Leila Dadian - From the heart of the Middle East

Prolific soup maker
Leila's found that some ingredients here differ in taste, like tarragon, or quality, like meltingly soft grapevine leaves for making dolma (stuffed vine leaves), her favourite childhood dish. Leila makes a lot of soups – there are more that 40 types in her region. Some are served as entrées, others as a main course. The food is mainly vegetarian – which fits with Leila and Reza’s environmental priorities as well as their culture. 

Food cultures 
The climate, geology and cultures in Iran are very diverse and food cultures vary across regions. In the north and north-west –where Leila is from – foods tend to be more Mediterranean-influenced, while the south and south-east have more Arabic style foods, such as hummus and falafel. In the east, Indian spices are commonly used. Iran is also home to saffron which is commonly used in the cuisine, as are unique sauces such as pomegranate, citrus and kashk. The image (left) shows all the ingredients Leila uses to make her favourite ash reshte soup. You can see more of Leila's cuisine practices on display at Te Ara Ātea.

Reza and Leila Dadian celebrating Iranian Nowrooz (New Year) in Christchurch. Courtesy of Reza and Leila Dadian.