- [Narrator] Whoa, that's
just getting smokey.
Oh, you can see that oil,
it's totally cooking the meat.
(laughing)
That was good.
- Look at that.
That smells so fragrant.
- [Trevor] Oh, it's just
falling apart instead.
- Yeah.
- Oh my god. (laughs)
- All right, check it out guys,
it's Trevor James hanging with Mr.
- Taster.
- Taster.
- We are in Tehran, Iran
and today we're going for
the ultimate road trip
to the north of Iran, Mazandaran.
- [Mr. Taster] We actually
going to Mazandaran.
We going to Izadsharh and
we gonna have lots of home
cooked foods in Mazandaran.
- [Trevor] Tons of home cooked foods.
They're really nice.
- [Mr. Taster] We gonna go to
fish market, we gonna go to
fishing, we gonna cooking,
we gonna have a whole lamb.
Everything.
- [Trevor] Oh, it's gonna be amazing.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah, let's go!
- [Trevor] Let's go!
- [Mr. Taster] Hey!
- [Trevor] Hey!
(laughing)
(instrumental music)
- [Trevor] This is part
four of nine of our ultimate
Iran food play list.
And today, Mr. Taster is
bringing us in extremely deep.
Right into the mountains
of northern Iran for an
ultimate extremely rare
village meal and whole lamb
cooked with some of the
most unique ingredients
in the world.
Huge thanks to Mr. Taster and to
Ali from cometopersia.com.
We are heading uphill,
into the mountains and
to northern Iran.
Gonna be a wonderful
trip, look at the color.
Beautiful rivers, pristine
forests and we are just
driving through the windy
roads of north Iran going to.
- We're going to Rostam
Rud to have the whole lamb.
- Whole lamb.
- The lamb just for me.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- The lamb says, "we are waiting for you".
(laughing)
- Oh wow, this is gonna be good.
And these roads, look
at the view, stunning.
Beautiful scenery.
(laughing)
- [Trevor] This is so beautiful.
The snow-capped mountains.
The forests, the clouds.
- The clouds.
- [Trevor] Beautiful country.
Oh and here we are.
- [Mr. Taster] We are here in Mazandaran.
- [Trevor] Mazandaran.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
- [Trevor] Near the Caspian Sea.
- [Mr. Taster] Yes.
- [Trevor] And the first meal, full
baby lamb.
- Whole lamb.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah, baby lamb.
- Northern style.
- Yeah, northern side.
Yeah.
- Beautiful, right here.
- Salaam.
- Nice to meet you.
Hi.
Salaam.
- So we're gonna make a whole lamb.
- yeah, the whole lamb is
ready and also we've got other
stuff that you can see.
- Northern style.
- Yeah, we call it Mazanderani.
- Mazanderani style.
- Yeah, or northerners.
- Northerners?
(laughing)
- Hi, salaam.
- This is Asoo.
- Hi, nice to meet you.
- She's the owner and chef of here.
- Oh.
- Really good chef.
- Nice to meet you.
Right into the kitchen,
northern Irani-style.
Ooh.
- So this is the whole lamb.
- The whole baby lamb.
- Wow, yeah, baby lamb.
- And this is gonna be stuffed.
- Yeah, it's gonna be stuffed
and gonna be fried first.
- Wow, fried?
- Yeah, and they put--
- They put this in the belly?
- Yeah, in the belly, yeah.
- What is it?
(in foreign language)
Peaches.
- Peaches?
- Onion.
- Onion.
- And pepper, this is
like, older style kitchen.
- Old style?
- Yeah.
- It's very nice.
And what do we have over here?
- We've got duck here.
- Duck!
- Yeah.
- Ooh.
What is this cooked in?
- (mumbles) peaches, like peach.
- And what about this?
- We've got roosters.
- Rooster?
- Yeah, it's almost the
same sauce as over there.
- And what's this here.
- This is fesenjan, Persian
walnuts and cooking from the day
before is the key of this
beautiful Persian stew.
- It is beautiful.
- And some local butter as well.
- [Trevor] Local butter?
- Yeah.
- [Trevor] And here we go.
We're gonna start the lamb.
Wow.
So it's gonna get fried in this oil first?
Wow, right in the oil.
So first fry and then stuff.
- [Mr. Taster] Yes.
- [Trevor] There's the flip.
Wow, that's amazing.
- [Mr. Taster] Oh.
- [Trevor] And she's just
throwing that boiling oil.
- [Mr. Taster] Into the belly.
- [Trevor] Into the belly.
Oh and here comes the flip, another flip.
