Tabriz attractions demonstrate to us the ancient and long history of this city, but it is not only the attractions that talk about the city's civilization, and the traditional food also has an important role in representing the culture of the city. Tabriz is a city of delicious food, so diverse that it can satisfy all tastes. When it comes to Tabriz cuisine, most of us are likely to think of Koofteh Tabrizi first, but you probably don't know about other dishes of this city, so we present you some of the best Tabriz local food.

The food in Tabriz reflects the rich traditions of this city, and eating a delicious local meal will create a sweet memory for tourists. You can eat anything you want and for every taste in Tabriz, since the variety of food in Tabriz is very, very huge. In accordance with this, the majority of people are always keen to try new foods when they travel to this city. So, stay tuned to get to know some of the most delicious Tabriz local food, if you are wondering about things to eat in Tabriz.

Why should you try Tabriz local food?

Tabriz is a city in the northwest of Iran that has the best traditional dishes to offer. In addition to various tourist attractions, food is another tourist attraction that draws many tourists and travelers to Tabriz every year to taste this kind of food. As you probably know, the majority of Tabriz citizens are Azerbaijani speakers, for this reason Turkish food is among the wonderful Tabriz local food.

Those who have traveled to Tabriz once will never forget the taste of the local cuisine. Tabriz local food is prepared and cooked with passion. The aroma that comes from it will arouse the appetite of any hungry stomach. There is nothing that makes traveling more enjoyable than trying fresh food. This time when you travel to Tabriz, you should try the traditional food besides the famous and high quality Bonab kebab and Tava kebabi. Also, don't forget about tasting Ghorabieh Tabriz. Luckily, you can find all the best Tabriz local food in several of the best restaurants in Tabriz. We will introduce you to best Tabriz local food in the following sections of this article.

Koofteh Tabrizi

Without a doubt, the most famous dish of Tabriz is the delicious Koofteh Tabrizi. This dish was prepared a little differently in ancient times than it is today: no minced meat was used for this dish then, but the meat had to be pounded, and split peas and vegetables were added during the pounding process. These vegetables give the Koofteh Tabrizi a pleasant aroma and make you want to have a second and third Koofteh!

More ingredients such as walnuts, plums, blackberries, fried onions and sometimes boiled eggs are added to the Koofteh Tabrizi, and finally they are cooked in a tomato-saffron sauce. Should you ever pass by the beautiful city of Tabriz, you must definitely go to a restaurant and try the pleasant taste of these Koofteh Tabrizi. You might be interested to know that Koofteh Tabrizi are regarded as intangible national heritage by Iranians, or rather, this food is considered part of the identity of the city of Tabriz and also of Iran as a country.

To make this Tabriz local food, you first need to cook split peas with rice. Then mash these two ingredients and mix them with minced meat, chopped onions, egg, chickpea flour and aromatic herbs. Once these ingredients are mixed, knead the mixture for a while until it becomes sticky. Then fill it and prepare delicious Koofteh Tabrizi. You can stuff the Koofteh Tabrizi with walnuts, roasted barberries, prunes and boiled eggs.

Take some of the meat mixture, add some ingredients you want to fill, and form it into a ball. At the end, cook the Koofteh Tabrizi in a special sauce containing tomato paste, saffron and aromatic herbs. And there you have it, the preparation of the Koofteh Tabrizi is finished and you can enjoy your Koofteh Tabrizi. The kind inhabitants of Tabriz traditionally serve their Koofteh Tabrizi with bread, yoghurt and local vegetables. You should eat the Koofteh Tabrizi with these side dishes, as they make the dish even heartier.

Koofteh Tabrizi are available at several good restaurants in this city, such as Vahid Restaurant, Gazmakh Restaurant, Shahsavari Restaurant and Berkeh Restaurant, which is the best restaurant in Tabriz according to some people. There are many restaurants in the Sardaroud are, 15 minutes from the city center. However, we would recommend the Berkeh Restaurant. It is a traditional restaurant that has a pond and a pleasant green area at its heart. In addition to the famous kebab, it serves exciting Koofteh Tabrizi that you should not miss.

