ajmieh Batmanglij smiled and relaxed into her chair when asked about abgoosht. The iconic Iranian American cookbook author and culinary instructor was carried back to her childhood home in old Tehran, where her family had a special custom on the 14th of each month, the time of the ecclesiastical full moon. To honor the day, which they considered ideal for praying, feasting, rituals, and being kind, her parents and volunteer helpers would prepare “a large cauldron” of the wholesome meal—a coarse meat, bean, and vegetable paste and its savory-tart cooking broth; sangak (a type of flatbread); and fragrant herbs—to offer as alms. “[It] was an open house for friends and family,” Batmanglij said. “Without invitation, they knew they could come and have a bowl of soup, goosht koobideh [meat paste], bread, and all the
