Reshteh Polo with Meatballs (Noodle Rice)

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Persian food recipes, Persian noodle rice with raisins, Persian recipes, reshteh and raisin rice

Reshteh Polo with Meatballs (Noodle Rice)

Even though reshteh polo is not one of the popular Persian dishes, it has always been one of my favorites. I usually layer braised chicken thighs in this rice and pour the chicken juices over it. The rice and noodles absorb the flavorful juices making the rice super tasty. But, meatballs are also delicious with this rice for those who don’t care for chicken.

Reshteh Polo with Meatballs (Noodle Rice)

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 hour
Ready in: 1 hour 20 min
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

For Meatballs:

½ pound ground beef
1 small onion peeled and grated
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon oil

For reshteh and raisins:

1 cup raisins
1 tablespoon butter
1½ cups reshteh (Capellini Spezzati or angel hair pasta broken into pieces)

For rice:

2 cups long grain basmati rice
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons oil

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients except oil. Shape into ½-inch balls. Coat a large skillet with 1 tablespoon oil and bring to medium-high heat. Add meatballs and brown on all sides. Stir in raisins and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Set aside.

In a large skillet, toast reshteh with 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat, for about 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Keep stirring to prevent it from burning. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine all the rice ingredients and toasted restheth in the pot of a rice cooker and turn it on. Half way through cooking cycle, add meatballs and raisins, cover and cook until the cycle finishes.

Use a Persian rice cooker which is designed to cook light and fluffy rice with tadig (crispy crust). If you don’t have one, use a regular rice cooker.

To serve, gently spoon the rice mixture onto a serving platter lightly mixing the ingredients. The bottom of the rice develops a crisp crust that can be served on a separate plate.

Reshteh Polo with Meatballs (Noodle Rice)

Reshteh Polo (Rice Pilaf) in Rice Cooker

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basmati rice, cooking rice, crispy crust, noodle, persian food, Persian recipes, Persian rice pilaf, Polo, raisins, reshteh, rice, tadigh, vegetarian rice

Reshteh polo is a delicious Persian rice pilaf made with a very thin pasta (reshteh). In Iran, they actually use a roasted rice reshteh for this dish, but I prefer the taste of homemade roasted vermicelli. If you don’t have a Persian rice cooker, cook the rice kateh style and add the reshteh to the rice. If cooking your rice the polo style, add your reshteh before straining the rice.

Reshteh Polo (Rice Pilaf) in Rice Cooker

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 hour
Ready in: 1 hour 10 min
Yields: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

For rice:

3 cups long grain basmati rice*
5 ¾ cups water
1½ teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons butter

For reshteh and raisins:

2 cups reshteh (Capellini Spezzati or angel hair pasta broken into pieces)
1 tablespoon oil
1½ cups raisins
1 tablespoon butter

Saffron (optional)

* Measure the rice and water using a regular measuring cup. The measuring cup packaged with the rice cooker is smaller than the standard U.S. measuring cup.

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour the rice into a bowl; cover with cold water. Swish the rice around gently with your hand; drain and repeat until the water is clear. Rinsing washes off loose starch, making the rice less sticky. Strain the rice thoroughly to get rid of the excess water.

Combine all the rice ingredients in the pot of the rice cooker. Use a Persian rice cooker which is designed to cook light and fluffy rice with tadig (crispy crust). If you don’t have one use a regular rice cooker.

Cover the pot, plug the rice cooker in. Turn the machine on and start the cooking cycle following the manufacturer’s timing.

While rice is cooking toast reshteh in a frying pan with 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the reshteh turns golden brown, keep stirring to prevent it from burning. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and raisins in a small frying pan over medium heat for about 1 minute or until the butter melts. Remove from heat and set aside.

Half way through cooking, when rice starts to rise to the top of the water, stir in toasted reshteh and gently mix to combine. Add raisins, cover and cook until the cycle finishes. Optional: place a clean dishtowel or 2 layers of paper towel over the pot and cover firmly with the lid to absorb the steam.

To serve, gently spoon the rice mixture onto a serving platter lightly mixing the ingredients. The bottom of the rice develops a crisp crust that can be served on a separate plate.

Optional: Dissolve a pinch of saffron in 1 tablespoon hot water.  Mix in 1 cup of cooked rice and use for garnish.

Serve with braised chicken thighs or breast.

Capellini spezzati

Combine all the rice ingredients in the pot of the rice cooker. Cover the pot; plug the rice cooker in. Turn the machine on and start the cooking cycle.

toast reshteh in a frying pan with 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the reshteh turns golden brown, keep stirring to prevent it from burning.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and raisins in a small frying pan over medium heat for about 1 minute or until the butter melts. Remove from heat and set aside.

Half way through cooking, when rice starts to rise to the top of the water…

Add the reshteh.

stir in toasted reshteh and gently mix to combine.

Top the rice with raisins.

Cover and cook until the cycle finishes. Optional: place a clean dishtowel or 2 layers of paper towel over the pot and cover firmly with the lid to absorb the steam.

To serve, gently spoon the rice mixture onto a serving platter lightly mixing the ingredients.

Optional: Dissolve a pinch of saffron in 1 tablespoon hot water. Mix in 1 cup of cooked rice and use for garnish.

The bottom of the rice develops a crisp crust that can be served on a separate plate.

Reshteh Polo (Noodle Rice)