Persian cooking: recipes · Polo & dami: rice dishes

Estamboli Polo استامبولی پلو

Simple tomato and potato rice, often with a little meat: quick everyday food.

⏱ 70 min

Ingredients

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  • 300 g basmati rice
  • 190 g minced lamb or beef (with some fat)
  • ¾ onions
  • ¾ tsp turmeric
  • 2¼ waxy potatoes
  • 2¼ tbsp tomato paste
  • 38 g butter
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • salt (to taste)
  • black pepper (to taste)

Method

  1. Fry the onion, add the mince and turmeric. Dice the potatoes and fry with it; add tomato paste and 600 ml water and season with salt.
  2. Wash the rice, soak in salted water for 1 hour, then parboil in plenty of boiling salted water for 6–8 minutes and drain.
  3. Instead of parboiling: add the soaked rice to the boiling sauce and simmer until the water is almost absorbed; dot with butter.
  4. Cover the pot with a lid wrapped in a cloth and steam for 10 minutes over medium heat, then 45 minutes over low heat.
  5. Serve with yogurt and pickles.