Within a month before Naw-Rúz (March 21), Iranians start planning for Kháne-takánī!
Kháne-takánī (shaking the house) is an Iranian tradition of spring cleaning and part of the Naw-Rúz festival. This custom is practiced in many nations before their New Year celebration. In Iran, it originated from the Zoroastrian idea of purifying with cleanliness as a measure for keeping ‘evil’ away from the ‘Kingdom of Good’.
*
*
Usually, when there is a time-consuming housework/chore in order, it is common for the lady of the house to cook ábgusht (in Farsi language, it is expressed as ‘to load the pot/ábgusht’). Ábgusht, literally translated as ‘water-meat’ is a Persian soup. It is also called dizi, which refers to the traditional stone crocks it is served in. The ingredients (lamb, chickpeas, white beans, onion, potatoes, tomatoes, turmeric, and dried lime) are combined, cooked until done, and the dish is then strained. The solids are then mashed and served separately but with the broth, along with Persian bread.
Until only decades ago, ábgusht was considered a dish you would not serve your guests. It was a menu for people with less means. The poor would go to the butcher and ask for any scrap meat they could purchase at a reasonable price. ‘Loading the pot’, they would put all inexpensive ingredients in the pot, first thing in the morning, and let them simmer until lunch-time. No attention was needed. It was a most nutritious meal for the family. However, today, a hostess proudly presents her ábgusht soup and mashed meat/ingredients ‘gusht kubideh‘ as a side dish or an appetizer!
*
Hot to make Ābgusht (and Douq)
.
.
*
Related Article
Check out the following post on İsmet‘s CULININSTANBUL
BOZBAŞ (FİRUZ IĞDIR)
*
Fae, your posts are always so informative and interesting. I love each and every one of them! Absolutely beautiful instructor! Thank you Fae
Hi Judy, You are too~ kind.
))) Some of these posts are more fun to put together.
Just few weeks ago I visited a restaurant in İstanbul and I wrote a dish, named Bozbaş. Bozbaş is the name of dish, which is called Piti in Azerbaijan and Dizi (ābgusht) in İran… And I should say that I really liked it
Hi İsmet! Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I am going to link your post, which is an excellent introduction to ābgusht. Now that I think about it, my Father who was from the Turkish speaking part of Iran always referred to the dish as dizi (and wondered if it was a Turkish word ?) or bozbash. Thanks for bring me a fond, nostalgic memory!
Fae.
Hi Fae,
But, Bozbaş is a Turkish word. Boz= Grey, Baş=Head, Bozbaş=GreyHead… May be it refers to sheep which is the main ingredient of this dish 
I am happy to make you remember one of your memories
Actually we have word “dizi” in Turkish. It means series, order in English. It does seem that the name of the dish is realted with these meanings
Enjoy local foods
Regards
İsmet
great post, thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Anto. There is something about preparing for Holy Days celebrated with Family & Friends, even if it is cleaning the house.
)))
great post! i really liked the video and learning something about iranian culture.
Thank you, LiveBlissful! I’m glad you liked it… the dancer is amazing! Fae.
I thoroughly enjoy posts like this! Please continue! Kat
Hi Kat, Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving me a message. There are few more coming up like this.
I am SO going to make this!(I’ll have to fake the lime part, like you suggested above). The instructor was beautiful and clear…and I want her clothing!
You are funny Tonette.:D ))) I think this dish became so popular with the ladies these days because it is so easy to make. Let me know how it turns.
Love the idea of this recipe. Wouldn’t have thought of pairing chickpeas and white beans together before. Dried lime? Hmm, will have to Google as I can’t view vids on my broadband at the moment.
Citrus aurantifolia/’Persian lime’, also called black lime (same as Bearss lime and Tahitian lime) is made by boiling fresh lime in salt water and sun drying until the insides turn black. I have never done it and will never do. If you have no Middle Eastern market close to you, try with few drops of verjuice (juice of unripe grapes) to your taste.
Oh wow, thank you for posting this, I had completely forgotten about Abgusht, I made it frequently and it all came back to me seeing the video. It’s delicious. I am remembering and learning so much from your blog.
I’m glad. Abgusht is GOOD!
Great post. Love that picture you used. It is so simple and yet evocative. Question is: have you started your koneh takani?
Hi Azita, Mine is an on-going khaneh tekani, thanks to a team of ‘sanitary-engineers’ who visit me every other Thursday.
)))
My life is all the richer because the internet provides the conduit for bloggers like you Fae to teach me about cultures beyond my realm of experience. Thanks for sharing.
Believe me, the feeling is mutual. I am impressed by the varieties of international cuisine/flavors you come up with. BTW, the hand drawing of three generations you have in your logo box is cherishable.
I love this post and its photos!
Thank you. I bumped into this painting in a Iranian cultural site and thought it is great for my post!