A good rice is important in the Persian Cuisine. This is the basic recipe for Polo rice.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Persian
Diet Gluten Free
Keyword rice, safron
Prep Time 30minutes
1hour
Total Time 1hour30minutes
Servings 6people
Calories 368kcal
Equipment
1 Persian Rice Cooker
Ingredients
3cupswhite basmati rice
2litres boiling water
1tspsalt
2tlbs ghee or olive oil
1med potato
¼tspsaffron powder
Instructions
Wash the rice well, until the water runs clear.
Place the rice in a large saucepan with the salt and pour enough boiling water over the rice to enable the rice to move freely after expansion from cooking.
Bring rice to the boil until it is 3/4 cooked. Still a little hard in the center to bite.
Rinse the rice under running water in a colander until the water runs clear.
Peel the potato and slice.
In the bottom of a Persian rice cooker pan, or a non-stick saucepan, brush half the ghee or olive oil and then layer the potato totally covering the bottom of the pan.
Gently spoon the rice over the potato, sprinkle the saffron powder over the rice, and add the remainder of the ghee or olive oil to the top of the rice.
Cover the rice cooker lid with a tea towel or cloth and place on the top of the pot.
Run the rice cooker through its cycle, if using a non stick saucepan, initially bring the heat to high until steam is formed in the saucepan, then reduce the temperature to low-med for about 30 minutes.
When the rice is ready, invert the pot onto a flat round serving dish, taking care to retain the tahdig.
Notes
When cooking rice it is important to prepare it gently and with care resulting in individual grains, steamed to perfection.