I was eating at an Iranian/Persian restaurant and they brought a bowl of pickles to the table. Among them was the usual wild cucumber, green tomato, pink turnip, etc. but there were also several strange ones I had never seen before.
They were small, between the size of a cherry tomato and a small plum, with a smooth (not ridged) shape. They were round/oblong (again kind of like the above fruits). They had a very fine coating of fuzz/hair. The taste was not pronounced in any way (it tasted much like the other pickles). The colour was muted green.
I thought they might be gooseberries but the texture was a lot firmer than a berry.
Do they pickle greengages, or unripe plums, or unripe apricots, etc.? If so, does anyone know the Arabic/Persian/Farsi/Pashto/etc. name for these?
Thanks
Best Answer
I suspect that these will be pickled almonds. Almonds are a favorite ingredient in many middle-Eastern dishes. The green color and fuzz give it away, most other fruits like apricots and plums lack enough fuzz to be noticeable at the unripe stage and are very hard when unripe.
I found a recipe with this photo:
Are these are what you are after?