Aras Restaurang

If you into experiencing different worldly cuisines a must on your do list should be the Persian/​Iranian kitchen. A kitchen that is big on fresh herbs, Saffron, stews and charcoal grill and offers well balanced seasoned food that is not spicy. Aras is one of the few in Malmö offering such food and they do it ratter good.
At Aras you won’t be granted an authentic Persian ambiance; the restaurant is small and modestly or as I really would want to put it ratter poorly decorated! Okay let’s face it Aras is one of them places that is all about the food and nothing ells. And let me assure you the food is much better than the décor!
What makes Aras good is the rice. The Persian rice, often Basmati, is parboiled and then steamed. This cooking method results in fluffiness, a trade mark and judging criteria for a Persian kitchen. It can be seasoned with fresh chopped herbs and saffron and mixed with beans, fruit or berries. It is then served with different grilled/​cooked meats or stews.
What makes Aras even better is the fact they offer mix or combos of rice and grilled meats that are untraditional! Aras is the only place, I know of, where you can have your kebabs with other type of rice than saffron seasoned rice! Hereby saluting the freedom of choice!
The meats/​kebabs are not «melt in your mouth» tender as they should be but still in no way chewy and in fact very delicious. The starters with aubergine accompanied with bread are to die for as well as the herb stew with kidney beans (Ghormesabzi). However the yellow split peas stew (Ghieme) lacks depth and the zing as well as the aroma dried lime fruit should provide and the peas are heavily overcooked. The lamb shank that is «Fall of the bone» tender is served with a pretty bland tomato and saffron sauce that needs to be thicker and more under the influence of Saffron.
Sadly the number of Persian restaurants is very limited in Malmö or generally in Sweden I assume! Considering this fact Aras is a quite decent and a safe choice even though it is a bit of a compromise!