انگور فرنگی
انگور فرنگی (angur-e farangi) means gooseberry in Persian. The compound joins angur, the native Persian word for grape, with farangi, meaning European or foreign, making it literally the European grape.
Glossary
نارگیل هندی
نارگیل هندی (nârgil-e hendi) means coconut. “Nargil” came into Persian from Sanskrit via trade routes; “hendi” is a Persian adjective meaning Indian, reflecting where the fruit came from.
شیرین بیان
شیرین بیان (shirin bayân) means liquorice root, the sweet root used in herbal teas and traditional medicine. “Shirin” is Persian for sweet; “bayan” is from Arabic, meaning speech or expression.
مرزه
مرزه (marze) is savory, an aromatic herb of the mint family with a peppery, thyme-like scent. It is a native Persian word and one of the classic herbs in the Iranian kitchen.
تخم گشنیز
تخم گشنیز (tokhm-e geshniz) means coriander seed, the dried fruit of the coriander plant used whole or ground in Iranian spice blends. Both parts of the name are native Persian words.
میرچ
میرچ (mirch) is a colloquial Persian word for chilli or hot pepper, borrowed from Hindi-Urdu. You will hear it in casual speech and at the market rather than in formal or written Persian.
فلفل سیاه
فلفل سیاه (felfel siyâh) means black pepper, the world’s most traded spice. “Felfel” entered Persian from Arabic, while “siyah” is a native Persian word for black.
رازیانه
رازیانه (râziyâne) is the Persian word for fennel, a fragrant herb with feathery leaves and an anise-like scent. It descends from Middle Persian râziyânak.
کدو سبز
کدو سبز (kadu sabz) means zucchini or courgette in Persian. Both words are native Persian: کدو is the old word for gourd and سبز simply means green.
کدو حلوایی
کدو حلوایی (kadu halvâyi) is the Persian name for pumpkin or butternut squash. The adjective حلوایی comes from حلوا and refers to the sweet, halvah-like taste of the flesh.