Persian cooking: recipes · Polo & dami: rice dishes

Shekar Polo شکر پلو

Sweet festive rice from Shiraz with sugar, saffron, almonds and pistachios, served with chicken.

⏱ 90 min

Ingredients

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  • 400 g basmati rice
  • 150 g sugar
  • 2 tbsp saffron threads, ground and dissolved in 4 tbsp hot water
  • 40 g flaked or slivered almonds
  • 30 g pistachios, chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 60 g butter
  • 4 tbsp oil
  • salt (to taste)

Method

  1. Boil the sugar with 100 ml water, saffron and cardamom into a syrup. Toast the almonds and pistachios 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. Put the rice in the oiled pot and drizzle the syrup over it.
  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. Sprinkle with almonds and pistachios and serve with chicken.