- Hey everyone, hope you're
having an amazing day.
It's Mark Wiens.
We've just arrived to Masuleh,
which is a village in northern
Iran, in the mountains.
It is a gorgeously,
stunningly beautiful village,
and today we're going to walk around.
We're going to explore the village,
and then we're going to go to a local
family home where they are preparing
the local Iranian food of this region.
We're going to have grilled fish.
We're going to have a
number of different stews.
And so in this video I'm going to show you
this entire experience,
cultural experience in Iran,
and all of the amazing food.
(upbeat music)
Really quickly, before
we get to the village,
we're on the way to the
village, driving to the village.
We stopped in a town to try a specific
type of snack, I think it's a snack,
or some food here.
- We call it koloocheh.
- [Mark] Koloocheh.
- Yeah, it's really famous.
- [Mark] Okay, and this is
the best city to get it.
- This is Fooman, yeah.
- [Mark] Okay.
Immediately stepping here, you smell
the aroma of the fresh,
it's kind of like a pastry
baked dough, but you really smell
the cinnamon, the walnuts
and the sugar in there.
They're making the whole process,
rolling up the dough.
You can see them add in with that paste,
which I believe is walnuts
and cinnamon and sugar,
and then they baked with
a unique pattern on them.
I'm going to try it now, and I didn't know
the final step is at the end
they brush on saffron and egg,
that's why it has that shimmer on top.
This is, wow that's hot, you can't even
hold it in your hand, it's so hot.
Right out of the oven.
Mm!
Oh yeah.
Oh it's wonderful actually.
The walnut in there,
the sugar, the cinnamon.
It's so hot and fresh, it's really good.
It's so hot!
(Hamid laughing)
(upbeat music)
Okay, back in the van.
It's really good, it would be really
good with coffee or tea, but we're back
on the road, on our way to Masuleh.
(upbeat music)
Getting into the mountains
now, climbing higher.
It's so green and so
lush, and most of Iran,
and when you think about Iran,
you think of more of the very dry,
deserty land, but the north of Iran
is specifically very wet,
very green and so lush.
Gorgeous trees and valleys.
All that fresh mountain air.
The trees, the fog, the lushness
and the rivers are following,
waterfalls are just teeming.
It's beautiful.
We're getting close to the village.
(upbeat music)
That was a spectacular
drive through the mountains.
The trees, the colors.
We are like completely fog covered,
but you hear the rushing water.
It's cool, fresh air,
and from here actually
you can't drive into the village.
You can drive on the
outskirts of the village,
but from here we walk,
because within the village,
there's no cars.
- It's mine.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- [Mark] Salam, salam,
very nice to meet you.
Thank you.
- Thank you, me too.
- [Mark] Thank you very much.
- We come from Rasht only for you.
- [Mark] Wow, thank you!
- This is for you.
- [Mark] Thank you very much.
- It's my hand made.
- [Mark] Hand made.
- Yes.
- [Mark] Wow!
(woman laughing)
Wow, that's beautiful.
- [Woman] I hope you--
- That is beautiful.
- Like it.
- Amazing, thank you so much!
And they came from Rasht.
- Yes.
- To meet up as we arrived in Masuleh.
- We follow your program,
all of your programs.
- Thank you very much, that is beautiful.
- We come only because of you.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- How're you?
- I'm very good, thank you.
- My daughter.
- [Man] My colleague actually from Rasht.
- Okay, great.
Thank you so much, thank you so much.
The amazing welcome and hospitality
in Iran of the people is
just, it will blow your mind,
and just it is unbelievable the people.
What a welcome to Masuleh.
I can't even fully explain
everything in words,
but this is special.
People are so unbelievably incredible.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Get a quick snack before we start walking.
Broad bean.
(speaking in a foreign language)
You typically throw away the skin,
but the skin is not bad.
(singing in a foreign language)
Good job.
(Hamid laughing)
(upbeat music)
We're just walking down
the road, basically.
A house that we're arriving to,
maybe this is where
we're going to eat food,
but you can immediately smell the garlic
coming out of this entire compound.
The entire house, the garlic, whoa!
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Man] Hi Sinbad, how're you?
- [Mark] Thank you.
Hello.
- Hi, how're you man?
- [Mark] Salam, very good.
- Welcome.
- [Mark] Thank you very much.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- Welcome to Masuleh.
- [Mark] Thank you very
much, nice to meet you.
- Please, you're welcome.
