Jeweled Rice

MORASA POLOW

IRAN

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There are many good books on Persian cuisine but none are as thorough, informative, and brilliant as the late Margaret Shaida’s Legendary Cuisine of Persia. Despite being English, Margaret became totally immersed in the Iranian way of life after she married into an Iranian family. The recipes in her book are incredibly accurate and completely foolproof. I befriended her at the Oxford Symposium of Food and Cookery and learned much of what I know about Persian food from her and her book, and of course from my travels to Iran. The recipe below is adapted from one in her book. Jeweled rice is thus named because of the jewel-like ingredients added to the rice, which provide a delightful combination of sweet and savory flavors and contrasting textures. It is Iran’s ultimate rice dish, served at special occasions to honor important guests or to mark significant events, both religious and secular.

A truly regal dish as its name implies, it makes a wonderful accompaniment to a plain roast chicken, or fish, or leg of lamb, elevating the meal to something special. In Iran, this rice is also served with fried chicken, although the Iranian version of fried chicken is quite different from America’s Southern version. Still there is no reason why you can’t make your Southern fried chicken more festive and exotic by serving it with this jeweled rice. Some people make the tah-dig (crust) here by mixing the rice with yogurt and saffron water, but I like to keep mine plain. You can also make a tah-dig by laying a single lavash over the bottom of the pot or very thinly sliced potatoes before layering the rice over it.

SERVES 4 TO 6

Good pinch of saffron threads

2½ cups (500 g) Iranian or basmati rice

Sea salt

3 tablespoons plus ⅓ cup (80 ml) vegetable oil

1 pound 10 ounces (750 g) carrots, peeled and julienned

8 tablespoons raw cane sugar

Peel of 3 unwaxed organic oranges (see Note), cut into very thin julienne sticks

⅓ cup (50 g) slivered almonds, soaked for 1 hour in cold water

⅓ cup (50 g) slivered pistachios, soaked for 1 hour in cold water

¼ cup (40 g) barberries (zereshk)

⅓ cup (50 g) dried currants, soaked for 1 hour in cold water and drained

1 teaspoon Advieh

4 tablespoons (60 g) unsalted butter, melted

1. Put the saffron to soak in ¼ cup (60 ml) water.

2. Rinse the rice under cold water and place in a large bowl. Add enough cold water to cover it by two fingers. Stir in 2 tablespoons salt and let soak for 2 hours.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and sauté for 10 minutes. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over the carrots and add 1 tablespoon saffron water and 2 tablespoons water. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until there is no more liquid in the pan. Take off the heat. Cover with a clean kitchen towel—you do not want the carrots to continue cooking—and set aside.

4. Place the orange peel in a small pan. Cover with water and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then drain the peel. Repeat a couple more times to get rid of any bitterness. Drain.

5. Drain the almonds and pistachios.

6. Put the remaining 7 tablespoons sugar in a medium pan. Add ⅓ cup (80 ml) water and place over low heat. Stir every now and then until the sugar has dissolved but not colored. Add the orange peel and most of the drained almonds and pistachios, reserving a few for garnish, and boil for a minute or so. Drain (discard the syrup) and set aside.

7. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the barberries and sauté for a couple of minutes until they turn a bright red—be careful not to burn them. (Some barberries are very dark in which case they will not turn red but don’t worry about this. They will still be good.)

8. Bring 2 quarts (2 liters) water to a boil in a large pot. Drain the rice and add to the boiling water. Add 2 tablespoons salt. Bring back to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just long enough to break the hardness of the grain. Drain the rice.

9. Wipe the pot clean and place over medium heat. Add the remaining ⅓ cup (80 ml) oil and half the remaining saffron water. As soon as the saffron water starts sizzling, spread one-third of the rice in an even layer over the bottom. Spread half the carrots over the rice. Spread half of the orange/nut mixture, barberries, drained currants, and advieh over the carrots. Cover with another one-third of the rice, trying to pile the rice in a pyramid so that it does not stick to the sides. Spread the remaining carrots, orange/nut mixture, barberries, drained currants, and advieh over the rice and cover with the rest of the rice.

10. Pour the butter and the remaining saffron water over the rice. Wrap the lid in a clean kitchen towel. Cover the pot tightly and leave over medium heat for 4 minutes. Then reduce the heat to very low and let the rice steam for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until it forms a perfect crust (known as tah-dig).

11. Just as the rice is about to be ready, prepare some iced water in your sink. Take the pan off the heat and dip the bottom in the iced water to loosen the crust. Mix the rice a little in the pan, fluffing it up, then spoon it onto a serving platter, taking care not to disturb the tah-dig. Scatter the reserved nuts all over. Remove the tah-dig from the pan and break it into medium pieces. Arrange them around the rice and serve hot.