Shirin Polo

Shirin Polo

 

Ingredients:

3 cups Basmati rice

1 lb. chicken breast

2 ounces almonds

2 ounces pistachios

4 ounces orange peel

2 tablespoons sugar

2 large onions

1/2 teaspoon saffron

Salt and pepper as desired

6 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Preparation:

Cook rice according for recipe for chelo, rinse and drain.

Dice onions and fry in oil until slightly golden.  Cut chicken into cubes, add to pan and fry until color changes. Add a glass of hot water, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes.  Add more hot water during cooking if necessary. About 1/2 glass of water should be left at the end.  Add the sugar to a glass of hot water and bring to a boil. Add 3 tablespoons of oil and saffron, and mix well.

Thinly slice almonds and pistachios. Soak almonds in cold water for an hour. Thinly slice orange peels. Boil for a few minutes, drain and repeat. Soak in cold water for an hour, drain, and repeat. Finally boil for a few minutes with three spoons of sugar, and drain. 

 Add 3 tablespoons of oil to a pot and add half of the rice.  Spread the chicken pieces and half of the almonds and orange peels over the rice, and cover with with the remaining rice. Sprinkle the remaining almonds, pistachios, and orange peels over the top. Cover and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes.   Mix well when finished and serve.

This recipe and others can be found at www.cookpersian.com

Vegetable Kuku

Vegetable Kuku

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1 onion

2 tablespoons flour

¼ lb fresh parsley

¼ lb fresh chives

¼ lb fresh green onion tops

¼ lb fresh romaine leaves

¼ lb fresh dill

½ cup vegetable oil

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon saffron

Preparation:

In a large bowl add the 6 eggs and beat until light and fluffy.  Grate the onion and add to the bowl.  Add the flour, salt, pepper and saffron.  Chop the parsley, chives, green onions, romaine leaves and dill very fine and add them to the bowl.  Mix well.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a 9 inch metal frying pan (oven friendly), add the vegetable oil and bring to a high heat.  Pour in the egg mixture.  Cover and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, check the underside with a knife and verify it is browned.  If it is, flip the kuku and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  If not, cook longer.  When both sides are fully cooked, remove from the oven and place in a serving dish.  Cut into portion size pieces.  This dish is often served with plain yogurt.

Learn how to cook persian food.

This recipe and others can be found at www.cookpersian.com

Mast O' Musir

Mast O Musir

Ingredients:

1 Small Shallot

2 Cups Middle Eastern Lebni or Plain (unsweetened) Greek Yogurt

Salt as desired

Preparation:

This is a very easy and delicious recipe, and is great served as a dip with pita bread.  Peel the shallot and dice very, very, finely .  In a large bowl add the shallots, yogurt, and salt as desired.  Mix well and serve.

This recipe and others can be found at www.cookpersian.com

Mast O' Khiar

Mast O Khiar

Ingredients:

½ Large Cucumber

2 Cups Plain (unsweetened) Yogurt

1 Tablespoon Dry Mint

Salt as desired

Preparation:

This is a very easy and delicious recipe.  Similar to the Greek dish Tzatziki.  Peel the cucumber and dice into small pieces (sugar cube size).  In a large bowl add the cucumbers, yogurt, mint, and salt as desired.  Mix well and serve.

This recipe and others can be found at www.cookpersian.com

Dolmeh Barg

Dolmeh Barg

Ingredients:

1/3 lb ground beef

1 onion

½ teaspoon saffron

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 small bunch parsley

3 tablespoons yellow split peas

1 (8-ounce) jar grape leaves, rinsed and drained

1 cup lemon juice

Preparation:

Boil the rice per the instructions for Chelou with can be found on this site, drain and save the rice water.  In a frying pan add 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Saute the beef, onions, saffron, pepper, turmeric, and salt in the pan over medium heat.  Chop the parsley and add to the pan.  Cook the split peas in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain, and add to the frying pan with the meat.  Add the rice to the pan.  Stir the ingredients of the frying pan well and cook for an additional 5 minutes then leave aside to fill the grape leaves.

Bring a big pot of water to a simmer.  Dip the grape leaves in hot water for 5 minutes or until pliable.  Drain then trim the stems and any hard veins from the leaves.  

To assemble the dolmades, lay a grape leaf on a work surface, shiny-side down.  Put 2 tablespoons of the meat and rice filling in the center of the leaf. Fold the stem and tip over the filling and then fold both sides toward the middle, and roll together.  The roll should be snug but not overly tight because the rice will swell once it is fully cooked.  Squeeze lightly in the palm of your hand to secure the roll. Repeat with remaining grape leaves and filling.

In a large deep pan add 2 cups rice water, the lemon juice, and the olive oil.  Add the rolled dolmeh and bring the pan to a simmer.   Cover tightly and simmer over very low heat for 40 minutes or until the dolmeh are tender to a fork.  Serve warm alongside your favorite dish.

This recipe and others can be found at www.cookpersian.com

Salad Olivieh Recipe

Salad Olivieh

(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast

4 large potatoes

4 eggs

20 oz can of Persian pickles

1/2 can of peas

1 small carrot

2-3 teaspoons of lime juice

2 cups mayonnaise

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Bake the chicken in the oven at 375 degrees until cooked.  Chop the cooked chicken very finely (in fact all ingredients should be chopped no larger than the size of sugar cube).  Boil the potatoes and chop.  Boil the eggs and chop.  Chop the pickles.  Boil the carrot and chop.  Put the chicken, potatoes, eggs, pickles, peas, carrots, lime juice, mayonnaise, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Mix thoroughly, you should expect some of the software ingredients to blend into a paste.  Let cool in the fridge before serving, it should be served cold with pita bread.

This recipe and others can be found at www.cookpersian.com

Adas Polo Recipe

Lentil Polou (Adas Polo)

Ingredients:

1 lb. lentils

1 lb. long-grained rice

2 ½ tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons of hot water

1 lb. finely cut cooked lamb, chicken or veal

¼ pound dates

1 cup raisins

½ teaspoon saffron

½ cup melted butter or margarine

Preparation:

Wash lentils and cook until tender. Cook rice according to directions for chelou and mix in with the cooked lentils. Mix 2 ½ tablespoons of vegetable oil and with hot water in a baking dish so the bottom is coated nicely. Place dish over low to medium heat and pour in half the rice and lentils. Place meat over rice and sprinkle the ¼ lb. of dates and the raisins on top. Add remaining rice and cover to bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before adding melted butter or margarine with the saffron on top and toss gently!


This recipe and others can be found at www.cookpersian.com