- Thank you for having us.
So we've just come into the
living room of the home.
I guess we're coming straight to eat
before exploring the village,
which I'm very okay with.
It's so warm in here compared to outside.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Almost foggy everyday
in the winter like this.
- Yes exactly.
- Okay, very foggy.
- Sometimes in the summer also.
Fog is coming down, very
beautiful view you can see.
- The most unique part of the
architecture of this village
is that it's built along
the slope of the mountain.
The roof is the same
as the walking street,
and the courtyard and living space,
and so they're communal areas,
so it promotes the community.
- All the people in
Masuleh seems a family,
as a family, they know each other.
- [Mark] And I think
we'll probably walk around
more of the village.
- Yeah, sure.
You can go out and better.
- Awesome.
- And can see
the market on the outside.
- Oh yeah, that would be amazing.
- Yeah, yeah.
- That would be amazing.
- Very good.
- I would love to.
- I will show you so many things here.
- Thank you so much, thank
you so much for having us.
- Most welcome, most welcome.
- It's amazing to be here.
- I'm your fan!
- [Mark] Thank you so much.
(both laughing)
(speaking in a foreign language)
It smells amazing!
It's like strong and peppery.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Man] Yes we can.
- We can taste it.
In Tehran they don't eat it, right?
It's right here in Gilan,
in Gilan, this is the herb.
Mm!
Oh similar to parsley a little bit.
- [Man] I like this mm.
(Mark laughing)
- Oh that's good.
The bitter greenness, wow!
It tastes medicinal.
The family is immediately going
to get started cooking,
and so they're laying out
the different ingredients.
What I love about this region
is there's so many herbs,
because of the lush
greenery, and the fertility
of the land here.
The different herbs,
the different vegetables
that go into the cooking.
Right now she's first getting started,
it's common starter or common snack,
a common side dish of olives,
especially from Gilan, of olives.
And they took that herb, that herb
that we tested, she chopped it up
and she mashed it with garlic,
and also mashed it with the herb as well,
and then she got out some
walnut paste, crushed walnut.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Yeah.
Okay.
(speaking in a foreign language)
This one is pomegranate.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Man] Pomegranate paste.
- [Mark] Pomegranate paste.
So pomegranate juice and
pomegranate paste, okay.
- [Man] But sour, sour, not sweet.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- Two types of pomegranate,
one is the sour pomegranate paste,
which is dark in color, which she adds
mainly for the flavoring,
but then she added
in that purple, such a
rich, dark purple color
of the pomegranate,
fresh pomegranate juice,
which both mix in, so the entire olives
are just completely purple.
(speaking in a foreign language)
It's ready.
- [Man] There.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- Wow!
(speaking in a foreign language)
(tapping)
(upbeat music)
- [Woman] Okay.
(child singing)
- I can guarantee you, on my first bite,
that's the best tasting olive dish,
olive I've ever had in my life.
The tartness, the herb and the garliciness
all combined together
with that salty olive.
It's like a pleasure for the mouth,
an unbelievable flavor.
So for the garlic chives, she took
extreme care to organize
them into a fistful,
because he was just explaining to me
that the size of every
piece is very crucial.
It's important for this dish
that every size is perfect,
and every size is the same.
She really took her time
and made it perfect.
The concentration.
- We have another food, the name
is (speaking in a foreign language).
- [Mark] Okay.
- If we want to make that one,
we have to cut it smaller than this,
because we want to make it dry,
you should cut it bigger.
- All right.
As she's continuing to chop the shoots,
we're going to come to the other room
to see the rice, I believe.
Oh yeah, fragrant, very fragrant rice.
And so rice in this region is also
essential in the cuisine,
which is amazing,
and they produce, they
grow the best rice here
in all of Iran as well.
Wetland, wet high areas
that gets lots of moisture,
and so she's just preparing
rice the traditional way.
If you smell that rice, it's so fragrant.
And now she's just rinsing it out.
She's going to make a
fresh batch of the rice.
So that goes onto the
stove, and she sprinkled in
a little bit of turmeric,
and then put the cover on.
That's going to cook for a while.
(speaking in a foreign language)
This will be for the fish.
It's going to be a stuffing for the fish.
Now they're moving on to another dish.
It's a combination of walnut,
pomegranate paste, the herb
that she just added in,
and probably some spices and other things.
So we just taste it before.
Mm!
- Mm!
(woman laughing)
- Wow!
- Delicious?
