Indulgences

1. قلیان

   Qalyān

   Ghalyan (waterpipe)

   Usage

   A pipe that cools tobacco smoke by drawing it through water; it spread from Iran to India and Egypt. ⚠ Smoking in public places is restricted by law in Iran, and whether a given venue may serve it varies by venue, city and period — always ask on the spot.

   Grammar Note

   It corresponds to Arabic شیشه / نارجیله, South Asian حقه and English "hookah."

2. تنباکو

   Tanbāku

   Tobacco (for a waterpipe)

   Usage

   The cut leaf packed into the bowl of a قلیان. تنباکو and توتون are names for the same leaf. To order a flavoured one, add the flavour name.

3. سیگار

   Sigār

   Cigarette

   Usage

   Cigarettes, sold at kiosks and tobacconists. ⚠ Smoking indoors in public places is restricted by law — check the signage before lighting up.

4. قند

   Qand

   Sugar cube

   Usage

   The white cubes that come with every glass of tea. Many people do not stir them in but hold one in the mouth and sip the tea through it.

   Grammar Note

   قند is an industrial product from sugar beet or cane, shaped into white cubes. Granulated sugar is a different word, شکر.

5. نبات

   Nabāt

   Nabat (crystallised rock sugar)

   Usage

   Sugar recrystallised into rock candy. The stick form, نبات چوبی, is used to stir and sweeten tea or a herbal infusion; the branch form, نبات شاخه, also decorates celebration tables.

   Grammar Note

   نبات is a kind of cane sugar and the forerunner of modern boiled sweets.

6. گز

   Gaz

   Gaz (Isfahani nougat)

   Usage

   A white confection of sugar and egg white with almonds or pistachios, cardamom and rosewater, set with گزانگبین (manna from the tamarisk). Isfahan province is the main producer and sells it in tins as a souvenir; it is also made in Hamadan, Kerman, Fars and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari.

   Grammar Note

   گز is polysemous — it also means the tamarisk tree, an old unit of length and a kind of arrow.

7. سوهان

   Sohān

   Sohan (saffron wheat-sprout brittle)

   Usage

   A saffron brittle made from wheat sprouts (جوانه گندم), poured into discs and studded with pistachios or almonds. The best-known comes from Qom (قم); Zarand in Kerman province and Isfahan also make it, Zarand's being thinner and lighter.

   Grammar Note

   سوهان also means a metalworking file. The sweet is also called حلوا قمی, "Qom halva."

8. پشمک

   Pashmak

   Pashmak (Persian cotton candy)

   Usage

   Sugar syrup and toasted flour drawn out by machine into fine threads. Sold loose in bags, rolled into bite-sized balls, or coated in chocolate.

   Grammar Note

   پشم ("wool") plus the diminutive -ک. It is drawn out "چون موی و پشم" — like hair and wool — which is where the name comes from.

9. باقلوا

   Bāqlavā

   Baghlava (Persian baklava)

   Usage

   Layered thin pastry filled with nuts and sweetened with syrup. The Iranian version uses rosewater (گلاب) and cardamom (هل) and is cut into diamonds, squares or rolls, with pistachio, walnut, almond or coconut fillings. Yazd (یزد) and Qazvin (قزوین) are the best-known sources.

10. آجیل

    Ājil

    Ajil (mixed nuts and dried fruit)

    Usage

    The collective word for a mix of dried goods — pistachios, almonds, walnuts, dried apricots, raisins and so on — sold by weight, with the blend varying by shop and taste. A standard gift when visiting someone.

    Grammar Note

    آجیل is also called مغزیجات; it is a mixture of خشکبار (dried goods) with no fixed recipe.

11. لواشک

    Lavāshak

    Lavashak (sour fruit leather)

    Usage

    Fruit pulp — greengage, apricot, plum, apple and the like — boiled down, spread thin and dried. The taste mixes sour, sweet and salty. It is a childhood staple and is now also sold packaged.

    Grammar Note

    The name comes from the flatbread لواش — "rolled out thin like lavash" — with the diminutive -ک.

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