KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 — With travel restricted, I often find the best way to get a taste of the world is via home cooks from different countries who happen to be living here.

I came across Leily's Kitchen that specialises in homecooked Persian food via Facebook. It was only after I ordered that I realised that Leily is the mother of Samira who makes those divine cream puffs at Fari & Ali (https://www.malaymail.com/news/eat-drink/2020/07/15/rmco-food-delivery-treat-yourself-to-these-lovely-persian-cream-puffs-from/1884593). 

The home kitchen venture kicked off last November. Each week, she prepares a Persian dish that is available for Wednesday and Friday lunch. Orders are taken at least three days before.

The highlight is 'khoresht bademjan ba morgh' or eggplant stew served with chicken with subtle, refined flavours.

I had ordered the khoresht bademjan ba morgh or eggplant stew served with chicken. I've not tried Persian food before but the flavours for the dish are subtle and refined.

My lunchbox came with a mountain of fluffy rice, a mixture of white and yellow grains from a touch of saffron. There was the stew, a vegetable salad and a surprise sweet treat. I really liked how it came with wooden cutleries and a napkin, so thoughtful.

Even though the portion is for a single person, I split it into two since it was such a generous one.

There's a fresh-tasting salad of tomatoes, cucumber and pomegranate tossed with their homemade dressing.

You get a small sweet treat of Persian nougat studded with pistachios sourced from the city of Boldaji.

It was pretty hard to stop eating the tender fall-off-the-bone chicken though, I have to admit. I'm a huge eggplant fan so I zoomed in on them to discover a soft texture which had absorbed all the flavours of the stew. This was paired with a refreshing side salad of cucumbers, pomegranate and tomatoes.

For sweets, they had given a piece of Persian nougat known as gaz which is studded with Iranian pistachios. Unlike those harder types, the nougat has a soft and slight chewiness as it is made from a white sap. This is sourced from the city of Boldaji that is famous for nougat. 

For this week's menu, Leily's Kitchen will be serving a traditional meal usually served for their Persian New Year known as reshteh polo or a noodle dish with a quarter portion of saffron chicken. This is served with masto khiar or yoghurt and cucumber, and olives with pomegranate molasses.

The lunchbox is made up of different containers of food and wooden cutlery with a napkin.

The lunch is priced at RM30 for one set.

Leily's Kitchen, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.  You can place an order by WhatsApp to 012-6587508, at least three days ahead. For delivery, you can arrange for a third party provider to pick up the food at your own cost. Otherwise, you can self collect the food from 12pm to 2pm. Instagram: @leilyskitchen