- Delicious.
Again the tartness, the pomegranate
balanced with the sweetness,
the herbaceousness
and kind of like an oniony flavor.
Unbelievable flavor, you would not
expect it from that color.
(speaking in a foreign language)
She is putting them directly
into the fire outside.
Those are going to roast.
Immediately they're starting to smoke.
That's going to provide so much smoke,
so much fragrance.
I love eggplants, one of my
favorite things in the world.
Wants a really hot, smokey fire
so that it flames, so that it scorches.
It has to burn the skin of the eggplant
so that contents on the inside,
that mushy eggplant
goodness that I love so much
gets embedded with smokiness.
And so she's now taking that blackened,
roasted egg plant.
Dips it in the water, peals off
the blackened skin, and she's going
to make another appetizer
with the eggplant,
with the pomegranate paste,
with the different herbs.
That's going to be insanely good.
And again she brought out the same
mixing bowl, this is a beautiful
mixing vessel, ceramic vessel.
The same thing that she mixed,
oh and here comes the pomegranate juice.
She mashes the eggplant first.
Here comes the pomegranate juice.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Man] Salt and pepper, black pepper.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Mark] I don't know what it is, yeah.
It's called hogwheat, that spice.
(speaking in a foreign language)
And it smells very kind of like,
what does it smell?
It does kind of smell like
fermented wheat, almost.
(speaking in a foreign language)
And so she put some of that in,
and now she's adding in garlic.
Garlic is essential.
(speaking in a foreign language)
I think there was no pomegranate
paste in this one, just
fresh pomegranate juice,
the garlic and again that herb.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Wow!
Wow!
That's just like eggplant
butter jam, all together.
Again the tart sourness, the sweetness,
the smoky eggplant, and the garlic,
and that one herb, that just provides
a parsley boost to it that just powers it.
And the garlic and walnuts in there too.
So also she's going to be making
two different types of fish.
One is a white fish, one is a duck fish.
Both of them are fresh water fish.
One of them she's going to stuff as well.
(speaking in a foreign language)
One of the key points to mention,
in the countryside, they don't wash
the blood off the fish,
they keep that blood there,
whereas in the city she said
lots of people wash the fish.
She said that provides more
flavor, just more flavor.
First she mixed up some spices,
including salt, pepper
and that wheat powder,
then she sprinkled that
into the inside of the fish.
Then she took that
walnut, pomegranate paste
and spread it on the inside,
and then finished it with
some herbs to top it off.
That same herb that's so crucial
in the cuisine here, and now she's going
to sew it up, like really sew it up.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Rounded.
Rounded around the clay pot.
She put a little bit
of oil in the clay pot,
and then the fish goes in.
Rounded, that's awesome.
The stuffed fish in the clay pot,
it goes onto the stove on a very,
very low, as low as possible fire.
The cover goes on, and
that's going to steam,
more like steam in its
own juices, probably,
because it's such a low
fire, for two hours.
So you can already tell it's going
to just fall apart, mingle
with that paste on the inside.
That is amazing.
(upbeat music)
(speaking in a foreign language)
(man laughing)
Because we're going to have two hours
while that fish cooks, and
while everything else cooks,
we're going to go take a little walk
around the village now, which I have
been looking forward to doing.
But the fog just keeps on coming,
and the fog, it was clear
just for a few minutes,
not very clear, but it
cleared a little bit,
but now again it's very
foggy, but that's okay.
Oh and I think we're on
top of a roof right now.
Immediately we're stepping
on somebodies roof.
(upbeat music)
Okay.
Oh yeah, that's better.
(upbeat music)
How old the village is?
- Here?
- Yeah.
- [Man] You know the history,
they said more than 1000, 700.
- There's evidence of at least 1000 to 700
years old in this village.
- But this is a new Masuleh.
We have old Masuleh, there's damage.
- What's incredible is just
how it's a fully functioning village.
Bread.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Oh wow.
Random.
- [Man] Masuleh bread.
This is Masuleh bread.
- Just a guy walking past
with a pile of bread,
and we just grabbed one off of him.
That's how friendly and
hospitable everyone is.
Masuleh bread, it's a
specific type of bread.
Wow.
(speaking in a foreign language)
There he goes down the walk way.
Oh yeah.
That's great.
Okay, as I was mentioning, what's amazing
about this village is
its historical value,
its ancientness, but its historical value
but how it's still functioning
as a completely life community.
