You will find this Persian staple served alongside many main meals, perfectly balancing the rich flavours of our cuisine with the acidity and sweetness that comes from pickling the garlic for a long time.
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What is Torshi Seer?
Torshi Seer or Seer Torshi is the name given to the Persian accompaniment of pickled garlic bulbs. ‘Torshi’ means pickles in Persian and ‘Seer’ means garlic. It is simply garlic bulbs placed in a jar with vinegar and salt. The jars of garlic are then left to pickle somewhere cool and dark for a minimum of a year, preferably over 7 years if you have the patience!
During the pickling process, the cloves transform from their ivory colour, to blue-green and then fade to a light brown, which becomes darker and darker the longer you leave them to pickle. The longer the pickling process, the sweeter and darker the resulting pickle. Raw garlic is quite spicy and pungent to eat, however the pickling duration tempers these flavours.
It is not uncommon to see jars which had been pickling for over twenty years. The resulting cloves are black, can be spread on bread like butter and have a sweetness to them which is unparalleled in any pickle I have ever eaten.
What are the Ingredients?
The ingredients are easy to source and can be found in most local supermarkets, if you haven’t already got them in your larder.
- Garlic Bulbs: whole garlic bulbs are required for this recipe. The stalks are sliced off, exposing the tops of the cloves. The white skin is then peeled off to reveal the thin pink layer covering the raw garlic cloves before adding them to your pickling jar. When eating pickled garlic you fall into one of two camps; those who eat the garlic with the skin or those who peel them!
- Balsamic and Red Wine Vinegar: traditionally many just use white or malt vinegar to pickle the garlic. If you are planning to leave them for a very long time (7 years plus) then by all means use either of those varieties. I use a combination of balsamic and red wine vinegar as it speeds up the pickling process, gives a beautiful colour early on and imparts a richer depth to the flavour profile. No need to use expensive vinegar, the cheapest brands from your supermarket are very effective. I use this balsamic vinegar and this red wine vinegar.
- Salt:the amount of salt used effectively makes Torshi Seer more a product of fermentation than pickling. A tablespoon of salt for each litre of vinegar is used. If you sneak a peak at your pickling garlic in the first few weeks you will see the tell tale signs of fermentation – bubbling in the jar.
How to Serve
Commonly my family serve this pickle with Sabzi Polo ba Mahi (Persian Herbed Rice with Salmon) during Persian New Year (Norooz) celebrations.
Ultimately you can serve it alongside most Persian main meals including:
- Jujeh Kabab (Persian Saffron Chicken Kebabs)
- Kabab Tabei (Pan-Cooked Kofte Kebabs with Roasted Tomatoes).
How to Store
Once your chosen pickling time has come to an end and you have opened the jar, store your Torshi Seer in the fridge. They last for years!
Print Recipe
Torshi Seer
Garlic pickle
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Pickling Time - minimum time365 days d
Total Time365 days d 20 minutes mins
Course: Appetiser, Accompaniment
Cuisine: Persian, Iranian
Keyword: garlic pickle
Servings: 1 litre jar of pickles
Author: Mersedeh Prewer
Ingredients
- As many whole garlic bulbs and extra cloves as you can squeeze into the jar
- A mix of red wine and balsamic vinegar (50:50 ratio)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 litre pickling jar (sterilised)
Instructions
Prepare the Garlic: Take whole garlic bulbs and slice stalks off, exposing tops of the cloves. Peel back white skin of the garlic down to the thin pink layer covering the raw garlic cloves.
Fill the Pickling Jar: Add garlic bulbs, whole if you can, to the sterilised jar. Break them down if they can't fit through the jar opening. Fill the gaps with the separated cloves.
Add Salt and Vinegar: Once you have filled the jar (there will be some gaps so don't worry about that), add red wine vinegar until it fills half the jar, then add balsamic vinegar. Push down the garlic cloves and squeeze in more if you can. Fill up with more balsamic vinegar if you have space. Add salt and close the jar. Tilt the jar up and down gently to mix the vinegar and salt.
Leave to Pickle: Leave in cool and dark place like a pantry for at least 1 year. Once opened, store in the fridge.
