Originally published on Tuesday, 2nd June 2009

 

Reshteh Polo (Aromatic Rice with Chicken, Cinnamon and Bitter Orange)

Serves 6

One morning in Yazd, my friend and I hatched an ambitious plan. Fortified by a breakfast of ‘kalleh pacheh’ – a sheep’s head and foot soup - we drove 30 kilometres out into the desert to visit a traditional slaughterhouse. No one batted an eyelash as the strange ‘food tourist’ snapped pictures and watched fascinated as pick-up trucks full of sheep, goats and the odd camel were herded inside and swiftly killed with the razor-sharp knives of the slaughtermen.

Stinking of sheep and splattered with blood, we returned home where his mother was waiting for us to teach me how to make this aromatic and delicate rice dish.

Persian rice is unlike any other. Its cooking method involves an initial rinsing and soaking, after which it is boiled until ‘al dente’ like pasta and drained and put back into the pot with clarified butter or oil and steamed with almost no liquid. This method results in very light, fluffy rice and a crisp crust underneath called a ‘tahdig’.

The tahdig is considered the most delicious part of the rice and it is often passed around separately so that each family member can help themselves to a section of the golden, crispy rice crust.

Ingredients

450 grams basmati rice
3 tbsp vegetable oil
100 grams uncooked Persian ‘reshteh’ noodles or Japanese wholewheat Udon noodles
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks and rinsed under cold water to remove excess starch and patted dry with kitchen towels
peel of one orange ideally a bitter orange, cut into fine strips
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter
500 grams lamb mince or chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
a handful of golden raisins
a handful of raw pistachios or slivered almonds
1 tbsp of freshly ground cinnamon
vegetable oil + 80 mls hot water

Advieh Spice Mix

1/2 tsp black peppercorns
a 2 inch piece of cinnamon bark or stick
2 cardamom pods
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

*Ensure that you use a pot with a matching lid for this recipe

Instructions

Place the rice in a large bowl and rinse it in three changes of water until the water is clear. Place the rice aside and soak for a minimum of 3 hours. The longer you soak the rice, the more the rice will soak up the water and distort, giving it a light and fluffy quality.

Make the spice mixture by warming the spices in a dry frying pan over low-medium heat. Toast the spices for 4-5 minutes or until the smell fragrant, then place them in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle and grind to a fine powder. Stir in the turmeric and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water and a small pot of water to the boil.

Meanwhile, warm the vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Break the noodles into thirds and add them to the oil. Fry the noodles stirring constantly for several minutes until they are crispy and a dark golden colour. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set them aside. Add the potatoes to the same oil and fry them for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until they are also crisp and golden. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and set them aside.

When the pots of water is boiling, drain the rice and add it to the large pot of water along with a teaspoon of salt. Boil the rice until it is ‘al dente’ or just tender but still firm to the bite. Add the fried noodles to the rice and continue to boil for another 2-3 minutes until the rice is just tender (the noodles should stay crisp) then drain the rice and noodles and rinse them well under cold water.

In the small pot of water, place the orange peel and boil it for 8 minutes, then drain the peel and set it aside. This step removes the bitterness from the peel.

In the oil that you cooked the potatoes in, fry the onion for 4-5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the butter, spice mix, salt and lamb or chicken and fry until the meat is cooked through and lightly browned. Add the orange peel, raisins and cinnamon, stir to mix well, then stir in the potatoes and fried onions. Taste and season with salt.

In the pot that you cooked the rice in, warm enough vegetable oil on high heat to completely coat the bottom of the pot and add the water. As soon as the water comes to a boil, carefully tip in half the rice-noodle mixture and spread it evenly across the bottom of your pot.

Empty the meat and raisin mixture over the rice and spread it evenly over top, then finish with the remaining rice, reserving a small scoopful. Tip the remaining scoopful of the rice into the frying pan that you cooked the meat in and stir in through so that it absorbs any remaining juices from the pan, then add it to the pot. Smooth the top layer of rice gently with a wooden spoon and using the handle, create 6 holes in the rice that run down to the base of the pot.

As soon as the rice starts to steam, cover the pot tightly, wrapping the lid in a tea towel to ensure a tight fit and absolutely no evaporation. It is important that the rice steam in the butter. Steam the rice on high heat for a couple of minutes to warm the rice right through, then reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. Leave to steam on very gentle heat for 45 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and carefully tip out the rice onto a large serving dish. Using a butter knife, gently scrape the rice crust that will have formed on the bottom of the pan off the bottom and crumble it on top of the rice. Serve immediately.

Next recipe…

Jennifer Klinec from Eat Drink Talk has kindly agreed to provide Urban Junkies readers with mouthwatering recipes and foodtips.

To learn more, classes at Eat Drink Talk are held in Jennifer's beautiful loft in Clerkenwell, packed with information and useful tips, and you'll get to sample all of the delicious dishes prepared during class.

 

by JK

In collaboration with Eat Drink Talk