While the crewmen sat in the galley eating meat stew with fistfuls of ugali, a maize porridge, the passengers congregated along a handrail overlooking the action.

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Iranians are deeply proud of their national cuisine, which includes such dishes as fesenjan - a meat stew with a tangy sauce made of pomegranate juice and ground walnuts, as well as the ubiquitous kebab.

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As soon as we walked in, our host, Ellen-Anna Siri, welcomed us with an enormous dish of stew - of reindeer meat, of course - and exactly what we needed.

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The meat was cooked alone or as a stew with very rich stock then placed in hot sterile jars and pressure-cooked to ensure freshness and preservation.

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