Persian cooking: recipes · Polo & dami: rice dishes

Reshteh Polo رشته پلو

Rice with toasted noodles, raisins and dates; traditionally eaten on the first evening of the new year for a good start.

⏱ 90 min

Ingredients

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  • 400 g basmati rice
  • 150 g toasted reshteh noodles (reshteh polowi)
  • 1 onions
  • 80 g raisins
  • 80 g dates, pitted
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp saffron threads, ground and dissolved in 4 tbsp hot water
  • 50 g butter
  • 5 tbsp oil
  • salt (to taste)

Method

  1. Toast the noodles golden in butter. Fry the onion and toss the raisins and dates briefly in butter.
  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. Boil the noodles with the rice for the last 3 minutes, then layer with cinnamon in the oiled pot.
  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. Garnish with saffron rice, onions, raisins and dates; lamb goes well with it.