Adapted from Iranian Cuisine by Vida Leveim
from KIP distribution ISBN 978-965-76589-09-0
Recently I was contacted by Kip Kotarim publishing regarding a newly published cookbook by Vida Levaim. They asked me to try one of the recipes in the book and post it. I chose rice since I am in love with Persian Rice dishes. For doing this I did receive a free book but no other compensation so my opinion is real not promotion. The dish was delicious, the format of the book is distinctive with great photos. I might say that this is a cookbook for someone with a bit of experience in the kitchen, the recipes are straight forward but they do assume you have some experience.
I made just the rice portion since I was pressed for time. I eliminated the meat/soup portion that is in the book. I think next time I will try it with the soup meat. Just to let you know I have added bits in parenthesis.
3 cups rice (I used Basmati)
7 cups water
1 and 1/ 2 cups chopped (fresh) dill
1/ 2 pound Egyptian Broad Beans after peeling them twice (I used fresh Lima Beans)
1 peeled onion (medium brown)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 potato sliced into rounds (I used a Russet baking potato peeled)
1/3 cup rose water
salt, pepper, saffron to taste
Method:
In a Teflon pot (non stick, I like Swiss Diamond) bring water to boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and rice.
Stir from time to time so that rice won’t stick and cook for 7-10 minutes.
Place rice in sieve and rinse.
Shake the sieve to remove all the excess water from rice.
Slice onion into rings. Rinse the pot and replace it on the stove.
Place oil and saffron in pot (I did about 1 teaspoon crushed saffron).
Arrange potato slices and onion rings at the bottom of the pot.
Place 2-3 tablespoons of (boiled) rice on top of the potatoes. (I used a little more)
Mix the remainder of the rice with the chopped dill and broad beans (in a large bowl) and return it to the (potato lined) pot.
Cover the pot and cook on a medium flame for 10 minutes.
When the pot starts to steam, wrap the lid in a kitchen towel, replace it on the pot and continue cooking for 40 minutes on a low flame.
Before serving the dish , dissolve saffron in a little warm rosewater, mix it will a little of the cooked rice and place this over the rice on the serving dish. (I inverted the rice onto a cooking platter to show the pretty potatoes.)
Delicious, thanks Vida!
Hi Linda. Thanks for the recipe, I love Persian food!
But… onion, potatoes, 2-3 spoonfuls of boiled rice and the rest of the rice in a pot on a hot flame for 10 minutes then for 40 minutes? No water added?
Hi Clary, yes the rice is already rinsed to start and then boiled for 10 min. The second cooking in the post lined with oil and potatoes and onion finished the cooking process on a low flame. The moisture already absorbed by the rice in the boiling phase is enough to finish steaming the rice to perfection. If you feel a need to add a little water try adding less than 1/2 cup and maybe dissolve the saffron in the water. I cook the Persian rice in very heavy bottomed special non stick pan with a glass lid and about 4 inches deep. I prefer the Swiss Diamond brand.