There's stores, there's
people building new houses.
We're walking on somebodies roof.
But that's what's fantastic
about this village,
it's fully in function,
it's fully inhabited.
- This is very special.
- [Mark] Salam, salam.
- Come.
- Wow!
- All the--
- So many different spices
and herbs and flours.
- [Man] This is what it is.
- It almost smells like
orange a little bit,
like the citrusy component.
And also like anise, kind
of aniseseed smelling.
That is totally a unique spice or husk
that I've ever smelled before.
- This is the garlic.
This is the flower of the garlic.
- [Mark] Wow.
- [Man] In the vinegar.
- [Mark] Wow.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Man] This is made with the
cucumber, with the yogurt.
- [Mark] Amazing.
Oh this is the salted mint.
Mm!
It's outstanding.
It tastes like wild
mint, but it's so salty,
because you mix it with things.
You eat it with cucumber,
you can mix it in yogurt.
What a spice shop, pickled heaven in here.
And hot fresh bread. (laughing)
Nice!
Yes.
And hot fresh bread just out of nowhere.
Oh I love this place.
This spice that went into the salads
as well as some of the other dishes
that she was cooking,
the real word is hogweed.
And it's just an amazing, citrusy
kind of musky aroma to it.
It smells so good.
(sniffing)
Thank you.
- How're you?
- Very good.
- We're your fans.
- [Mark] Thank you very much.
- It's all years we are your fans.
- [Mark] Thank you very, very much.
- From your food.
(upbeat music)
- [Mark] Okay we're going to stop here
in this alley to a local tea shop.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Have a quick cup of tea.
In addition to tea, he's also
going to make the dizi, is it called dizi?
- [Hamid] Dizi.
- Dizi.
- Or abgoosht.
- Or abgoosht.
Oh here it comes right now.
One quick thing though, again,
to show the amazing
hospitality of the people.
There was a man and his family
who were having tea before we got here,
and on his way out, he insisted
that he pay for all of our teas.
What a man, so thank you Mamnoon.
- [Hamid] This is the fat.
- [Mark] You can smell the lamb in there.
Lamb?
- [Hamid] And chickpeas.
- [Mark] And potato.
- [Hamid] Normally
there is beans in there,
but I think in this area,
they don't have, oh yeah.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Man] We're gonna mash the fat.
- [Mark] It's the fat, okay.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Man] Soup.
(soup pouring)
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Hamid] And he will mash the bean,
chickpeas and also the
lamb together, and potato.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- You can just smell that lamb.
(laughing)
(Mark laughing gently)
It smells so good.
The lamb steam room.
- [Hamid] Yeah. (laughing)
- So bread.
You tear up the bread,
put it into the soup,
add some pepper.
- Pepper and salt.
(speaking in a foreign language)
So let's try.
Take the onion.
- Oh yeah okay, and onion to taste.
Yes.
- For me as well. (laughing)
- Yes.
- For me.
- All right.
- You ready?
- Yes.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Mm!
And then chase that with onion.
Oh wow!
That's like bread sponges of lamb juice.
It's so flavorful.
It's so meaty, and you can taste the fat.
The fat is what brings out the flavor.
- And because it's heavy, you normally
have it on Friday,
because it's our holiday.
- Oh right.
- So we have it for lunch,
and then we sleep after lunch.
- Without a doubt.
(Hamid laughing)
- [Hamid] So take some bread.
We call it (speaking
in a foreign language).
It means mashed meat.
- [Mark] Ah.
- [Hamid] Put some pickled
for you as well, for you.
- Thank you very much.
(Hamid laughing)
Okay so this one is the mashed chickpeas,
beans and meat all together.
- Ready?
- Put that into bread,
and you add some pickled on top.
Mm!
Whoa.
- [Both] Mm!
- That is amazing.
I like because it's mashed,
you get equal flavors and textures
of lamb in every single bite.
- [Hamid] Yeah. (laughing)
- It's all evenly distributed,
and all the flavors evenly
distributed as well.
And then so you eat these
two dishes together.
You have the soup with
the bread, you have that.
- You start with the soup, and then we go
for the (speaking in a foreign language).
- [Mark] I'm going to add a little
more pickles to this, but all
those pickles are amazing.
That's like a mix of
garlic and other things.
(upbeat music)
- Carrot, aubergine and cabbage.
(speaking in a foreign language)
(Hamid laughing)
(Mark laughing)
- And we all just wanted a little bite,
because we're really saving ourselves
for the real meal.