So this is northern style.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah, it is, yeah.
- [Trevor] Northern style.
- [Mr. Taster] Mazanderani, yeah.
- [Trevor] Mazanderani style.
Oh, that's just getting smokey.
The skin is starting to cook.
And get a little bit crispy.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
(simmering)
- [Trevor] What's this?
- [Mr. Taster] It's local butter.
- [Trevor] Butter!
- [Mr. Taster] Butter, yeah.
- [Trevor] That's pure butter.
- [Mr. Taster] Look at that.
- [Trevor] That's a big brick of butter.
(laughing)
It's melting.
And listen to that sizzle.
There's nothing more satisfying
than hearing the sizzle.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
It's like a symphony, isn't it.
- [Trevor] Yeah, it's beautiful.
That is truly beautiful.
Wow.
Oh and you can see that oil,
it's totally cooking the meat.
Ooh, and what's this here?
- It's called sour orange.
- Sour orange?
- Tomato paste.
- Tomato.
- And.
- And this is gonna be put inside as well.
- Yeah, no.
- Oh it's gonna boil with it?
(in foreign language)
- No they gonna put on top.
- Put on top.
- Yeah.
- Right on top, sour orange.
- Yeah.
- And tomato.
- Yeah.
And sour peaches.
- Peaches.
That smells fantastic.
The color, it just
smells really delicious.
(in foreign language)
It smells amazing.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Actually I made a mistake.
Because, we stuff it after we broil it.
- Okay so, boil it and then stuff it.
- Exactly.
- And it's gonna boil a couple hours.
- Three hours.
- We be back in three hours.
- Awesome.
- Now we gonna go to the fish market.
- Okay.
- Okay.
Should we close the door?
- There it is.
- Yeah.
- That is one of the most unique smells.
- See you in three hours.
- Yeah. (laughing)
- And now we gonna go to a fish market.
- Okay.
- To see the fish.
- See the fish.
- And also get one for tomorrow.
- To bring to the family.
- Yeah, yeah.
And we gonna see the
vegetable food market as well.
- Awesome.
Let's go.
- [Trevor] While the lamb
was cooking, we made our way
to the fish market and
witnessed the fish auction
right on the Caspian sea.
- There's auction over there, so let's go.
- Fish auction.
- Yeah.
(in foreign language)
- 21.
23.
24.
2.
For him.
He won.
(clapping)
- So how would you cook these fish?
- You can have the whole fish
or you can have it kebob one.
- So the people here, are
they buying it for their home
cooking or are they buying it to sell.
- No, no, normally the seller
is coming and doing the
auction and then they will,
they sell it to people.
- So they resell.
- Exactly.
- Oh, okay.
(in foreign language)
(clapping)
- Oh and there's a lot of fish here.
These are the whitefish.
- Yeah, it's the best fish
after the sturgeon one.
- Really?
- Yeah, it is, yeah.
- And we're gonna be having
this at a home cooked meal.
- We're gonna have it tomorrow.
- And this is the duck fish.
- Oh, duck fish.
And what do we have here?
What type are these?
- Anchovies.
- Yeah.
And this is the most delicious fish,
at the moment.
- Most delicious.
- Yeah.
- Oh really.
- And he bought it already for you.
- Oh.
- So we gonna cook it
tomorrow in the village house.
- Beautiful.
- Yeah.
- They kept the restaurant
open late for us tonight.
- This is our table.
- And the whole lamb is gonna.
- Yeah.
- Is gonna go right here. (laughing)
- Oh my god.
- Ooh!
- There it is.
- Look at that.
- It's shrunk.
Because it gets all the juices into it.
- You have to try it.
Oh my god.
That's what's good.
- Look at that, look at that.
You can see it's fatty and lean combined.
- Yeah.
- Look at the sauce.
- [Trevor] Oh and here's the sauce.
So this is gonna right over top.
Oh and here it comes.
(throaty noise)
Look at that, so this
is northern Irani style.
Oh, right in the belly.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah. (laughing)
- [Trevor] That smells so fragrant.
Oh and then local herb.
- [Mr. Taster] Hey, thank you very much.
- [Trevor] Beautiful.
Thank you.
(laughing) That's it right there.
(laughing)
It's beautiful, thank you.
(laughing)
- Hey!
- Wow.
And this is the, also polow.
- Yeah.
- So it's saffron rice.
- Look at that, look at.
- Ooh.
Pulling the head, the neck.
- Yeah.
- Wow.
Oh it's just falling apart in strands.
- Yeah. (laughing)
Oh my god. (laughing)
Look at that.
