Persian food has always beckoned to me as someone who grew up in South Asia because of a shared culinary heritage between the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.

Much like in Iran and Afghanistan, skewers of minced meat and generous portions of fragrant basmati rice became a favourite east of the Hindu Kush mountains. Biryani—a subcontinental favourite—is said to have its origin in the Central Asian pilaf and was brought by Muslim rulers from Persia to the Indian subcontinent.

Imagine my excitement then for our first Eat the Strip Persian food outing. For this, we decided to head to a strip mall in the Hunt Club area called Chelochi Grill.

There was a selection of kebabs and other meat dishes, as well as some veggie ones on the menu. We chose the royal plate platter with chicken and beef kebabs. It was accompanied by grilled tomatoes. The chicken kebabs were chewy but juicy. The beef ones were of two kinds, one made from ground beef and the other resembling shanks. The ground beef ones were flat in shape; both were soft and succulent and seasoned well.

Then we ordered fesenjan, a meat curry with pomegranate, accompanied by saffron rice. It was unusual in that it was semi sweet. But it was delicious. The dish was accompanied by a fresh salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.

Many dishes here have either saffron infused in them, or are topped with it, like a condiment.

Both the curry and the kebabs were mild, unlike Indian kebabs and curries that can be fiery. If you are looking for spicy meat, then this is not the place for you. Iranian meat has mild spices but is characterised by a natural taste, where you actually taste the meat and not just the spices.

We rounded it up by a desert which was rice pudding with cinnamon and saffron. I ordered it thinking that it would be similar to the Indian kheer, or rice pudding. But it was different. This one had a jelly-like texture and was yellow in colour because of the saffron added to it. The Indian kheer is a liquid mixture of rice, milk and cardamon and is predominantly white in colour.

We concluded our meal with an in-house saffron ice cream that was creamy and delicious and is highly recommended.

Overall, we had a good experience and look forward to discovering more Iranian offerings around town.