- Very good.
- [Mark] (laughs) So good.
- [Man] This is the cube sugar.
(upbeat music)
- Loving this little tea shop.
Good food, good people.
And due to the fog and the weather
in the winter time, we're definitely
not going to get to see this whole view
of the village, but this
is what it looks like
if it were to be clear,
just as a reference.
(speaking in a foreign language)
(yelling)
I think we will--
- [Hamid] Yeah, if you want
to sleep here tomorrow--
- In the morning.
- I hope.
- Now up here is where we can see
more of the effects, and the modern use
of the rooftop being a communal space
for this village.
(both laughing)
It's just layer upon layer,
and so even the restaurants,
the cafes, the shops, they're on top
of somebody else's roof, and
somebody lives below them,
and that just keeps on going
down the side of the mountain.
It's such an unbelievably unique
and just fascinating
architectural landscape.
This is the definition of community.
You live on top of each other,
I mean not like a condo
style, but shelves style.
(upbeat music)
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Man] 48 years ago.
- 48 years old pickled garlic.
Okay, an entire head of garlic,
pickled for 48 years.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Mm!
(man laughing)
Wow!
- Yeah.
- That is complex.
(speaking in a foreign language)
(upbeat music)
We made it back to the house.
I can smell the fish coming from the door.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Okay so the duck fish is frying,
the eggplant, the everything looks like
it's pretty close to being ready.
I am ready.
- [Man] Can you smell it a little bit?
- Yes.
(man laughing)
Oh yeah, salty.
Okay.
So in the kitchen, gonna just sample
the fried intestines, and
this is a real delicacy.
Many consider it the best part.
Oh yeah.
Mm.
Wow!
That tastes like fish sausage.
Oh it's awesome.
It's so good, and mushy and
creamy at the same time.
(sizzling)
(speaking in a foreign language)
Ready to eat, they're
dishing everything out.
The smells, the aromas.
She's dishing out the rice now.
That is the final step.
It is time.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Oh yes.
That is the prize of the bottom
of the rice in Iran, the tahdig.
- It's the best.
- Oh thank you.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- Wait, wait, step by step.
- [Mark] Oh wow.
- This is it, Masuleh sushi.
(everyone laughing)
(speaking in a foreign language)
Sorry.
- Mm!
- Yum yum yummy.
(speaking in a foreign language)
- Awesome.
That is the most
unbelievable tahdig I've had,
because it's not too,
it's perfectly crunchy,
but not overly so.
It's just unbelievable,
all the different dishes
are on the floor, on the carpet.
The whole family and all the guests,
all of us, amazing hosts.
We're all sitting down just trying
to figure out where to sit now.
Unbelievable, amazing people.
(singing in a foreign language)
(clapping musically)
(upbeat music)
(speaking in a foreign language)
Thank you.
(speaking in a foreign language)
So I've got a full plate of food now.
Rice in the center with all the different
dishes surrounding, all
the different herbs,
all the different eggplant.
The salty fish, the fish with the walnut
pomegranate paste, the eggplant,
the garlic shoots with the egg,
a little bit of the tahdig,
which is the crunchy
rice, and it's all just
like a rainbow of
colorful, local Gilan food.
Amazing.
And she is responsible
for this entire table.
Oh is that the duck fish?
That one is the duck fish, awesome.
Thank you.
The duck fish.
This is the 48 year old garlic,
and this is specifically
to eat with the fish,
so I'll save that with the fish,
but I have to just first try
some of that egg with the dill.
Oh no, this one is the egg with the dill
with the beans, I believe.
I'll try this one first.
Mm.
Oh wow, the egg, the dill in there
is just like simmered down with the oil,
those beans just melt in your mouth.
Okay for the next one, I think
this one is the garlic chives
with the egg that she,
again we saw her chop up.
And again I think there's
egg in this one too.
This one specifically really a Gilan dish,
I mean they all are.
Oh whoa.
That one has an immediate sourness to it.
Salted anchovie, along with the eggplant,
that's the combination.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Wow.
That might be the creamiest eggplant yet,
ever in the world.
(speaking in a foreign language)
That's so creamy, it's actually sticky,
and you pair it together
with that salted fish,
that gives it that ultimate umami.
That's incredible.
This one is the walnut stuffed,
the walnut and pomegranate stuffed fish,
and I believe it's like a type of carp,
the one that we saw her
stuff and then simmer
on low fire for two hours.