Let's swap.
(laughing)
- Look at that.
- Oh my god, look at that.
Oh my god.
- Saffron rice with dill, right?
- Yeah.
- Look at the color there.
- Ooh.
Thank you, thank you.
- Oh my god.
- Oh, look at the fat in that.
- Yeah.
It's bubbling isn't it.
- It's bubbling.
- Put some sauce.
- With the peach, pomegranate.
- [Mr. Taster] Look at that.
(soft instrumental music)
- Mm.
- Ooh. (laughing heartily)
- Wow. (laughing)
Slightly sweet.
- It is.
- From the peach.
- Yeah.
- And the pomegranate.
- And some sourness
coming from pomegranate.
- Mm.
And then savoriness from those onions.
- Exactly.
- Mm.
- And mix this with rice
and saffron and makes
it so delicious.
- Wow.
- Some fatty here for you, it's--
- Oh really. (laughing)
- Oh my god.
Iranians loves (in foreign language).
- So it's a little crispy on the bottom.
- It is crispy, yeah.
- Oh.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- It's crispy so you can eat it--
- It's super crispy.
- We can put some sauce on it.
- Oh, thank you.
- Go for it.
- Okay.
Mm.
(laughing)
oh, I think this right
here is the best lamb
I've ever tasted.
- Really?
- Yeah, I love the flavor.
- Oh my god.
- Welcome to heaven.
(laughing)
- That's what it is.
- This is the best part of it.
- Is that--
- Ooh!
- Ooh!
- [Mr. Taster] Look at that, yeah.
- [Trevor] Look at the fat there.
- This is for you.
- Oh really?
Another piece.
(laughing)
- Thank you.
(in foreign language)
(laughing)
- [Trevor] What do you think, Ting?
- It's really soft.
- [Trevor] Really soft.
Can you please tell her it's
the best lamb I've ever had.
(in foreign language)
- Thank you.
It's so good.
I'm in love.
(laughing)
It's so good.
(lambs bleating)
(imitating lamb bleating)
(bleat)
- [Trevor] That was amazing.
- Good.
- Oh, wow.
- How did you like it?
- Best lamb I've ever had.
- Good.
And we've got surprise for tomorrow.
- Tons more.
- Yeah.
Tons more, more hot foods, ready.
(smooch)
- Let's do it.
(laughing)
- [Trevor] And the next
day, we're getting up bright
and early to visit a local
village for one of the rarest
meals ever seen on this channel.
We're having three meals and
spending a whole day deep
in the mountains of Mazandaran
having an unforgettable
food experience, you're gonna love this.
Here we are, deep in the mountains.
We made it!
- Hey!
- We made it!
- We made it, finally.
- Wow.
Salaam.
Beautiful.
Mountain homes.
- For you.
This.
(singing in foreign language)
- [Mr. Taster] He's welcoming you.
- Salaam.
(in foreign language)
- Salaam.
- Salaam.
- Salaam.
(in foreign language)
- My father, my father.
(smooch)
- Nice to meet you.
- [Mr. Taster] It's for the bad oils.
- So this is taking away, the bad spirits.
- Yeah.
We call it a fan.
- So this is breakfast.
- Very fast, they made it their selves.
(in foreign language)
- [Mr. Taster] You are my son.
- [Trevor] Merci.
Honey!
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah, honey.
- [Trevor] To go with the bread?
- [Mr. Taster] Yes and this is rice.
- [Trevor] Okay.
- [Mr. Taster] For the
breakfast, look at that.
- [Trevor] It's like a rice cake.
Oh.
- [Mr. Taster] Put it in the fire, yeah.
- [Trevor] Oh, right on the fire.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
- [Trevor] Oh and here come the eggs.
Wow, right over the fire.
Look at those eggs, the butter
is just melting in there.
(in foreign language)
- [Trevor] And it's all ready.
The breakfast is all ready,
right in the mountains.
Oh, wow, this is amazing.
So, we're just gonna sit
down and join with them.
- Yeah.
- Oh and this is the local
tea made with charcoal.
Full on breakfast.
- Yeah.
We've got cheese on top,
we've got sesame and sugar
that you can put it on
your rice like this.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- We've got beans here, try it.
- Okay.
Mm.
Oh wow.
That's delicious.
- We've got butter.
- So this is like a local cream?
- Yes.
- And some honey.
- Some honey, yeah.
- This carpet is so comfortable.
- Yes it is.
(laughing)
Go for it.
- Thank you.
(laughing)
- Oh and the walnut.
