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Want the best of both worlds? Start by watching Natasha Behnam on Max\u2019s The Girls on the Bus<\/em>, and then have her throw you an Iranian American dinner party. Great vibes required for entry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The California-born actress has always had bright dreams and even brighter taste buds. Much of that is due to her family, who immigrated to America from Iran in 1979, bringing their strong traditions, cultures, and cuisine along. Many of Behnam\u2019s fondest memories revolve around the kitchen when she was growing up and the lessons she learned from her grandmother \u2014 including to take your time<\/em>. But Behnam\u2019s time is now, both personally and professionally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Behnam stars as Lola Rahaii in Max\u2019s new series, a political drama that follows four journalists tasked with following the election\u2019s presidential hopefuls. Lola is a bright personality in the group: A confident, outspoken TikTok star who cares about helping the younger generation better understand politics, even when others underestimate her potential or platform. And bringing that character to life was incredibly important to Behman who aims to use her words and actions to make a positive difference in the world and, most of all, to start conversations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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And when it comes to starting and maintaining a conversation, Behnam is a rockstar. Her bubbly and bold personality shines through as she discusses her food and cultural influences. And although she may sometimes be panicked when it comes time to throw a dinner party \u2014 often assisted by her best friend and sous chef, Danya \u2014 she\u2019ll always ensure that there are great vibes, great tastes, and great heaps of food to devour.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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For this edition of Cooking Diary<\/strong>, Natasha Behnam explains how food continues to shape her life, and how that relationship can be extremely healing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
From childhood to adulthood, what role has food and the culture attached to it played in your life?\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I\u2019m Persian, and food was always a party for my family. When I was a kid, we would have Monday night dinners at my house where my grandma would cook and my aunts, uncles, and cousins would all come, and then on Wednesday nights it would be at my aunt\u2019s house. So we had family dinner twice a week where everyone would come and the tables would be full of these beautiful big dishes of different Persian food. For me, food has always been about community and family. And as I\u2019ve grown up, it\u2019s become a lot more about healing as well. I feel like food is like a spiritual practice for me now because, quite literally, we are what we eat, but I found that I can heal things in my body based on what I\u2019m eating, and I can also harm things in my body based on what I\u2019m eating. So I\u2019ve now been really getting in touch with the spirituality of food.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Looking back, what did those family dinners teach you?\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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From that childhood experience, I feel like it\u2019s in my bones to understand that community is everything. We have to eat together and get together once a week. My two best friends and I now do Monday night dinners together in Los Angeles. It\u2019s just a space to know you\u2019re not alone. You need family, whether it\u2019s chosen or blood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Any lessons in particular that your grandmother taught you in the kitchen that you still uphold today?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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There are two things: The first is to take your time, which I never do. And the other thing that was actually so valuable is telling me to wash your dishes while you\u2019re cooking. If something\u2019s sitting on the stove, she turns and she\u2019ll wash a couple of dishes and then go back to it, which actually is so helpful so that it doesn\u2019t pile up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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So imagine it\u2019s a typical Monday night dinner between you and your besties, and maybe you\u2019ve invited some friends over. What role are you playing in this extravaganza?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I\u2019m definitely way more of the vibe queen at the dinner parties. I will cook, but again, I panic the whole time. But I am really good at making sure that everyone knows each other and everyone is chatting and having a good time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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If I\u2019m cooking, I\u2019m making Persian food, which is hard to make and takes a long time. I learned from my grandma who does everything from scratch and everything takes like three days. But there\u2019s one dish that I\u2019ve perfected that is the only thing that I\u2019ll make now. It\u2019s called khoresh gheymeh. It\u2019s a rice dish with a stew. The stew is a beef and yellow split pea base. Persian [cuisine] is famous for our tahdig or crispy rice, which, not to brag, but I absolutely have mastered. You put the rice, oil, butter, saffron, salt \u2014 all of that and you cook the rice until all the water is gone. Then you take a towel and wrap it around the lid of the pot and you put it on low heat for about 25 minutes. What that does is makes a layer of crispy rice on the bottom, and then you flip the pan over and you take the pot off so you have like this [crispy rice] pie. Then you take that and put the khoresh gheymeh on top. Traditionally it\u2019s actually made with french fries on top of the stew, which is so delicious. So usually I\u2019m making all of that and I\u2019m always making a yogurt cucumber dip on the side to mix with the rice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Okay, so we know the menu. Now, what\u2019s the dinner party vibe? How are you entertaining guests?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Well we just moved, but my best friends, Danya and Hannah, lived with me in this big house, so we would invite maybe 10 to 12 people. We had a big table, we had music going, we got a little tablecloth, and it\u2019s really like a homestyle party. I feel like we are all young, so our dinner parties are chaotic. We definitely will have some wine and we like to set the table pretty. And then by the time the food is ready, the food\u2019s always on the stove and we\u2019re like, \u201cAlright, it\u2019s ready, come get it!\u201d That part\u2019s not cute at all. But then we all get to bond and have really good food and it\u2019s great.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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You mentioned earlier about using food as healing. Is there one food in particular that is your go-to when you need a pick-me-up?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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It\u2019s boring, but it\u2019s broccoli. I love just crispy salted broccoli. It\u2019s so silly but it really tastes like potato chips to me when I have really crispy salty broccoli. It\u2019s so boring.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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You\u2019re now based in LA \u2014 what\u2019s your favorite restaurant?\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I live next to McCall\u2019s Meat & Fish Co in Los Feliz, and they have the best olives, dips, breads \u2014 anything you could want for a charcuterie board.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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And what about when you were in New York filming The Girls on the Bus<\/em> \u2014 any favorite spots there?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The restaurant abcV changed my life. It\u2019s the best food I\u2019ve ever had in my life; I cannot wait to go back. I also loved Nami Nori sushi. So<\/em> good<\/em>; I would always go there. I also loved to go to Joseph Leonard in New York. Huge shout out to them, I feel like I became best friends with the entire staff there. And then I lived by a Birch Coffee, so I would pop down and would get a perfect oat milk latte with cinnamon on top from there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
We talked about your love of Persian food, but what other cuisines are you obsessed with?\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Thai food is my favorite. I love drunken noodles. I could go for Thai every day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n