Sabzi Polow Persian Herb Rice

He was of the Baha'i faith, which believes that God's manifestation is understood not just through the Bab and Baha'u'llah, but also through the world's religious prophets, including Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, and Muhammad. We talked about interesting literature that came from the Persians such as the works of Rumi and the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Off course he enjoyed my cooking but I was more interested in finding out more about his moms cooking. I'm always curious about other cultures especially their cuisine.

So today I bring you a typical Persian dish called Sabzi Polow in Farsi the official language of the Persians. Translated it means Persian Herb Rice.

This is a very special dish that is eaten at the Persian New Year coinciding with the spring equinox. It is fragrant and aromatic with an array of fresh herbs.

You will require

500g-basmati rice

Sea salt flakes

100g fresh coriander

100g flat leaf parsley

40g chives

40g dill leaves

125g-spring onion

3-tblsp vegetable oil

150g butter

Step 1

Cut all the herbs finely and chop spring onions. If you have a food processor this can become a whole lot easier. Just a few blitzes and it will be done

Step 2

Preheat a cooking pot over medium heat. Fill the pot with boiling water. Add the rice, a fistful of crumbled sea salt and the chopped herbs and spring onion. Bring to a boil for around 8 minutes or until the rice is parboiled. Drain the rice and herbs.

Step 3

Return your pot to the stove and pour in generous knobs of butter and 1 tablespoon of sea salt flakes. Scatter the rice into the pan do not pack it because you want the lightness of the falling rice to allow for steam to rise up. Add the remaining butter. Cover the pot with foil, shiny side downwards. Then close the lid and cook for a further 8 minutes on medium to high temperature. Thereafter reduce the heat to low and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Step 4

Once the rice is cooked, place a serving dish over the pan and flip the rice onto the dish. Thereafter scrape out the tasty tahdig (meaning bottom of the pan) - this is the crusty bit every Persian fights over and serve this on top of the rice.

The rice can be paired with meat, fish or vegetables.

From my heart to yours

Happy Cooking

ZIRA