Dolme Barg-e- Mo

Dolme Barg-e- Mo might have been included in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List under the name of Azerbaijan, but we can include it among the best Tabriz local food. From the kitchens of Tabriz come the bite-sized and compact dumplings. You will surely agree with me that the Dolme Barg-e- Mo from an authentic Tabrizi has a very different taste than the dolma you prepare at home.

The Dolme Barg-e- Mo is another difficult dish that requires a lot of effort to prepare, particularly when wrapping the leafs, you have to be careful and delicate. To prepare Dolme Barg-e- Mo, minced meat, rice and special vegetables are used and of course the necessary spices.

There are many flavors in the Dolme Barg-e- Mo and some add ingredients such as blackberries and almonds. The taste of Dolme Barg-e- Mo is attributed to the use of vegetables from Tabriz such as dill, leeks and others. To cook this Tabriz local food, minced meat, spicy onions, split peas, rice and aromatic vegetables are fried. Each one gets stuffed with a spoonful of mixture and the leaf is wrapped in a morsel.

If you would like to eat Dolme Barg-e- Mo in one of the restaurants in Tabriz, visit Kam restaurant. You will also find carrot stew on the menu of this restaurant. The next option is to visit Karma Restaurant. This restaurant will serve Iranian dishes, among which Dolme Barg-e- Mo shines like a jewel. You will also find Koofteh Tabrizi, which we have already talked about, on the menu of the Karma restaurant.

Barg Kebab

Barg Kebab is among the ancient and traditional Iranian kebabs, which is very popular among Iranians. The city of Tabriz is commonly known for its delicious kebabs, and you will be able to find some of the best Barg Kebabs in this city. In fact, this kebab is famous as one of the most popular kebabs in Iran because it is made of tender and soft meat. In the past, the Barg Kebab was only prepared with prime mutton, but nowadays, this delicious kebab is also made with other meats. Moreover, Barg Kebab is famous as one of the most expensive Iranian kebabs.

For preparing homemade Barg Kebab, the meat should first be washed and cleaned of excess fat, then placed on the cutting board and cut so that the thickness of the meat is less than one centimeter. Once the meat is cut, pat the meat with the back of a knife until it is less than half a centimeter thick. Having prepared the meat, choose a suitable bowl and put the meat in it. The next step is to grate the onions very finely with a grater until the juice of the onions is completely removed, and then squeeze the juice of the onions with hand pressure and add it to the bowl.

During the next step, add the oil to the bowl along with some salt and black pepper. Mix the ingredients with your hands until they have reached all parts of the meat. Once the ingredients are mixed, cover the lid of the bowl with a cellophane and put it in the refrigerator. Let the meat rest in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours so that it is well seasoned and tender. Remove the meat from the refrigerator after this time. The process of skewering this kebab is not difficult, you just need to follow some tips. Put the meat on the board in an orderly way and hold it with your hands, then press the skewer little by little until the meat comes into the skewers. Skewer all the meats in the same manner and then sprinkle some salt on the meat.

In Tabriz, there are several restaurants where you can eat the best kebabs and Tabriz local food. Suppose you want to eat in a traditional restaurant in Tabriz Bazaar. In that case, Haj Ali restaurant is a good choice for you. Various restaurants in Sardaroud district such as Jalali Sardaroud, Kaleskeh , Oba and so on can serve you with their delicious Barg Kebabs.

Khoresh-e Havij (Carrot Stew)

Khoresh-e Havij is among the most popular Tabriz local food, and you can find in many of the Tabriz restaurants. As the name suggests, the main ingredient of the stew is carrots, and they should be sliced and fried in oil. Now the meat, onions and tomato paste are added. In case you want the stew to have a better aroma and color, use a little saffron. In this stew, plums are also used, making it taste much better. Add fresh lemon juice to the stew to make the sour and sweet in this dish.

For preparing this flavorful dish of Tabriz, the locals and cooks first cook veal or mutton, in the meantime fry chopped carrots and leave them aside. In the end, the fried carrots, plums and saffron are added to the meat and the whole thing is cooked. For making the Khoresh-e Havij tastier, cooks or locals use lemon juice and sugar. This Tabriz local food is traditionally served with rice. Eating this kind of dish in Tabriz or cooking and enjoying it at home is recommended.