- And the walnuts, yeah.
- This is such a healthy breakfast.
Oh is that the egg?
Yes.
Food.
Mm.
Ooh.
- With heavy butter.
- It's so buttery.
Wow, this is like out of a dream.
- Yeah.
- In the mountains, in the clouds.
- Look at the clouds over there.
- Look at the clouds
hanging with local family.
Oh those eggs are delicious.
Oh, that's amazing.
- [Mr. Taster] This is for Ting.
- [Trevor] That's for Ting.
(laughing)
- [Mr. Taster] When
there was no electricity,
they were making the tea like that.
- With the coal.
- Yeah.
- Oh and this is the rice here.
The baked rice with teas.
Wow.
Merci.
Covered in goat cheese.
Right in the mountains.
Mm.
Oh.
And this bread is with
caraway, cinnamon, sugar
and you can just dip it in the honey.
- Yeah.
- Mm.
So you take the rice.
- [Man In Black Jacket]
Yeah, we get some rice,
some broad beans.
- [Trevor] Just cook broad
bean, like a broad bean stew.
- [Man In Black Jacket] And
then we get some sour orange.
- [Trevor] Over rice with cheese.
- All right.
- Mm.
Oh wow.
It's all about this, this orange.
Merci.
- Merci.
(in foreign language)
- Thank you for coming.
- Thank you.
(in foreign language)
- [Trevor] Okay we're starting
the lunch now, making rice.
Persian rice.
Oh, straining it or adding
in caraway seed into the rice
and then turmeric on
the bottom of the pan.
That's beautiful, Persian
grain rice with caraway.
And look at this guys.
Just went for a little
walk and now look at this.
Local Persian home in the mountains.
Look at this, wow.
Salaam.
- Salaam.
- [Trevor] Thank you.
And here we go, we're gonna make some tea.
Right into that tea cup and
there's the roast chicken.
Right over the coals.
Oh, so we've got hot oil.
Wow.
That is a beautiful chicken.
Oh and here's the rice.
This is that steamed rice.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
- [Trevor] With turmeric on the bottom.
Oh and here we go, we're
gonna make the fish now.
This is truly amazing.
There is no food in the
whole world better than that
cooked by a grandmother with love.
And there it is.
- [Mr. Taster] Look at that.
- [Trevor] The Caspian fish, in the oil.
- [Mr. Taster] It's normally
this kind of fish is smaller.
- [Trevor] But we got the big ones.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
- [Trevor] We're gonna do
the most anticipated flip.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
- [Trevor] Ooh, she's pro.
And that just smells amazing.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
- [Trevor] Wow.
And the food just keeps coming.
Got homegrown peppers.
Wow and we got a lamb,
parsley and spinach stew
here as well.
And here's the anchovy.
Wow.
- [Mr. Taster] Anchovy, yeah.
- [Trevor] Oh that's the veg rice.
- [Mr. Taster] Veg rice, yeah.
- [Trevor] Oh and this is the,
the veg.
- Kuku.
- [Trevor] Kuku.
- [Mr. Taster] Kuku.
- [Trevor] Oh and here's
the real magic, the moment
of truth, we're gonna add these raisins
and the rice together.
The best rice in the world.
- [Mr. Taster] And this is the saffron.
- [Trevor] Saffron, raisins and rice.
Whoa.
- [Mr. Taster] And you
know that the saffron is
more expensive than bull.
- [Trevor] Yeah, that's
pure, pure gold right there.
- It is.
We gonna eat gold.
- [Trevor] Oh, look at how it's mixed up.
Look at the color there.
Saffron, raisins and persian rice.
Look at the color.
Oh that is gold.
(laughing)
Oh yeah.
(pan tapping)
Oh and here's the roast
chicken stuffed with
pomegranate and walnut.
- [Mr. Taster] Look at the juice.
- [Trevor] And this is
eggplant and pomegranate.
And that right there, is
the most beautiful rice
you'll ever see.
Oh, raisins, saffron and
Persian rice grown here in the
north, in the mountains.
- [Mr. Taster] Look at that.
- [Trevor] Oh.
Look at the bottom.
That's turmeric on the
bottom and crispiness.
Wow and caraway seed in there.
And this is such beautiful meal.
- You like it?
- Yeah.
- Good, good, good.
- So we got three different types of rice.
- We've got dill rice, we've
got actually raisin rice.
- [Trevor] Raisin rice?
So this one is the upside down rice.
- [Mr. Taster] Upside down rice, yeah.
- [Trevor] And then, oh
right here's the goose.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah, that's the goose.
