What it means
کشمش (keshmesh) means raisins, specifically the small seedless dried grape. Wiktionary marks its origin as unknown, noting a possible Turkic borrowing connected to Bukhara in Central Asia, where the seedless grape variety is said to have originated. Whatever the source, Persian exported the word widely: Azerbaijani kişmiş, Ottoman Turkish kişmiş, Uzbek kishmish, Malay kismis, and the English word kishmish all derive from it. The synonym مویز (maviz) exists but refers more specifically to larger raisins and is less common in everyday Tehran speech.
How to use it
- کشمش تو برنج ریختی؟ (keshmesh tu berenj rikhti?) “Did you put raisins in the rice?”
- یه مشت کشمش بخور انرژیت بره بالا. (ye mosht keshmesh bokhor energit bore bâlâ.) “Eat a handful of raisins to boost your energy.”
- آجیل بدون کشمش کاملش نمیکنه. (âjil bedun-e keshmesh kâmelesh nemikone.) “Nuts without raisins are not complete.”
- سبزی پلو با کشمش درست میشه؟ (sabzi polo bâ keshmesh dorost mishe?) “Is herb rice made with raisins?”
Cultural note
Raisins are one of the most versatile ingredients in Iranian cooking. They appear in rice dishes such as zereshk polo (barberry rice) alongside barberries, in stuffings for poultry, in sweets, and of course loose in a bowl of آجیل. Iran is a major producer of dried fruit, and the city of Malayer in Hamadan province is particularly known for high-quality raisins. کشمش is also a common packed snack given to children, and small boxes of raisins appear in lunchboxes across the country.