In the Persia from which Pîrûz came, they did not serve a "main course" followed by a dessert: they laid out the khwân, a cloth or low table covered with several dishes placed together. Flatbread, thick soup, sweet-and-sour meat stew, dried dairy and fruits all sat side by side, each person composing their own plate according to their rank and hunger. The structure is not "starter/main/dessert" but a simultaneous array where sour (verjuice, whey) answers fat (mutton) and sweet (dates, honey). On the table of an enslaved artisan in Medina, this khwân was reduced to bread, dates and milk — but the memory of the flavors of Nahavand remained vivid.

The heart of Persian and Sassanid-Persian cuisine: sheep's milk curdled then dried into hard balls, which kept for months and were reconstituted in water to bring an inimitable sour and umami depth to soups. It is the "Parmesan of the Iranian plateau": a nomadic protein reserve, a gustatory signature that distinguishes Pîrûz's table from that of the Arabs of the Hejaz.