Persian Jeweled Rice

Since we started off the new year with an Iranian stew, I thought it would make sense to continue with a classic Persian rice recipe, shireen polou. Two years ago I posted a photo of Persian rice and several people asked me for the recipe, so it's about time to follow up with another polou recipe.

If you have ever inadvertently burned a pot of rice, then Persian style rice is for you. I'm kidding, but the most delicious part about Persian rice is the delicious golden crust, called tah-dig, that is carefully formed on the bottom of the pan. "Crusty rice," is a technique found all over the world, from Korean bibimbap to northern Indian Biryani to crunchy fried rice. If it were up to me, crunchy rice beats out plain fluffy rice anytime.



The technique for Persian polou is the same whether you are just making plain rice (rice with butter), or a fancier rice stuffed with everything from sour cherries to chicken to pistachios to vegetables. First, you par-boil basmati rice until it is half way done, about 10 minutes. Then you drain the rice and mix with whatever additions you want to add, whether its spices, herbs, meat, or fruits and nuts. Then you melt a lot of butter (or ghee) in the bottom of a heavy bottomed pot. You add a little bit of rice and stir it in to coat in the butter and pat it down on the bottom of the pot. Then you pile in the rest of the rice in a loose conical shape, and poke a few holes in the rice with the handle of a wooden spoon. Sprinkle a bit of water over the top of the rice, wrap the lid of the pot with a towel, and cook on medium-ow heat until a beautiful crust forms on the bottom of the pan.



Now today we're making one of the fancier forms of polou, "shireen polou," or jeweled rice. Traditionally made for weddings, this rice is filled with chicken, pistachios, almonds, barberries or cherries, candied orange peel, and saffron. Though sour cherries are usually used for different dish (albalu polou), I love them and happened to add them on hand instead of barberries. The rice is studded with colors and textures, sweets and savories, all mixed with bits of rice both crunchy and sweet. You'll never want to eat boring old steamed rice again.



Jeweled Rice
You can always play around with different dried fruits and nuts for this dish, and if you don't have candied orange peel a bit of fresh orange zest will do in a pinch. Making polou is a delicate act, if the heat is too low you don't get the crispy crust, and too high and it burns. It may take a bit of practice to get it right, but even the "ugly" versions will be delicious.

6 chicken drumsticks (or 4 chicken breasts)
salt, pepper
2 cups basmati rice
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup shelled blanched pistachios
1/2 cup pitted sour cherries (or rehydrated barberries* or dried sour cherries)
1/4 cup golden raisins or diced dried apricots
2 tablespoons finely diced candied orange peel
1/4 teaspoon each allspice, cinnamon, and cumin
1 pinch of saffron mixed with 2 tablespoons hot water
6 tablespoons butter or ghee

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper. Heat some olive oil in a pot, add the chicken and lightly brown on all sides. Add water to cover chicken, bring to a simmer, and simmer about 45 minutes or until chicken is tender and falling of the bone. Remove chicken to cool and set aside broth.
2. Bring broth to boil, if there isn't much broth add some extra water so that there is at least around 5 cups liquid. The rice should be able to cook freely in the liquid, bouncing around the pot. Add the rice to the boiling broth and let the rice cook 10 minutes, it will be under-done. Drain rice immediately and place in a bowl.
3. Meanwhile pull apart the cooled chicken, discarding skin and bone.
4. Season the rice with salt and add the allspice, cinnamon, cumin, and saffron, stirring well to mix. Fold in the nuts, fruits, and chicken, folding gently to combine.
5. Melt the butter over medium-low heat in the bottom of a deep heavy pot. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the rice (preferably without any big chunks of chicken or fruit or anything), and add it to the pan, mixing with the butter. Pat this buttery rice layer down to cover the bottom of the pan. Pile in the remaining rice in a loose conical shape. Poke a few holes in the cone with the handle of a wooden spoon. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of water over the rice. Wrap the pot lid in a dish towel, tying it at the top with rubber band. Cover the pan with the lid and let cook undisturbed for 35-45 minutes. Start checking the rice after about 30 minutes, you want the rice at the bottom to be golden brown but not the burn.
6. When the rice is done, remove from the heat and immediately dunk the bottom of the pan in a sink of cold water (this will help the crusty rice release). Wait a moment, then carefully invert the rice onto a platter. If the rice sticks to the pan (as mine always does), just crumble the crusty bits decoratively over the top. Serve immediately, with some plain thick yogurt on the side.

*Barberries and jarred sour cherries are available at your local Middle Eastern or Persian grocery store.

So Much To Say

I have so many things to say today. About the new and last season of The Wire, about the awful piece by Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the Times recently, about Michael Pollan's new book. Unfortunately, I have nothing to say about this fish dish I want to tell you about, other than that it was delicious. Nothing, nada.

This blog is supposed to share recipes with you all and reflect on life both inside and outside the kitchen, but sometimes it seems like that's not enough.It's the same reason I decided a dancing career wasn't for me: I love, love dancing, but I just had so many other things to say, and I couldn't say them with tendus. As Claudia LaRocco wrote in a line that struck a special chord with me: "modern dance can easily and intensely capture fleeting emotions and atmospheres, but it runs into difficulties when addressing complex social realities; its delicacy and precision don’t lend themselves to topics like women’s lives in fundamentalist Islamic societies."

Sometimes I feel the same way when writing about food: how many ways can I tell you that something is delicious or that I really liked it without being trite or (worse) preachy. Twice now I have sat down to write about this fish recipe: first writing about the great sweet-sour flavors of Iranian cuisine. The second time I set out to tell you about verjus, the sour juice of unripe grapes, a traditional by-product of any grape-growing region from France to Iran. Haaa-shhooo.... Oh, sorry, I'm even putting myself to sleep, blah-blah-boring, besides I couldn't even find verjus in stores.

So here you have it: a completely delicious dish of fish baked in a sweet-sour sauce flavored with pomegranate, orange, and lime. Sometimes food just needs to be eaten, not analyzed. Instead, if you want to talk about political primaries, sustainable development, a great new novel, or the best movie you saw recently, then I've got a lot to say.


Fish in Persian Sweet-and-Sour Sauce
This was inspired by a recipe by Najmieh Batmanglij which called for verjus (the sour juice of unripe grapes, not the alcoholic beverage) and Seville orange juice. Not having access to those ingredients, I came up with this version which has become a favorite in our kitchen. Serves 4.

olive oil
1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup pomegranate juice or 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses with 3/4 cup water
juice from 1 large orange plus 1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup tomato juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon each cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar or honey
4 thick fish fillets (about 2 lb) like orange roughy, trout, or sea bass
1/4 cup flour

1. Combine pomegranate juice, tomato juice, orange juice and zest, lime juice, salt, spices, and honey in a bowl.
2. In a saucepan heat a few tablepoons of olive oil. Add the scallions and garlic and saute over medium heat until softened, a few minutes. Add the juice mixture and bring to a boil. Taste the sauce: it should be both sweet and sour, add more honey if necessary. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, then set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 450 F. Get out a large casserole or baking dish.
4. Pat the fish dillets dry and sprinkle with salt, then rub a thin sprinkling of flour on the fillets to coat on both sides. Heat a few spoonfuls of olive oil in a wide pan. Fry the fillets for 2 minutes on each side. You want the outside of the fillet to be "sealed" but the inside will not be done.
5. Place fillets in the baking dish. Pour the sauce over the fish and place in the oven. Bake 7-12 minutes, until the fish is just done. Serve immediately, with rice or bread.