During your Tabriz trip, you can try one of the most delicious carrot stews in Tabriz at Gazmakh restaurant. This is one of the best restaurants in Tabriz, and we suggest you to check out the rest of the menu as well. Dorehami Catering is another restaurant in Tabriz that offers Khoresh-e Havij as one of the best food Tabriz.

Bonab Kababi

You probably know that Bonab Kababi is the special dish of Tabriz and one of the best Tabriz local food and the most famous kebab of this city. It is also famous in Iran, and Iranians always look for a restaurant in every city that offers this high quality and delicious kebab. The Bonab Kababi is a special kebab that, as the name suggests, is linked to the city of Bonab in Azerbaijan.

Bonab Kababi is essentially a Koobideh kebab, the only difference being that instead of a meat grinder, a cleaver is used to mince the meat. Preparing Bonab Kababi is much more time-consuming than Koobideh, which may be why many people believe it tastes much better than Koobideh.

For the preparation of this kebab, they use fatty mutton, and one of the differences with Koobideh kebab is the size of this kebab. Each Bonab Kababi skewer is much bigger than other kebabs, and that is why many people get full after eating just one Bonab Kababi. The best Bonab Kababi in Tabriz can be found at Haj Ali and Berkeh restaurants.

Tabriz Dizi

Skipping other Tabriz local food, you definitely can't resist Tabriz Dizi! This is a high protein and high flavor dish that will leave you feeling energized and fresh. To make Tabriz Dizi, sheep meat, tail fat, tomato paste, tomatoes, potatoes and split peas are used, although most Tabrizis Nowadays use chickpeas instead of split peas.

Cooking Tabriz Dizi is very simple, as all the ingredients are placed in a bowl called Godoosh and left to cook on the fire for a few hours. Afterwards, people eat it with various pickles, fresh bread, butter and red Tabrizi onions. You can find this Tabriz local food in most of the restaurants in Tabriz. However, the best Tabriz Dizi in this city are without a doubt served in the restaurants around the Sardaroud area.

Tava kebabi

Tava kebabi is among the delicious kebabs of the city and the best Tabriz local food, which are also prepared in Turkey. While this type of kebab can be found in other cities of Iran, we must say that in Tabriz, you can notice the difference when you eat this Tabriz local food in the traditional restaurants and Tabrizi houses compared to the pan kebabs in other cities of Iran. Tava kebabi will be served with different vegetables and is very popular with Iranian Kateh rice.

First, peel the onion and grate it finely, then squeeze the juice of the onion. Be careful that the juice of the onion does not loosen the kebab, and mix it well with the meat, the spices and a little saffron. During this step, you need to knead the kebab ingredients well for 10 minutes. Actually, this step is very important in preparing a Tava kebabi. It should become sticky.

When you have kneaded the meat well, put it in a bowl, cover it, and let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour to allow the flavors to get to the meat and give it a more even texture. Next, put some oil in a pan and spread the meat mixture in the pan, then heat the pan over medium heat for 15 minutes until the meat is slowly cooked and the meat juices are drained, then fry both sides of the kebab and finally add the tomato paste and a little saffron and add it to the pan. Now put the tomato and bell pepper slices and let the thick sauce and tomatoes cook. Enjoy your meal.

Conclusion

We have presented you 7 of the best Tabriz local food and also shared some Tabriz food recipes with you in this article of Navaran magazine. As we mentioned before, Koofteh Tabrizi are probably the most famous local dish of Tabriz, but this city has also other types of dishes that, without a doubt, if you eat them during your trip to Tabriz, would always remind you of their good taste. In addition to the 7 Tabriz local food mentioned, you can also find different types of other dishes in the restaurants of the city during your trip.

If you have traveled to Tabriz by plane and directly from Tehran, Istanbul or other cities on a Tabriz tour and you don't want to take a cab to explore this city and eat the local dishes of Tabriz in restaurants, we suggest you to use the car rental in Iran services of Navaran company. You can easily rent your desired car in Tabriz without a promissory bill or check by visiting Navaran's website or application. With a collection of modern cars, Navaran offers the best car rental in Tabriz and you can easily rent a car in Iran via our company.