TEHRAN–The second edition of a food festival dedicated to Kurdish food is planned to be held in Sanandaj, the western province of Kordestan on October 2, the provincial tourism chief has said.

The festival will be organized in three sections of the main dishes, appetizers, desserts, and drinks, CHTN quoted Yaqub Guylian as saying on Sunday.

Among the festival’s important goals are introducing and presenting local foods, encouraging investors to establish traditional restaurants, creating a food branding program for Kordestan tourism, and matching and identifying the introduced foods with tourists and other nations’ tastes, the official added.

Iranian cuisine, usually dominated by fragrant herbs, varies from region to region. It principally accentuates freshness, deliciousness, and colorfulness.

Experts say that food is not merely an organic product with biochemical compositions. However, for members of each community, food is defined as a cultural element.

No Persian meal is complete without an abundance of herbs. Every table is usually set with sabzi khordan, a basket of fresh herbs, radishes, and scallions, which are eaten raw and by the handful. Persian cuisine is, above all, about balance — of tastes and flavors, textures and temperatures.

The name Kordestan refers to the region’s principal inhabitants. After the Turkish invasion of Iran in the 11th century CE (Seljuk period), the name Kurdistan was applied to the region comprising the northwestern Zagros Mountains. It was during the reign of Abbas I the Great of Iran’s Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) that the Kurds rose to prominence, having been enlisted by Abbas I to help stem the attacks of the marauding Uzbeks from the east in the early 17th century.

ABU/AM