Lubia Polow

Let me make confess here : I do love lubia polow but I don’t like to cook it . It’s always become disaster dish to me. I always ignore my husband request, especially after he mention about how cooking rice is become a lovely chores for Iranian – jezz, I never tough how hard to cook rice before, well, to make it simple I always put rice into the rice cooker, easy.. and no complain

Anyway, short story, I met my in-law a couple years ago. With help from my husband to translate their conversation finally I got the secret of cooking this lovely rice – don’t worry I share with you. The critical point of cooking Persian rice is when you add the rice into the boiling water, and when you must to take the rice from the heat. It's all about the time, guys..

Here is the recipe I hope you enjoy it.

Lubia Polow (Rice with Green Beans)
(inspired by my sisters-in-law, farah and zohreh)

Ingredients :
2 cups of white basmati rice
1 large onion, chopped fine
2-3 cups of fresh green beans , cut into 1-inch pieces
3 big tomatoes, chopped or just using 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 tbsp of turmeric
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of advieh (persian rice spice mix)* easy to find at mid-eastern grocery store or make your own, see the note
2 1/2 tsp of salt
3 tsp of olive oil
1 lb of beef meat or lamb, cut into small dices *we like using lamb meat, more faster to cook and taste much better than beef meat. or using chicken meat, it work well too.
1 tbs of garlic powder
pinch of ground pepper
To my taste, I add 1 tsp of paprika powder

Note, :
* Advieh : mix very well 2 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp cumin, 2 tbsp cardamom,store in an air-tight container for next use

1. Rinse your basmati rice. until the water in the bowl is rather clear. And add 2 cups of cold water, set aside for about 30 minutes-1 hours.

2. Place the 2 cups of rice and about 4 cups of water in a saucepan. Add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of olive oil Bring to a boil and then let it boil for about 6-8 minutes more. To know when the rice should be removed from the heat and drained, taste a few grains. They should be soft but still have a bit of toughness in the center of the grain. Once you drain the rice in a strainer or colander, Strain and rinse with cool water. Set aside.

3. Saute the onions with 1 TBSP of oil on medium heat until they begin to brown. Add the meat until browned,add the tomatoes, turmeric, cinnamon, advieh, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir. Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes.

meanwhile, in a small wok saute the green beans with a small amount of oil, its about 5minute, set aside

4. Once the meat mix is cooked, add green beans,set aside. Add 2 tablespoons of canola oil, 2 tablespoons of water, and 1 tablespoon of saffron water to the bottom of a clean non-stick pot. Add a layer of rice. Cover with a layer of the green beans and tomato mixtures. Sprinkle some advieh on top. Repeat layering until both rice and green beans and meat mixture are gone always ending with a layer of white rice. Be sure to add advieh as you go.

5. Cover rice and cook on high for 10 minutes. Mix 2 tablespoons of saffron water with 2 tablespoons of canola oil and pour over rice. 

6. Cook for about 10 more minutes on medium-high heat. Then cover the pot with 2 paper towels and place a tight-fitting lid on top. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 35-40 more minutes. (The paper towels help keep in the steam). Don’t overcook ,you don’t want the rice to become too mushy.

7. When you are ready to serve, a very common presentation method is to invert the rice on a plate so that you can present the tahdiq (the highly coveted crust of rice that forms at the bottom of the pot). Yummy ...

Have a nice weekend, everyone