Polow

[M. Lucia]

I learned how to make this amazing rice dish from a friend who is married to an Iranian.

I wanted to post it here so it could get a wider audience.

Polow is an Iranian method of preparing rice. Basically, basmati rice is cooked until partway done. Then the rice is layered in a skillet with butter and any fillings and set to "steam." The rice creates a crunchy, flavorful, delectable crust on the bottom known as ta-dig. The whole dish is flipped out of the skillet with the burnished crust up, and served.

There are many types of fillings, and you can also make polow plain, with just rice.

Here is my version of a celebratory dish:

Jeweled Rice (Morasa Polow)

2 cups basmati rice

6 tbl butter

pinch saffron

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup golden raisins or chopped medjool dates

1/4 cup chopped blanched almonds

1/4 cup chopped pistachios

a bit of candied orange peel, chopped

cooked, shredded chicken

Prepare the chicken to your liking.

Cook the rice in boiling water for 10-12 mins, it will still be firm. Drain. Meanwhile, soak the dried fruits in warm water to plump them.

Melt 3 tbl of the butter in a non-stick skillet. Layer half the rice to cover the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle on some of the dried fruit, almonds, pistachios, orange peel. Layer in all of the chicken.

Mix the saffron with about half a cup of water and pour over the chicken.

Top with the remaining rice. Sprinkle the remaining dried fruit, nuts, and peel on top and press into the rice. Dot with the remaining 3 tbl butter.

Cover the pan and cook on the lowest possible heat for 20-30 minutes.

The rice should have formed a nice crisp crust, dark but not burned. Flip the polow out onto a serving platter and enjoy!

Getting the crust (ta-dig) takes a bit of practice. Cook as slowly as possible and have faith. If a few bits burn, its ok, there will still be plenty of good crust. It is a delicacy to be offered to guests first.

I make this dish often and it always elicits raves. I have included the chicken version here because that is how I was taught to make it. However, I often make it without the meat, using just a bit of dried fruit and nuts, and use it as an accompaniement to something else.

If you do make it with chicken, I would suggest poaching chicken breasts and then using the poaching liquid to combine with the saffron and pour over the rice.

I urge you to try this, even a simplified version with plain rice, or with only some fruit/nuts, and I hope you will discover how good it is.

[M. Lucia]

Also, if anyone has ever had experience with polows, please share it here.

If you've ever eaten it or if you've tried making it. :-)

[snowangel]

I've never had this. It sounds wonderful. Does it usually feature savory and sweet?

[chefdg]

I worked for an Iranian chef who taught me this method, and he loved to eat the "burnt" rice at the bottom of the pot. He said that his grandmother used to serve it to her very special guests.

[Raquel]

Mmmmm. This Iranian method of cooking rice sounds delicious. I like the filling additions (dried fruits, nuts, meat, etc.).

My mom is from the Philippines and taught me how to make something similar that she called calo-calo... we usually had it for breakfast with eggs, sauteed onions, tomatoes and fresh mangoes. However, our's uses only rice. No fillings.

It has to be made with leftover rice, as fresh rice won't create the nice golden-brown crust on the bottom. And it has to be left alone while cooking. No poking or stirring.

In fact, I just made it tonight for dinner! The family ate that with some beautiful pork sausage and a bok choy stew. I will definitely try the Iranian version the next time. The par-cooking of the rice is interesting. Thanx for the post.

[Chufi]

I love polow! I use Margaret Shaida's recipes from her fantastic book The legendary cuisines of Persia.

Some of her tips that I have used:

after parboiling the rice, heat some oil and water in the saucepan (she says 90 ml oil, 4 parts oil to one part water). Add 1 egg, beaten with a tablespoon of yoghurt, to this and when sizzling, start sprinkling in the rice. The egg and joghurt give an extra thick and crusty tahdeeg.

when the rice is cooked, stand the saucepan in the sink that has some cold water in it. This will make it easier to remove the tahdeeg from the pan later.

M. Lucia, your version looks a lot like the one I often make!

Another one I love is Sabzi Polow, with herbs. It's the same recipe only instead of the fruits and nuts you add fresh herbs (350 grams of herbs for 500 grams of rice, use equal portions of dill, parsley, coriander and chives). It is incredibly fragrant and a perfect dish for spring. In Iran it is a traditional dish for New Years, with all the green herbs symbolizing the new year.

[Rachel Perlow]

There are many types of fillings, and you can also make polow plain, with just rice....

I urge you to try this, even a simplified version with plain rice, or with only some fruit/nuts, and I hope you will discover how good it is.

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So, it I were to make a simplified version, I would parboil the rice, strain it, put it in the skillet, sprinkle w/saffron water/stock, dot w/butter, cover and cook 20-25 minutes. Sound right?

What about the orange, does it have to be candied, or can you use some freshly grated peel?

[M. Lucia]

Yes Rachel, that's right.

Just make sure to have melted butter or oil in the pan before adding the rice. That will help make the crust.

The traditional thing is candied orange peel, but you could certainly try some orange zest.

There are many, many types of polow.

Sabzi polow (with herbs) often accompanies fish.

Loubiya polow has green beans, tomato, and lamb.

Chufi, that technique with the egg sounds wonderful. It can be difficult to get a good crust (I still am working on it myself) and that sounds like a nice user-friendly version.

I have to say I don't know anything about Phillipino cuisine, so it was great to hear about the calo-calo. I love finding overlaps of similar dishes in different cultures.

[Rachel Perlow]

OK, I made the non-meat version of the Jeweled Rice as a side dish tonight. I didn't have basmati rice, so I substituted jasmine.

Some notes: I realized that you don't list salt as one of your ingredients. I added the saffron, salt and pepper to the soaking water for the cranberries and raisins. Next time more saffron. I figured the cranberries are sweetened, so that covered the "candied" for the orange zest. ;) Finally, mine didn't brown very much. I was able to turn it out, but only half of the skillet had browned, and then not very darkly (see Jason's post below for a picture). I had let it sit on a low flame for at least 45 minutes, while waiting for other dinner elements to finish. Maybe my low flame is lower than yours? Next time, I'll go a little higher and rotate the pan occasionally for even browning.

Other than that, it was very tasty. The nuts even stayed crunchy, I had expected them to soften. Next time I'll salt the par-boiling water, and maybe do that for less time (the rice was mostly cooked after 10 minutes).

Thanks for the inspiration.

[M. Lucia]

Rachel, I'm glad you made the dish.

I suppose I always caution against cooking it too quickly because in my experience I have been left with a burned layer of rice without much actual crust.

It certainly sounds like you should turn up the flame. The crust should be well browned after 20-30 minutes. It could also have to do with the type of pan used, etc.

I forgot about salt, I guess I just assumed people would salt as they liked.

Part of my posting this, in addition to sharing the joy of polow, was that I myself am working on th crust technique, so I look forward to more experimentations and input.

[buttercup]

To get the crust I cook the rice for 10-15 min over medium heat, then I wrap the lid of the pot in a dish towel to lock in the steam, and cook over low for around 50 min.

Rachel, I'm glad you made the dish.

I suppose I always caution against cooking it too quickly because in my experience I have been left with a burned layer of rice without much actual crust.

It certainly sounds like you should turn up the flame. The crust should be well browned after 20-30 minutes. It could also have to do with the type of pan used, etc.

I forgot about salt, I guess I just assumed people would salt as they liked.

Part of my posting this, in addition to sharing the joy of polow, was that I myself am working on th crust technique, so I look forward to more experimentations and input.

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[Jason Perlow]

Last night's Polow: