Fresh Herb Kuku Recipe
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil, butter, or ghee
- 5 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons Persian spice mix (advieh) (see Tips, below)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 cup chopped fresh garlic, chives, or leeks
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 1 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek or 2 tablespoons dried barberries, cleaned (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour the oil into an 8-inch baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- Break the eggs into a large bowl. Add the baking powder, advieh, salt, and pepper. Lightly beat in the garlic, chopped herbs, flour, and fenugreek. Adjust seasoning.
- Pour the egg mixture into the dish and bake uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes, until the edge is golden brown.
- Serve the kuku from the baking dish, or unmold it by loosening the edge with a knife and inverting the dish onto a serving platter. Remove the parchment paper. NUSH-E JAN!
- Though many Iranians now use vegetable oil, clarified butter (ghee) is Iran’s traditional cooking fat. To make it, start with a third more unsalted butter than you will need for the recipe. Melt the butter over low heat, then increase the heat to medium low and simmer the butter, without stirring, until it stops crackling and the milk solids brown and drop to the bottom. Skim off any foam from the top, and strain the ghee through a colander lined with cheesecloth. Ghee will keep at room temperature, covered, for several months. Advieh, a mix of ground cinnamon, cardamom, and cumin and dried rose petals. Dried barberries, which add a sour flavor to many Persian dishes. “I like to use the dried fenugreek leaves in the batter, and also some red barberries on top for color,” says Batmanglij. “Sauté them with a little oil and a teaspoon of sugar, then sprinkle them on top of the kuku just before serving.”
