Iranian Rice(Polow) Recipes
Adas Polow
4 Servings
500 grams ground beef or lamb
500 grams long-grain or basmati rice
400 grams lentils
100 grams dates (pitted)
120 grams raisins
1/2 teaspoon saffron
2 large onions
cooking oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Soak rice in water for 3-4 hours, then cook in salted water for 10-15 minutes using a non-stick pot until it just softens. Drain water and empty the pot.
Bring 2-3 cups of water to boil. Wash lentil and add to water with a bit of salt. Cook over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until tender.
Peel and thinly slice onions. Fry in oil until slightly golden. Add ground beef or lamb, salt, turmeric and black pepper, and fry over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add one cup of hot water and cook until water has been mostly absorbed.
Wash raisins and dates. Pour 1/2 cup of water and some oil in the non-stick pot. Pour in half of the rice. Follow with meat, lentil, raisins, dates and raisins. Then add in remainder of rice. Cook over low heat for about 20 minutes. Dissolve saffron in 1/3 cup of hot water and pour over the rice. Mix well before serving.
Kateh
4 Servings
500 grams basmati or long-grain rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cooking oil
Directions:
Wash 500 grams of rice with plain water twice and drain the water. Pour rice into a non-stick pan. Add five cups of water, four spoons of oil and two spoons of salt, and mix. Bring the water to a boil over high temperature. Let the water boil until water level sinks to just below rice level. Cover the pan, and cook over low temperature for about half an hour.
Kateh can be served with kababs or a variety of koresht. It is simpler to cook than Polow (Chelow).
Meigo Polow
4 Servings
500 grams large shrimps
500 grams basmati or long-grain rice
2 spoonfuls tomato paste
150 grams butter
one spoonful flour
1-2 spoonfuls curry powder
3-4 large eggs
100 grams parsley
cooking oil
salt & black pepper
Directions:
Cook rice as described in the recipe for kateh. Wash shrimps, add salt and hot water and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. There should be about one glass of water left when shrimp is cooked. Boil eggs until hard.
Fry flour in butter over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste to shrimp juice and mix well. Add slowly to flour and stir while adding.
Add salt, black pepper and curry powder and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the sauce to shrimps and mix well. Wash parsley and cut. Serve shrimps with kateh, sliced eggs and parsley.
Polow (chelow)
4 Servings
500 grams long-grain rice or basmati
6 tablespoons cooking oil
1 tablespoon salt
Directions:
The preparation of polow (chelow) is more elaborate than kateh and results in a delicious non-sticky rice. It is normally served with kababs or any of the main Persian dishes.
Wash rice twice and soak in salted warm water for 2-3 hours, then drain the water. Pour water in a large pan until it is half-full and bring it to a boil.
Add rice and a spoonful of salt and continue boiling until rice slightly softens. Pour rice into a drain and wash it with slightly warm water.
Pour 3 spoonfuls of cooking oil into the pan and add rice. Pour 3 more spoonfuls of oil over rice. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for about half an hour. If cooking time is increased, a delicious crispy layer of rice (called ta-dig) will form at the bottom of the pan.
Shirin Polow
4 Servings
500 grams basmati or long-grain rice
800 grams chicken
2 spoons butter
50 grams almonds
50 grams pistachios
100 grams orange peel
500 grams sugar
two large onions
1/2 teaspoon saffron
cooking oil
salt & black pepper
Directions:
Soak rice in warm water for 2 hours. Wash chicken. Peel and thinly slice onions. Fry in oil until slightly golden. Add chicken pieces and fry until color changes. Add a glass of hot water, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Add more hot water during cooking if necessary. About 1/2 glass of water should be left at the end. Remove chicken bones.
Save 2-3 spoons of sugar for later use. Add remaining sugar to a glass of hot water and bring to a boil. Add chicken juice, 2-3 spoons of oil and saffron, and mix well.
Thinly slice almonds and pistachios. Soak almonds in cold water for an hour. Thinly slice orange peels. Boil for a few minutes, drain and repeat. Soak in cold water for an hour, drain, and repeat. Finally boil for a few minutes with three spoons of sugar, and drain.
Prepare rice using the recipe for polow. When rice is rinsed, pour a bit of oil, butter and hot water in a pot, and add 1/2 of rice. Spread chicken pieces over the rice, and cover with 1/2 of remaining rice. Spread half of almonds and orange peel over rice and cover with remaining rice. Pour sugar and chicken-juice mix prepared earlier over rice. Cover and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes. Add remainder of almonds, orange peel, and pistachios, and mix well.
Zereshk Polow
4 Servings
500 grams basmati or long-grain rice
800 grams chicken
2 spoons butter
four spoons barberries (dried)
one spoon sugar
two large onions
1/2 teaspoon saffron
cooking oil
salt & black pepper
Directions:
Remove the skin from chicken pieces. Marinate chicken in grated onions, salt and pepper for 4-5 hours.
Cook rice using the recipe given for Polow or Kateh.
Wash barberries twice with cold water and drain the water. Add sugar and fry in butter over medium heat for about five minutes.
Pour saffron in a small bowl. Pour in 2-3 spoons of hot water and mix. Fill the bowl with rice and mix well. Add saffron-rice and barberries to the rest of the rice and mix well.
Cook chicken under grill for 15-20 minutes turning each piece a few times during cooking. Serve with barberry-rice.