Tabriz

Tabriz is the most populated city in northwestern Iran, one of the historical capitals of Iran and the present capital of East Azerbaijan province. It is the sixth most populous city in Iran. Located in the Quru River valley, in Iran’s historic Azerbaijan region, between long ridges of volcanic cones in the Sahand and Eynali mountains, Tabriz’s elevation ranges between 1,350 and 1,600 meters (4,430 and 5,250 ft.) above sea level. The valley opens up into a plain that gently slopes down to the eastern shores of Lake Urmia, 60 kilometers (37 miles) to the west. With cold winters and temperate summers, Tabriz is considered a summer resort. It was named World Carpet Weaving City by the World Crafts Council in October 2015 and Exemplary Tourist City of 2018 by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

With a population of over 1.73 million (2016), Tabriz is the largest economic hub and metropolitan area in Northwest Iran. The population is overwhelmingly Azerbaijani, though Persian is spoken by residents as a second language.

Industry of Tabriz

Tabriz is a major heavy industries hub for automobiles, machine tools, refineries, petrochemicals, textiles and cement production industries.

Handicraft of Tabriz

The city is famous for its handicrafts, including hand-woven rugs and jewelry. Local confectionery, chocolate, dried nuts and traditional Tabrizi food are recognized throughout Iran as some of the best.

Famous Dishes of Tabriz

Koofteh Tabrizi

The quintessential dish among famous dishes of Tabriz is koofteh Tabrizi. This foot has a great taste, a taste which most people like, and you seldom hear someone who doesn’t like it. The main ingredients of this food are ground meat, split pea, walnuts and egg. This food is served alongside a tomato sauce to make it taste better as well as making eating it easier.

Carrot Stew

If you like sweet dishes, then carrot stew of Tabriz is a good choice for you. This food along with koofteh is among the famous dishes of Tabriz, and because it has carrot and plum in it, it has sweetness whose taste some people might not like. There is a fried peel of carrot, meat and plum, which are mixed with seasonings such as saffron, onion, and tomatoes, etc. and offer a pleasant food to those who are interested in this food.

Tomato Potage (Ash Abghooreh)

Among other very delicious and colorful potages of Tabriz is the tomato potage. The only difference between tomato potage and ash abghooreh (another type of potage) is the amount of tomato used in preparing it. In making this potage pinto bean or wax bean, grits, rice, hot onion, tomato in an abundant amount, scallion, and parsley are used. To make it even tastier sour or verjuice is used.

Omaj Potage

This potage is very strong, regarding nutrition, and is usually made in winters. Abundant onion, legume, noodles or omaj, basil, savory, scallion, spice, and turmeric are the ingredients used in making a delicious omaj potage. This food is also among the homemade dishes. But it is possible to find it in traditional restaurants and small food shops.

Ash kalam Ghomri (Dash Kalam Potage)

Ash kalam Ghomri is among the special and original potages of Tabriz. This potage is made from Ghomri cabbage, onion, split pea, grits, rice, scallion, parsley, another vegetable named cruise, tomato, tomato paste, and spice, and for decorating purposes dried mint is added to it. But some of the old residents of Tabriz add curd to ash kalam Ghomri.

Fruit Potage

Fruit potage is also among the famous dishes of Tabriz which due to its sweet-and-sour taste some specific people choose this dish. Of course this potage is not made the same way in different places in Tabriz. But most people of Tabriz make it using pea, haricot, plum, sloe, apricot, cherry, cranberry, carrot, collard, onion, potage noodles, tomato paste, tomato, scallion, and parsley.

Dizi Sangi

You must have heard the name of this dish and perhaps even have tried it. But be sure to order it in Tabriz and its traditional restaurants. When you do that you’ll see that dizi sangi in Tabriz is really something else.

Kookoo Lobia Sabz

Ground meat, potatoes, carrots, onions and eggs at the hands of the Iranian housewife are turned into a kookoo which you’ll surely miss if you don’t try it. This food cannot be found in many restaurants and if you want to have it, you must go to the hospitable people of Tabriz. This food has a special place in parties and ceremonies (like Iftar) of the people of Tabriz

Yogurt Soup (Ashe Mast)

Yogurt soup is one of the most delicious soups of Tabriz which is made using onion, legume, rice, special soup vegetables, meat soup, potato, yogurt, pea, haricot, kale and carrot.

Yaprak Dolmasi

The title of this section is the Azeri equivalence of grapevine leaves dish of marrow. You probably have had dish of marrow in your own cities. Dish of marrow is among the formal and authentic appetizers in Tabriz which is made from grist, rice, split pea, organic oil (sari yagh), fried onions and special dish of marrow vegetables (dill, savory, and scallion).

Doymaj

You might have heard the name doyamj in other cities. We cited the reason for this at the beginning of this part. This food like the foods mentioned above is not served for lunch or dinner. But it is an afternoon meal or breakfast which has a lot of energy and nutrition. Dried bread of Tabriz, local cheese, butter, vegetables such as scallion, parsley, tarragon, spearmint, and walnut are the ingredients used in the making of this dish. Light and simple!