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Journal

Stories from home.

Notes on Persian cooking and the culture around it. What we put in the pot, why we put it there, and the road that brought us from Abadan to Newport Beach.

Ingredients

Latest · Ingredients

Tamarind, the Sour Heart of Southern Iranian Cooking

Northern Iran reaches for dried lime and unripe grapes. The south reaches for tamarind. Here is why, and what it does to a pot of fish stew.

6 min read

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Stories

Stories · 2 min

A Dream Worth the Step

Opening a restaurant was a dream once imagined for later in life. We learned there is no perfect time to follow a passion.

Culture

Culture · 3 min

The Flavors of Abadan

Our family is from Abadan, a city whose culture, warmth, and flavors are woven into who we are.

Stories

Stories · 3 min

What Vatan Means

Vatan means homeland. It is identity, memory, and belonging, everything we are and everything we come from.

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Stories

Why Vatan exists, the family behind it, and the road from Abadan to Newport Beach.

2 articles

Culture

Persian hospitality, the rituals of the table, and the regional traditions our kitchen grew out of.

1 article

Ingredients

The herbs, spices, and souring agents that give Persian cooking its particular character.

1 article

Read it, then come and taste it.

Everything we write about is on the table in Newport Beach.

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