Bha! Bha! Persian Bistro in Naples, FL - Wow!

I recently discovered a terrific Persian bistro in Naples, FL. In searching the Internet for a restaurant where I could treat a special friend (and myself), I ran across Bha! Bha! Persian Bistro (https://bhabhabistro.com/), which had over 4,000 mostly five-star reviews on OpenTable, TripAdvisor, Google, and Yelp. It had a great menu which was a mix of traditional Persian dishes and innovative Persian dishes. On that menu, I found four Persian dishes that protagonist Javad “Josh” Shirazi in my novel Team Triad; A Nuclear Spy Hunt – Iran had prepared as a special dinner for his wife and himself.

The experience at the Bistro exceeded all my expectations. Every bite was superb; the atmosphere was excellent; and our server Cayan provided impeccable service.

My friend and I shared an appetizer of Kashke Bademjun, an eggplant dip with lavash bread. There are two versions of this dish. The one on the menu had sliced eggplant. However, when I showed Cayan the Kindle page of my novel which described the dish I wanted, he realized I would not be getting the correct dish. He immediately went and fixed the problem. The dish was great.

My friend’s main course was an evening special - lamb shank, which was tender and delicious. It was so large that she had enough to take home for another meal. I think the sauce was a Mediterranean tomato sauce.

My main dish was Duck Fesenjune (Khoreshte Fesenjun) in a pomegranate-walnut sauce with a mango sauce accent and topped with caramelized dried fruit. In Iran, this traditional dish was originally made with duck. It is now often made with chicken. It was fantastic. I have made it with chicken several times, and was happy to learn that my preparation was in the ball park.

The duck dish came with a side of saffron-topped white rice. However, I also ordered a side of Polo ba Tahdig, which I think bistro calls Tahdik. It is a type of rice in which the bottom of the pot caramelized the rice to a crispy golden brown.

We also shared a side of Mast o Khiyar, a cucumber-yoghurt dip/salad it bears some similarities to Greek Tzatziki and Lebanese cucumber-yoghurt dip. It was flavored with dill. I loved it.

For dessert to celebrate my friend’s birthday, Cayan brought a dish of Persian rice pudding, which was part of the Team Triad dinner. We both enjoyed it.

The wine I chose to accompany our meal was a 2016 Zenato Alanera red Veronese. It is reliably good. I would like to have ordered one of the wines from the Persian Darioush Winery in the Napa Valley, but their wines are a bit expensive for my taste.

We sat outside at a table on one side of the restaurant. It was very private. It was a bit chilly outside, but the heaters next to our table eliminated the chill.

The bistro is located at 865 5^th Ave in South Naples. We found parking right behind the restaurant.

I can’t wait to return and savor other dishes on the menu. I will definitely request Cayan as our server.

A Delicious Persian Meal

For a recent dinner with friends, I decided to serve a (mostly) Persian meal. I was delighted with the results. 

The three principal dishes were Persian:
- Cucumber salad (Salad-e Shirazi)
- Chicken Pomegranate Stew (Khoresh-e Fesenjan)
- Bottom-of-the-Pot Rice (Polo ba Tahdig)

Dessert was Baklava, which is served from the Balkans and Greece all the way to Central Asia.

(I refer to the main dishes in this posting as Persian rather than Iranian because there are a number of different ethnic groups and cuisines in Iran.)

I love the cucumber salad, which is very simple to make, and would go beautifully with a wide variety of dishes. It contains cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, and herbs. Its dressing is fresh lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. I used small, seedless cucumbers from a nearby Middle Eastern store. I followed the recipe I found at: 
https://www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/salade-shirazi-persian-cucumber-tomato-and-onion-salad-20190617-h1fg57. Of the herb possibilities suggested in the recipe, I chose fresh parsley and dried mint.

The Chicken Pomegranate stew contains chicken breast or thighs (I used thighs), pomegranate molasses, walnut paste, onions, sugar, chicken stock, and a variety of spices. The pomegranate molasses is available on Amazon. I purchased the Al Wadi brand from Lebanon. This syrup is widely used throughout the Middle East. The walnut paste is made by crushing toasted walnuts in a food processor. This dish is delicious the first day, BUT is much more flavorful the next day. I followed the recipe I found at: 
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fesenjan_persian_chicken_stew_with_walnut_and_pomegranate_sauce/ It took me about four hours to make. 
(Not in the photo below are the pomegranate arils I added as garnish before serving.) It ain't purty, but it shore is yummy!

Khoresh-e Fesenjan

The Persians have several unique rice dishes. One is Polo ba Tahdig, which is extremely popular. A main feature is that it has caramelized rice or slices of potato or bread at the bottom and is topped with saffron rice when served. I tried one recipe a few months ago, and was not successful. However, this time I found a recipe with a very clear video explanation. It worked great. The recipe can be found at:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240606/persian-rice/

Polo ba Tahdig

The pastries I served were pistachio baklava, walnut baklava, and "birds nest" from Beirut Bakery (http://beirutbakery.net/) in Livonia, Michigan. They were incredible. Beirut Bakery makes the best baklava I've had, and I've had lots. The bakery came close to shipping the delivery on the wrong day. Fortunately, I phoned them to make sure the order had been shipped.

The wines I served were 2018 Martin Ray Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast, Poggio Antico's 2015 Madre Tuscan red from Montalcino, and 2016 Davey Family Shiraz from McLaren Vale, 

Persian Chicken, Pomegranate Syrup, Walnut Stew - Khoresh-e Fesenjan

A popular dish in Persian cuisine is Khoresht-e Fesenjan. It's primary ingredients are chicken, walnuts, pomegranate syrup, and onions. It is easy to make, and is served over rice. It is from northern Iran and was originally made with duck. Like so many other recipes, there are many variants, including vegan.

The types of rice used for the most authentic versions are Persian white or yellow rice (polo or chelo), which are prepared with Basmati rice. On this occasion, I prepared the Basmati rice in the normal manner because my recent first attempt at chelo was unsuccessful. I will try again.

I found this version at http://persianmama.com/chicken-in-walnut-pomegranate-sauce-khoresht-fesenjan/, at a blog which has many interesting-sounding Persian recipes. I recommend looking at the URL above because the author has pictures and commentary. The author of that article comments that, when pomegranate fruit is in season, she sprinkles pomegranate seeds on the finished stew.

The recipe below serves 5 to 6. Total prep and cooking time is close to 2 hours. Prep is really easy.

I found the pomegranate syrup (aka pomegranate molasses) at Bismallah Grocery on 17th St. at Lockwood Ridge in Sarasota. It carries Middle Eastern and South Asian groceries. They carry two varieties. I bought 17 oz. Cortas brand which is from Lebanon and which the store owner said is the most popular. It sells for $6.50. Pomegranate syrup is available on Amazon.com. 

Ingredients

One and a half large yellow onions, sliced thin

2 pounds of skinless chicken drumsticks or thighs (4 -5 pieces). I used 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless thighs, cut into large pieces.

8 ounces walnut halves (about 2 cups). 8-ounce bags are sold in supermarkets

1/4 cup cold water

1 cup pomegranate concentrate

3 to 4 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp cracked black pepper

Pomegranate seeds for garnish (if available)

Directions

Pick through the walnuts for shells, then put in a food processor and process until the walnuts become a tan-colored paste.

With the food processor running, add the cold water through the feed chute. Continue processing until the paste becomes uniformly beige in color.

Put the vegetable oil and onion in a 6-qt stockpot and fry until golden brown. Then remove the onion from the stockpot.

Add the chicken to the stockpot and top it with the fried onions.

Spoon the walnut paste over the fried onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the pomegranate concentrate over  all the ingredients.

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Avoid high heat because the pomegranate concentrate tends to stick and burn fairly quickly. (I had no problem.)

Reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pot, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for an additional 75 minutes, or until the chicken is fork tender and falls off the bone. Stir every 15 minutes or so to make sure the sauce does not stick to the pot. If at the end of this period, the sauce has not thickened enough, leave the pot uncovered on low heat for about 10 more minutes. 

Transfer the Fesenjan to a serving dish and sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top for garnish. 

Serve over white steamed Persian rice.