10 Tips for Eating Healthy at an Iranian Restaurant

The national dish of Iran is arguably kabob, and with so many kabob joints, it’s easy to devour juicy lamb and saffron chicken kabobs daily. Restaurants always serve chicken with and without the bone, so for a traditional kabob, opt for boneless chicken, which has skinless white meat. In case you’ve reached your meat threshold or are just looking for something lighter, try a fish kabob instead. Usually a char-grilled white fish, it’s served with lemon or nâranj, a type of sour orange, when they are in season.

Creamy dressings definitely make for a good salad, but that can leave you with a pang of guilt. The traditional Iranian salad, salad shirazi, is a super simple, three-ingredient side with diced tomato, cucumber, and onion (which are, coincidentally, the same colors as the Iranian flag) topped with dried mint and lemon juice or âb ghooreh, verjuice. Not only is it delicious, but you’ll realize that all the dressing you need is a guilt-free touch of acidity.

When you’re hungry, starters are often more exciting than the main dish. In Iranian restaurants, you can order various starters and dips, many of which originate from Mazandaran in the north. Zeytun parvardeh, olives dressed in pomegranate paste, crushed walnuts, and garlic shouldn’t be missed. Various yogurts like mâst-o khiâr, yogurt with cucumbers, and mâst-e museer, yogurt with shallots, are popular dips to have with flatbread. Veggie dishes like mirzâ ghâsemi, smoked eggplant mashed with tomatoes and eggs, and kashk-e bâdemjân, eggplant with whey, are also crowd favorites.

Fluffy Iranian rice is always served with a slab of butter on top. It’s tempting to mix it right in, but before it melts, take it off as a healthier choice (or maybe just use less if you must!)

Portions are quite generous, so you might want to consider sharing. One plate of rice can easily be split between two or three people.

These can be a great option at jigaraki, small restaurants that specialize in liver, heart, and kidney kabobs. Just ask for a few veggie skewers, and you’ll be served with fire-roasted mushrooms, tomatoes, and peppers. You’ll also get them much quicker!

Bread is served with starters and rice as part of the main dish, so if that’s carb overload, just choose one. Sometimes bread with kabob and fresh herbs hits the spot more than the buttery rice.

This may be a common sense tip, but in Iranian restaurants, replace soft drinks with doogh. Carbonated or flat, this salty, refreshing yogurt and dried mint beverage is the traditional drink to pair with your kabob, so you’ll be eating like a real local.

Even though Iranians have a major sweet tooth, dessert is not a feature item on restaurant menus in Iran. Instead, at home, people have fresh fruit or if they are out, they head to ice cream shops, where it’s still possible to be good by ordering freshly squeezed juices.

You’ll be drinking more tea in Iran than you ever imagined, which can result in a major excess intake of sugar. But dried fruits such as dates, raisins, or mulberries act as natural sweeteners to curb that sugar rush, and are commonly served with tea.