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I bet you anything that if you ask any Iranian how they feel about Persian Pirashki, they will start salivating.  I personally LOVE Persian Pirashki. There are a few dishes in the Persian Cuisine that were originally Russian. The fact that we have some similar dishes is no surprise at all given the history of our region. Another reason is also the fact that some Iranians were sent to Russian boarding schools. In fact my own maternal grandmother and her siblings and cousins attended boarding school in Russia for a good few years.  I loved my grandmother’s cooking and wonder if she got some of her inspiration from her childhood years spent abroad.

A few weeks ago I purchased the Piroshki that you see in these photos from the one place where, in my humble opinion, sells the best: Jordan Market in Westwood.  For me this is one of those treats that I allow myself to have once in a while. I was thinking about trying to make them on my own to post them here. It was a very ambitious moment which came to a screeching halt when I called my Russian mom.  Well she is not really my mom, biologically, but I call her my Russian mom because she is like a second mom. Her name is Mela and I met her eight years ago. We were office-mates and she is one of the most kindest and generous people I have ever met.  I called her to ask her for the recipe for the dough, before I started researching how Persians make it.  I figured it is best to go to the expert source.  The conversation went  something like this:

“Mela Joon, how do you make your dough for Piroshki?”

“You buy the dough for bread and fill it up with meat or cabbage.” (said with a exquisite Russian accent)

“Bread dough??? WHAT?”

“Yes, it is so easy!”

“But bread dough won’t go well with custard, it is too doughy. It needs to be fluffy”

Come to find out that Russians don’t make Piroshki with custard like we do.  “There is no such thing as sweet Piroshki” Mela said with a stern voice. Ya know, like what are you talking about? Have you lost your mind? Oh boy! So I told her that’s how Persians eat it.  Poor Mela said with complete bewilderment and disbelief, “how can Piroshki be with custard?” Like what have you crazy Persians gone and done with our Piroshki? And I laughed and laughed!

Here is my conclusion about this subject matter. Persians stole the idea of Pirashki from the Russians and made it into their own by doing what the Russians didn’t think of doing: adding a delicious custard. Frankly, I say it’s genius. Don’t get me wrong, you have not lived until you have Mela’s cabbage Piroshki or her pancakes for that matter, but there is something so incredibly delicious about these Piroshkis,  see for your self!

Anyway, this is what happens when you bite into a PERSIAN Piroshki

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You take a bite and there it is the deliciousness of the custard. So delicately sweet and smooth!

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It just oozes out of the Piroshki. YUM!

If you live in LA, do yourself a favor: stop by Jordan Market and get yourself one of these. Make sure to stop by in the morning when they are still nice and warm.  🙂

Hi Mela! 🙂 you believe me now??!!

Does anyone have a recipe for the dough? The Persian dough that is!