The Pilgrimage Festival

This Sunday, Muslims celebrate the Feast of the Sacrifice, which comes on the final day of the pilgrimage month. As the pilgrims in Mecca sacrifice lambs--in memory of the sacrifice of Abraham--Muslims all over the world who can afford it are supposed to do the same and distribute the meat to the poor.

Since the Islamic calendar is lunar, the holiday can fall at any time of the solar year. This year, it comes in a season of holidays for the Iranian community. The Feast of the Sacrifice, Eid-e Ghorba^n, is just a week after the Iranian New Year, Nouruz.

Iranian-born filmmaker Aryana Farshad recalls the ghorba^ni dishes of her childhood with affection. “I remember Adas Polo made with lots of dates and raisins,” she says. “I was in love with this dish when I was a little girl. People used to set up big caldrons outside the mosques and give it out, and I always wanted people to get me some.”

In her West Hollywood apartment, Farshad recently prepared a feast of ghorba^ni dishes, accompanied by a plate of fresh herbs and cheese--of course; no Iranian meal is complete without it--and plenty of flowers: roses, tulips, irises and sunflowers. All the dishes showed the lavish, imaginative Iranian style.

Besides Adas Polo, she prepared a^sh, a meaty soup thick with rice and beans. Her version contained six herbs, the predominant flavor coming from dill and spicy fenugreek greens (shanbalileh). It’s traditional to ornament the surface with dried mint, briefly fried to darken it.

Still another was a dish you can find at any time of year at most Iranian restaurants: gheimeh, an aromatic stew of meat, split peas and dried limes. It can be served over rice (khoresh-e gheimeh) or mixed with rice pilaf as it cooks (gheimeh polo). The khoresh version is often garnished with French fried potatoes.

Along with those three dishes, which are meant to use up the sacrificed lamb, she had three traditional ghorbani sweets: dates, halva and Sholezard.

Halva is made by toasting flour medium-brown in butter and making it into a paste (it’s eaten with swatches of flat bread, like a dip) with sugar, saffron and rose water. “Halva is associated with mourning,” says Farshad, “so it’s served at Eid-e Ghorba^n because of the sacrifice.”

Sholezard, a rice pudding made without milk, dominated the table. It’s bright yellow with saffron and ornamented with almonds, pistachios and artful sprinkles of cinnamon.

“You always give food to everybody on the Eid,” says Farshad. “You serve it out of your front door or at the mosque or religious places. And everything is served in big plates--the bigger the better.”

Lentil, Date and Raisin Pilaf (Adas Polo)

Active Work Time: 35 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 12 hours

In the Middle East, onions are typically cut lengthwise, rather than crosswise, into slivers for frying. Note that the rice for this recipe must be soaked at least 8 hours before serving. The lamb shanks will probably fit into your pot more easily if the butcher cuts through the bone.

STEW

1 onion

2 tablespoons oil

3 lamb shanks

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup water

* Cut onion in half lengthwise. Cut into slivers, making 8 to 10 lengthwise slices, rotating from center of each half.

* Fry onion in hot oil over medium-high heat until softened and just starting to brown, about 10 minutes.

* Add lamb and cook, stirring and turning occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add turmeric, salt, pepper and water and bring to boil.

* Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until meat is falling off bone, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove bones and set aside.

LENTILS and FRUIT GARNISH

3/4 cup lentils

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 cup pitted dates, halved lengthwise

1/2 cup seedless raisins

* Boil lentils in water to cover by 1 inch until nearly done, about 20 minutes. Drain.

* Heat oil in skillet over high heat. When hot, add dates and raisins and stir 15 seconds. Remove from heat. Set aside.

PILAF

1 1/2 cups Basmati rice

Salt

Water

1 tablespoon oil

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

* Wash rice and soak in lightly salted water to cover 8 hours or overnight.

* Bring 8 cups water to boil. Drain rice, add to boiling water, then cook until nearly done but still firm to the bite in center, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain.

* Put oil in bottom of pot. Sprinkle 1/2 rice over bottom to create mound. Ladle 1/2 Stew onto rice. Sprinkle 1/3 of remaining rice over Stew and ladle most of Lentils onto rice. Sprinkle 1/2 of remaining rice over Lentils and cover with most of Fruit Garnish. Cover with remaining rice and top with remaining Lentils and Fruit Garnish.

Push 4 holes through rice to bottom of pan with handle of wooden spoon. Divide butter into 4 pieces and insert 1 piece in each hole. Add 2 tablespoons water to bottom of pot. Cook over high heat 5 minutes. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes.

To serve, spoon Pilaf onto plates and garnish with reserved Stew, warmed.

6 to 8 servings. Each of 6 servings: 559 calories; 218 mg sodium; 50 mg cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 79 grams carbohydrates; 22 grams protein; 2.44 grams fiber.

Saffron Rice Pudding (Sholezard)

Active Work Time: 10 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 50 minutes

2 1/2 cups rice, washed in 3 changes of water to remove all starch

12 cups water

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Pinch salt

2 cups sugar

1 cup rose water

1 teaspoon saffron

3/4 cup sliced almonds

* Bring rice, water, butter and salt to boil in large pot. Add butter and pinch salt, then bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until soft but not mushy, about 30 minutes.

* Add sugar, rose water and saffron. Cook, stirring often to prevent sticking on bottom, until rice breaks up and is consistency of polenta, 15 to 20 minutes.

* Turn into serving bowls and garnish with almonds.

12 servings. Each serving: 389 calories; 101 mg sodium; 21 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 66 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.33 gram fiber.