Minoo’s Recipe for ‘Sabzi Polou’

‘Sabzi Polou’ is Persian rice with herbs that is commonly accompanied by fish. We like Sabzi Polou at any time of the year- not just at our Baha’i celebration of Naw-Rúz when it is a Beech family tradition. The following recipe should serve 4-5 people.  

 Ingredients 

Chopped fresh fenugreek, coriander, dill, chives and parsley- sufficient to fill small cup when chopped

2 cups basmati rice  

Vegetable Oil, Salt to taste

Instructions

1.           Rinse rice in pan, carefully pouring out the ‘cloudy’ water (this will avoid the rice going sticky)

2.           Add 4 cups of fresh water, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to the rice in the pan

3.           Boil for around 15 minutes, until rice is par-boiled

4.           Drain rice in a colander.

5.           Cover the bottom of the pan with a few teaspoons of cooking oil

6.           Put the par-boiled rice back into the pan, if possible heap it in the middle (Don’t know why-it seems to cook better…).

7.           Add chopped herbs- ‘folding in’ gently to avoid ‘mushing’ rice

8.           Wrap the pan lid with a muslin-type cloth and cover

9.           Cook on a low heat for a further 30 minutes or so

Ideally it should become crunchy at the bottom, forming what the Iranians call ‘tahdiq’. You should be able to turn over the pan onto a tray so that the rice ‘pops out’ in an aesthetically-pleasing round pan shape. Serve with fish.

Minoo’s Recipe For ‘Polou-ye-Sefid’

In my unbiased opinion my wife Minoo is an expert in rice technology.;-) This is her (not so secret) recipe… ‘Polou-ye-Sefid’ or ‘White Rice’ is the foundation of Iranian cooking. It is served with the various ‘khoresht’ dishes I have described elsewhere in ‘Myriad Lives’ Recipes. In the amounts indicated it should feed about four people.

Ingredients

·         2 cups basmati rice

·         Vegetable Oil

·         Salt 

Instructions

1.       Rinse rice in pan, carefully pouring out the ‘cloudy’ water (this will avoid the rice going sticky)

2.       Add 4 cups of fresh water, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to the rice in the pan

3.       Boil for around 15 minutes, until rice is par-boiled

4.       Drain rice in a colander.

5.       Cover the bottom of the pan with a few teaspoons of cooking oil

6.       Put the par-boiled rice back into the pan, if possible heap it in the middle (Don’t know why-it seems to cook better…).

7.       Wrap the pan lid with a muslin-type cloth and cover

8.       Cook on a low heat for a further 30 minutes or so

Ideally it should become crunchy at the bottom, forming what the Iranians call ‘tahdiq’. You should be able to turn over the pan onto a tray so that the rice ‘pops out’ in an aesthetically-pleasing round pan shape.