Trappings of Persia With a Top Chef

Kourosh, the South Bay’s most ambitious Persian restaurant, has the trappings you expect--a large turquoise-and-white room complete with booths and a stage where a belly dancer shakes like a 4.1 on Saturday nights. But the Shabgard family, owners of Dariush in Lawndale, went a lot further than that for their new Torrance restaurant. They got David Poulak to join them.

Poulak’s cooking teacher was his wife, Farah, an assistant to Roza Montazemi, Iran’s premiere cookbook author. Farah taught him so well that, when they moved to California, David went on to become executive chef of Shahrezad, a Westwood restaurant with branches in Beverly Hills and Encino.

The menu here lists more than 100 selections. A good way to begin a meal is sabzi kordan ($3.95): walnuts, raisins, radishes, onions and feta cheese under a green quilt of fresh basil, mint and parsley. For lunch, follow that with a bowl of ash reshteh ($3.95), a soup thick with lentils, spinach, red beans, noodles, cilantro, green onions, mint and kashk --dried, reconstituted yogurt whey.

The list of entrees is dominated by 14 kebabs. The Kourosh King ($14.95) features two large pieces of Lake Superior whitefish, golden from its marinade of egg yolks and saffron, along with grilled chicken breast and big, tender chunks from a leg of lamb that has marinated for six hours in onions, saffron and yogurt. Another popular kebab is kebab barg ($10.95), slices of filet mignon marinated in red wine and orange juice, then grilled.

All the kebabs come with vegetables and steamed rice. However, for an extra $1.95, diners can upgrade to one of the special rice dishes, such as rice colored pink by sour cherries and vanilla, or the (not too) sweet rice with shredded orange peel and carrots, pistachios, walnuts and sugar.

Kourosh is at 3720 Sepulveda Blvd., Torrance. (310) 791-3222. Open Monday through Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 9 p.m.