سیر

What it means

سیر (sir) means “garlic.” Native Persian word. It also happens to be a homonym: سیر as an adjective means “full, satisfied (after a meal).” Iranians can say سیر شدم (sir shodam) to mean “I’m full,” and the same letters in the same order can refer to garlic. Context disambiguates: at the dinner table, both are common, and Iranians never seem to confuse them.

How to use it

• دو حبه سیر بزن (do habbe sir bezan) “add two cloves of garlic”
• سیر تازه بهتره (sir-e tâze behtare) “fresh garlic is better”
• سیر ترشی دوست دارم (sir-torshi doost dâram) “I like pickled garlic”
• سیر بزن تو ماست (sir bezan tu mâst) “crush garlic into the yogurt”

Pickled garlic, the Iranian specialty

سیر ترشی (sir-torshi), pickled garlic, is one of the items Iranians get protective about. The whole heads of garlic are submerged in vinegar (sometimes with grape syrup) and aged for years, sometimes decades. Over time the garlic darkens to a deep brown-black, the sharpness mellows, and the flavor turns almost sweet, with a soft, jam-like texture. A jar of seven-year سیر ترشی is a household treasure, brought out for guests who appreciate the difference. The longer it sits, the better it gets.

North versus south

Garlic use varies sharply by region inside Iran. Northern cuisine (Gilan, Mazandaran) leans heavily on raw garlic, often crushed into stews, pastes, and side dips. The garlic-yogurt sauce served with mirza-ghasemi is northern. Southern Iranian cooking (Bushehr, Hormozgan, Khuzestan) uses garlic more sparingly, with the heat coming from chili and tamarind instead. Tehrani middle-of-the-road cooking sits somewhere in between, with garlic appearing in some dishes and entirely absent from others.

A common pairing

سیر در ماست (sir dar mâst), garlic crushed into yogurt, is a quick side that gets put together in two minutes and elevates rice, meat, or bread. It is the Iranian cousin of the Greek tzatziki, minus the cucumber. Many Iranian households also keep a small bowl of سیر sliced into vinegar in the fridge, ready to be spooned over rice or eaten next to grilled fish.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab