Najmieh Batmanglij facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Najmieh Batmanglij
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Batmanglij with a dish of tahdig rice (2016)
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Najmieh Khalili
1947 (age 77–78) Tehran, Imperial Iran
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| Occupation | chef, cookbook author, publisher |
| Style | Persian cooking |
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Najmieh Khalili Batmanglij is an Iranian-American chef and cookbook author. She was born in Tehran, Iran. In 1979, she left Iran because of the Iranian Revolution.
She first moved to France, then to the United States. As she moved, she built a career writing cookbooks. Her first book, Ma Cuisine d’Iran, was published in French in 1984. She then wrote eight cookbooks in English. These include Food of Life (1986) and Cooking in Iran (2018). In 2018, The Washington Post called her "the grand lady of Iranian Cooking."
Contents
About Najmieh Batmanglij
Najmieh Khalili was born in 1947 in Tehran, which was then called Imperial Iran. She studied education in the United States. After her studies, she went back to Iran.
Moving from Iran
In 1979, she had to leave Iran because of the Iranian Revolution. This was a big change in Iran's government. She and her husband went to Vence, France, seeking safety. There, she studied cooking. She also started turning her mother's recipes into French. This led to her first cookbook, Ma Cuisine d'Iran.
Starting a New Life in America
In the 1980s, Batmanglij moved to Washington, DC in the United States. She wrote her famous book, Food of Life, there. When she moved, there were some difficult times between Iran and the United States. Because of this, she faced some challenges. She decided to publish her own books. She and her husband, Mohammad, started their own publishing company.
Her Cookbooks and Teaching
After Food of Life became successful, Batmanglij wrote five more cookbooks. One of them, From Persia to Napa: Wine at the Persian Table, won a special award for cookbooks. Another book, Silk Road Cooking: A Vegetarian Journey, was so interesting that The New York Times said it was like reading "a good novel."
Batmanglij has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show. She also teaches people how to cook Persian food. She is part of Les Dames d'Escoffier. This is a group of professional women who work in the food, wine, and hospitality industries. For many years, she has taught at the Culinary Institute of America in California.
Najmieh Batmanglij helped introduce Iranian cooking to American readers. She also wrote a cookbook for children called Happy Nowruz. In this book, she shared recipes and explained customs about Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Awards and Special Recognition
Najmieh Batmanglij has received many honors for her work.
Praised by Famous Chefs and Writers
On February 15, 2013, a famous chef named Yotam Ottolenghi wrote about her book Food of Life. He said it was "one of the most exciting cookbooks I've seen." He highly recommended it to anyone interested in Iran's food culture.
On April 6, 2016, she was a special guest chef. She cooked for Michelle Obama, who was the First Lady at the time, during a Nowruz celebration at the White House.
Julia Moskin from The New York Times wrote about Batmanglij's book Cooking in Iran. She called it "Magisterial" and "an engrossing visual feast of modern Iran." She also picked it as one of the best cookbooks of Fall 2018. Publishers Weekly called it "a massive and thorough guide to Persian cuisine."
On November 5, 2018, The Washington Post published an article about her. The headline called her "the grand lady of Iranian cooking." In 2021, a book called Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America featured Najmieh Batmanglij. This book highlighted how she changed the way Americans eat.
Her Family Life
Najmieh Batmanglij is married to Mohammad Batmanglij, who is a book publisher.
Her sons are also very talented:
- Zal Batmanglij is a film director and writer. He has worked on movies like Sound of My Voice and The East, and the TV show The OA.
- Rostam Batmanglij is a music producer, musician, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the band Vampire Weekend.