And the next on is chicken.
- [Trevor] Oh and it's
stuffed with walnut.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
- [Trevor] And pomegranate.
- [Mr. Taster] Oh.
- Merci.
- Try it.
- Look at the filling there.
Oh.
Oh.
(laughing)
Wow.
It's sour.
- [Mr. Taster] It is, yeah.
- And sweet.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
- And nutty.
- [Mr. Taster] Exactly, yeah.
- And that's inside the goose.
- And we've got Kuku.
- Kuku.
- Yeah.
- Which is egg and vegetables
and some walnuts in it.
- And some walnuts.
- Yeah.
- Mm.
(mumbling)
- That fried oil.
Oh.
Oh, that's delicious.
It's really herbal.
- Yeah.
- And I love how it's
crunchy on the bottom.
- Yeah.
- Thank you.
- Have a fish.
- Oh thank you.
Fried anchovy.
- Sour orange, go on top.
- Love these flavors, sour orange.
It's a real contrast
between citrus and fresh.
- Yes, it is.
- Mm.
Oh, and you can chew through
all the tiny little bones.
And this is what I'm really
looking forward to trying.
From the mountains.
- Yeah.
- Grown in the north, right?
- Yeah.
- Oh, thank you.
That is beautiful.
That's the chicken.
- Yeah.
- Thank you, merci.
And that's the goose, merci.
(middle eastern music)
Mm.
(laughing)
Wow.
(in foreign language)
Merci.
- Merci, merci.
- Merci.
That right there, is the
best rice in the world.
Without a doubt.
It's so fluffy, there
really is nothing better.
- Yeah.
- Mm.
(clapping)
Wow.
That was an awesome meal.
(laughing)
That was really good.
- I know you would like it.
- Iran.
(in foreign language)
- Iran.
(in foreign language)
(in foreign language)
- We been hanging out for
a few hours now and there's
one more dish.
There's a table under here
and we're putting a big
blanket over top.
- [Mr. Taster] We call it korsi.
- [Trevor] Korsi?
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah.
- Start with the palm--
- Yeah, you just do it
like this, we call it.
(in foreign language)
(in foreign language)
- Yeah.
- Oh.
- Like this.
- It's juicy, you can feel it.
- Yeah.
(laughing)
- Is that good?
Mm.
Wow.
It explodes.
- It is nice.
- The pomegranate just
explodes in your mouth.
Ash e reshte.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah, this is Ash e reshte.
- [Mr. Taster] Look at that.
- [Trevor] Iranian noodle.
And here it is, the ash e reshte.
Wow.
And we've got some sauces for it.
There it is, the Iranian noodle.
Oh, mint, curd and chili.
- [Mr. Taster] Actually, yeah.
- [Trevor] Wow.
Ash e reshte.
- Yeah.
- Thank you.
Merci.
(in foreign language)
Very delicious.
There is is, the ash e reshte.
The herbal, noodle, bean, lentil.
- [Mr. Taster] Chili, lentil.
- [Trevor] Chili.
And I love there's mint
on top, curd and chili.
This is nice.
- [Mr. Taster] And this is the noodle too.
- [Trevor] This is the noodle too.
(laughing)
- Mm.
Oh wow.
- Gorgeous.
- Wow.
- It's gorgeous.
- Mm, and it's so wholesome.
The beans and the lentils and the noodles.
There's noodles in Iran.
- [Mr. Taster] Yeah. (laughing)
- [Trevor] And there's
definitely curd in there.
It's milky and thick, like a
milky, lamb, minty, herbal,
noodle, very unique.
And this is the family style.
- It is and this korsi.
- Korsi.
- We put our feet here
and we warm up our feet.
There's a heater underneath.
And we sitting together
talking to each other,
enjoying--
- It's really nice.
- Yeah, with the family.
- With the family.
- It's very old style, you know.
- Old style.
- Used to be ages ago but--
- It's rare now?
- It's really rare.
Yeah.
- Like rare.
- It's one of the top five foods in Iran.
- Mm, is it?
- Yeah.
- And we came all the way,
into the mountains to
try to the real deal.
- Yeah.
- The purest version.
- Exactly.
- Mm.
(in foreign language)
- [Trevor] Wonderful family.
Merci.
You guys can check out
Hamid's Instagram, Mr.Taster
in the description below.
- Yeah.
- Thanks a lot for the amazing day.
- Just send me a message,
I be your host, you don't
need to pay any way.
(smooching)
- Wow.
It's been amazing.
And a wonderful family.
Thanks for watching guys.
