour.
For the dish
Grill the aubergine whole with the skin on, until the outside is charred and the aubergine is soft.
At home, you can do this over a gas stove or under your grill in the oven.
Cover the aubergine in a bowl and let it rest until you can handle it comfortably. Take off the skin and let the excess liquid drain through a sieve until dry. When it’s dry, run your knife through the aubergine flesh until finely diced.
Heat up some oil until shimmering, add a pinch of turmeric and cook until fragrant.
Add the aubergine, saffron water and a pinch of salt.
Let it cook down for 10-15 minutes until the consistency has thickened.
To plate
Place the cooked aubergine into the bottom of a bowl, top with the microplaned roasted walnuts, a drizzle of kashk and top with the mint oil.
Spinach borani
Serves 4-5
Preparation time 10 minutes
Ingredients
1kg Spinach
100g Yoghurt
Juice of a lemon
Handful of roasted pistachios and walnuts, both microplaned into a crumb
100ml neutral oil
Method
Heat up a large pot of water until simmering.
Prepare a bowl with ice and water for the spinach.
Blanch all of your spinach – about 20/30 seconds – and then remove and plunge into the ice bowl.
Remove the spinach from the ice bowl after a couple of minutes and lightly squeeze to remove most of the excess moisture. A good way to do this is with a tea towel.
Take half of the spinach and blend with a neutral oil, then strain through a fine mesh sieve covered in a tea towel or a coffee filter. The result should be a vivid green oil.
To plate
Grab a nice wide bottomed bowl and layer your cooked spinach in the bottom of the bowl.
Top with a healthy dollop of yoghurt and drizzle with your green oil and your shaved pistachio and walnuts.
Mast-o-khiar
Rebecca Dickson
Serves 4-5
Preparation time 10 minutes
“This is a super simple but deceptively delicious Iranian dish," says Yuma Hashemi. "The name literally translates to yoghurt and cucumber and it celebrates a lot of classic Iranian flavours. It works as a great dish to accompany other small sharing dishes.”
Ingredients
250g yoghurt
1 medium sized cucumber or 2-3 persian cucumbers
Juice of a lemon
Rose petals
A small handful of mint
Salt to season
Any herb/green oil (can refer to other recipes mint/spinach oil)
Method
Dice the cucumber finely as well as the fresh mint.
Just before serving, mix the yoghurt, cucumber and mint together and season to taste with lemon juice and salt.
Top with your green oil, rose petals and some roasted microplaned nuts (see previous recipes).
