A Mini Trip to Iran

A lovely walk around Maida Vale revealed a strong & growing Iranian community not to be confused with the larger Arab community further south along Edgware Road.  Iranians are not Arabs, they will tell you firmly.  

Saffron is a brand new patisserie that opened in February 2015 to supply the best sweets, nuts and cakes from Iran.  It's a great time to open as Iranian new year (Nowruz) is very soon and people are stocking up for traditional all night feasting. 

A few doors down is Milad, a grocery store stacked high with dates, halwa, herbs and spices - mostly all imported from Iran and other middle eastern countries.  I loved the look of the rose petals below but I'm not sure how to cook with them.

 Ofcourse, no Iranian food store would be complete without a vast range of breads, both flat and risen.  But none of them could beat the breads made in the clay oven further along the road at KISH, a wonderful little Persian restaurant.

The community seems to have sprung up around the mosque and community centre opposite which is grandly named the Islamic Centre of England (or ICEL).  It's a large and friendly mosque - open to all - housed in a large Grade II Listed former bingo hall/cinema (see below).