Oh wow.
Again with some olives.
Wow.
The sweet, nuttiness of
that, and the fruitiness
from the pomegranate, the tartness,
and you can taste that slow cook,
how it's just been
simmered, like the walnuts
have just disintegrated,
and embedded themselves
into the flesh of that fish.
That is insane.
And you can follow that with white turnip.
I'll go for a leaf actually.
Oh wow.
So green, wonderful, slightly spicy.
And then you eat that with
your fingers, it's okay?
- [Hamid] Yeah fine.
- You eat with your fingers with the fish,
that's the duck fish with rice,
rice, garlic, fish combination.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Wow.
The complexity of that garlic,
with the fish, the sourness of it,
and the texture of it.
I think from 48 years, it's
really about that texture.
It's so smooth and just
disintegrates in your mouth,
and then just that depth of layering
of flavors that it's
developed over the years.
I'm going to put my garlic in right now,
and 48 years later it'll be ready.
(men laughing)
(upbeat music)
(speaking in a foreign language)
That dish with the garlic shoots
with the egg, and then the sourness
is coming from the sour orange.
That is just unbelievable sourness.
And actually this entire meal,
the different sour flavors,
the different nutty flavors
and the garlic just comes
through in almost everything.
Again this is the eggplant
with the pomegranate juice.
(speaking in a foreign language)
It's unbelievable.
The sweet fruitiness,
the creamy smokiness.
And I think this one is a type of garlic.
It's really good.
(speaking in a foreign language)
Mm.
Or is it leak?
Oh wow.
Okay.
I can taste garlic.
Oh that starts to burn, oh I love it.
Hamid, how is the food?
- Amazing!
- [Mark] Yes.
- Love it!
The combination is so good, isn't it?
- [Mark] Yes.
- [Hamid] Having the olives
with (speaking in a foreign language)
and rice, it's amazing.
- [Mark] Amazing.
- And (speaking in a foreign
language) is so unique here.
- [Mark] The which one?
- The aubergine.
- [Mark] Oh yeah.
- It's so good.
- It's so unbelievably
sticky, sticky creamy.
(upbeat music)
Just quickly stepping outside.
It's pretty cold out here, but it is nice.
The fog has sort of cleared.
You can see now the lights of the village.
Okay it's pretty cold though.
Can't stay out here for too long,
but that dinner was just sensational.
The different mix of
dishes, all of the food,
sharing the food altogether.
Okay, I'm going back inside now.
(speaking in a foreign language)
(everyone laughing)
(upbeat music)
(speaking in a foreign language)
- [Man] We have persimmon, okay?
A big fruit.
- Persimmon, yes.
- But there is a white one in the forest,
and usually the locals collect it.
- So it's like crunchy rice.
So this is a special
dessert to end our meal,
which she has made.
(speaking in a foreign language)
(crunching)
Mm.
Oh it's amazing.
Oh that's incredible.
Really, really crispy rice grains,
with this almost honey, fruity persimmon.
That's incredible, actually.
It tastes like molasses
with crispy Rice Krispies.
(speaking in a foreign language)
That is really superb.
And maybe a light cardamon taste to it.
(upbeat music)
It's a beautiful night in Masuleh,
and again now you can see the lights
of the village just covering
the side of this mountain.
That meal, the hospitality, the people
that we met today, starting
from when we arrived
to this village, we met people
that had come here to meet
us, and they gave us gifts.
And the hospitality will
take your breath away,
and you just cannot even
comprehend the amazing people,
the hospitality and the
way people care for,
and the way people treat others
with so much respect and so much love,
and that food tonight
was just sensational.
This region has some incredible food,
and food unlike anywhere
else I've had in the world.
And so that's going to
be it for this video,
and we're actually spending the night
right across the street from where we ate,
so conveniently we're
spending the night here.
It's so quiet and peaceful and wonderful,
and I want to say a huge thank you
to Mr. Taster, Hamid, for arranging
to bring me to Iran, and to Alijan
for touring us around, and then finally
to Gasir Setareh for arranging this trip
and organizing this trip to Iran.
Thank you very much and again,
thank you to everyone we met today
for your gracious hospitality.
And I want to say a big thank you
for watching this video.
If you haven't seen this entire
Iran food and travel series, I'll have
the playlist in the description box.
You can watch all the videos.
It's been amazing.
Thanks again for watching,
goodnight from Masuleh, Iran.
