Top 5 Iranian Seafood cuisine

When you travel to Iran, you will understand that seafood is the main cuisine in the coastal cities of Iran in the north and the south, 

however, it is not very much popular in the central part of the country only on one important occasion; New Year’s Eve when most of the people eat Sabzi Polow va Mahi (Mixture of fresh herbs with rice and fried fish) for lunch or dinner on the first day of the year.

In this article, we are going to introduce the most common seafood dishes in Iran. So, grab a pen and a note to write down the name of the one you most liked.

Read more: Top 20 Persian food that you should try when traveling to Iran

1) Sabzi Polow Mahi (Fresh herbs with rice and fried fish)

This cuisine is the most popular one in all over the country. The rice is cooked with the mixture of fresh herbs and usually served with fried fish (usually Caspian kutum or Rutilus kutum or Caspian white fish). It is the custom in Iran that people have Sabzi Polow Mahi for lunch or dinner on the first day of new year, however, you can find it also in most of the Iranian restaurants.

2) Mahi Doodi  (Smoked Whitefish)

This cuisine is very popular in the northern part of the country, in the coastal cities of the Caspian Sea. The fish is smoky and very salty, served with plain cooked rice. Usually, it is consumed with garlic pickle as it says in Farsi “Sir-Torshi”.

3) Mahi Gerdepich (Roasted filled-in fish)

The same as Mahi Doodi, this cuisine is also popular in the northern part of the country. The fish is filled in with fresh herbs (coriander, and blue eryngo), walnut and pomegranate sauce. It is cooked in a big metal pot in a rounded shape. The fish usually served with cooked rice, garlic pickle, and fresh herbs.

Read more: Best dishes in Iran for vegetarians

4) Ghalieh Mahi (Spicy Fish with fresh herbs)

This cuisine is mostly cooked in the southern part of the country, especially in Khuzestan province. The main ingredients to marinate the fish are cilantro, fenugreek, tamarind pulp or tamarins paste. Traditionally, this stew-like cuisine is cooked with Sangsar (Trumpeter), Hamoor (Rankin cod), Shooride (long tooth Salmon).

5) Ghalieh Meigoo (Spicy Shrimp with fresh herbs)

The same as Ghalieh Mahi, it is mostly cooked in the southern part of the country, especially in Khuzestan province. The main ingredients to marinate the shrimp is cilantro, fenugreek, tamarind pulp or tamarins paste.