Sabzi Polo (Herb Rice)

Tags

basmati rice, chelo, cooking rice, crispy crust, easy herb rice, herb rice, parboiled rice, Persian recipes, Persian rice, Polo, saffron, tadig, tadigh, vegetarian rice

Sabzi Polo (Herb Rice)

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 hour
Ready in: 1 hour 30 min
Yields: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch parsley (2 cups chopped)
1 bunch cilantro (1½ cups chopped)
1 bunch fresh dill (1½ cups chopped)
1 bunch green onions/scallions (1½ cups chopped)
1 bunch fresh fenugreek (1 cup chopped) or 1/3 cup dried fenugreek
4 cloves garlic
3 cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained
3 liters (12 cups) water
3 tablespoons salt
6 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons butter melted
saffron (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash the herbs, drain and chop them. Peel and chop the garlic, add to the herbs.

Bring water and salt to a boil in a 5-quart nonstick pot. Add rice; stir and return back to a boil. Lower heat to medium; cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until rice rises to the top. Add chopped herbs and garlic; gently stir to combine. Drain in a mesh colander.

Heat 4 tablespoons oil to the same pot used to cook the rice. Pour rice mixture into the pot. Cover; cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the rice starts to steam.

Add the remaining oil and melted butter on top of the rice. Reduce heat to low. Place a clean dishtowel or 2 layers of paper towel over the pot, folding corners to keep away from the heat source. Cover the pot firmly with a lid; cook for 50 minutes.

Serve sabzi polo (herb rice) either by placing it on a serving platter or unmolding it. To plate the rice, gently scoop it out onto a serving platter with a wide spatula, mounding it into the shape of a pyramid. Loosen the tadigh (crispy crust) from the bottom of the pan; lay them over the rice or arrange them on a separate plate.

If the tadigh is hard to remove, lower the bottom of the pot into a sink filled with few inches of cold water for few minutes to help release the crust or place the pot on a wet towel.

To unmold the rice, place a round serving platter upside down on top of the pot. Using pot holders firmly grab the serving platter and the pot flipping them over together, as you would invert a cake pan. This will keep the tadigh intact.  Dissolve a pinch of saffron in 1 tablespoon hot water, mix with 1 cup of sabzi polo. Use for garnish.

Serve sabzi polo (herb rice) with mahi, pan-fried salmon, braised chicken breasts, braised chicken thighs or braised beef.

Sabzi Polo (Herb Rice)

Wash the herbs, drain and chop them. Peel and chop the garlic, add to the herbs.

Bring water and salt to a boil in a 5-quart nonstick pot.

Add rice, cook over medium high heat for about 6 to 8 minutes or until rice rises to the top.

Add chopped herbs and garlic.

Gently stir to combine.

Drain in a mesh colander.

Heat 4 tablespoons oil in the same pot used to cook the rice. Pour rice mixture into the pot.

Cover; cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the rice starts to steam.

Add the remaining oil and melted butter on top of the rice. Reduce heat to low. Cover the pot firmly with a lid; cook for 50 minutes.

Dissolve a pinch of saffron in 1 tablespoon hot water.

Mix with 1 cup of sabzi polo. Use for garnish.

Sabzi Polo (Herb Rice)

Sabzi Polo (Herb Rice)

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Sabzi Polo in Rice Cooker (Herb Rice in Rice Cooker)

Tags

basmati rice, chelo, cooking rice, crispy crust, easy herb rice, herb rice, Persian rice, Polo, saffron, steamed rice, tadig, tadigh

Sabzi Polo in Rice Cooker (Herb Rice in Rice Cooker)

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 hour
Ready in: 1 hour 20 min
Yields: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch parsley (2 cups chopped)
1 bunch cilantro (1½ cups chopped)
1 bunch fresh dill (1½ cups chopped)
1 bunch green onions/scallions (1½ cups chopped)
1 bunch fresh fenugreek (1 cup chopped) or 1/3 cup dried fenugreek
4 cloves garlic
4½ cups cold water
3 cups basmati rice
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon saffron (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Clean herbs by cutting off the stems, for green onions cut the root ends. Wash, strain and finely chop all the herbs, place in a bowl. Peel and chop garlic cloves, add to the bowl.

Measure rice with a regular measuring cup. Rinse and drain in a mesh strainer. The cup packaged with the Persian rice cooker is smaller than standard U.S. measuring cup. If you don’t have a rice cooker, use kateh method.

Combine all the ingredients except saffron in the rice cooker. Cover the rice cooker and plug it in. Turn the machine on and start the cooking cycle following the manufacturer’s timing. Five minutes into cooking, gently stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon to combine them.

When rice is ready, unplug the rice cooker. Dissolve saffron in 2 tablespoons hot water and pour over the rice. Place a round serving platter on top of the rice cooker. Using pot holders, firmly grab the serving platter and the pot flipping them over together.

Serve sabzi polo (herb rice) with mahi, pan-fried salmon, braised chicken breasts, braised chicken thighs or braised beef.

Sabzi Polo in Rice Cooker (Herb Rice in Rice Cooker)

Wash the herbs, drain and chop them. Peel and chop the garlic, add to the herbs.

Combine all the ingredients except saffron in the rice cooker.

Five minutes into cooking, gently stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients.

Persian rice cooker takes 1 hour to cook the rice and create a crust.

Using pot holders firmly grab the serving platters and the pot flipping them over together.

Sabzi Polo Kateh Style (Herb Rice Steamed)

Tags

basmati rice, cooking rice, crispy crust, easy herb rice, herb rice, kateh, Persian rice, Polo, saffron, steamed rice, tadig, tadigh

Sabzi Polo Kateh Style (Herb Rice Steamed)

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Ready in: 1 hour 5 min
Yields: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch parsley (2 cups chopped)
1 bunch cilantro (1½ cups chopped)
1 bunch fresh dill (1½ cups chopped)
1 bunch green onions/scallions (1½ cups chopped)
1 bunch fresh fenugreek (1 cup chopped) or 1/3 cup dried fenugreek
4 cloves garlic
4 ½ cups water
3 cups basmati rice
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon ground saffron (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash the herbs, drain and chop them. Peel and chop the garlic, add to the herbs. Rinse and drain the rice in a mesh strainer and set aside.

Bring 4½ cups water to a boil in a 5-quart nonstick pot, covered. Add rice, oil, butter and salt to the pot and bring back to a gentle boil. Add fresh herbs and garlic, stir gently to combine with rice. Lower heat to medium and cook uncovered until all the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to low. Place a clean dishtowel or 2 layers of paper towel over the pot, folding corners to keep away from the heat source. Cover the pot firmly with a lid; cook for 30 minutes.

To plate the rice, gently scoop it out onto a serving platter with a wide spatula, mounding it into the shape of a pyramid. Loosen the tadigh pieces  (if any) from the bottom of the pot; lay them over the rice or arrange them on a separate plate. Dissolve a pinch of saffron in 1 tablespoon hot water, mix with 1 cup of sabzi polo. Use for garnish.

Serve sabzi polo (herb rice) with mahi, pan-fried salmon, braised chicken breasts, braised chicken thighs or braised beef.

In kathe method of cooking, the rice is added to water along with salt, oil and butter and cooked until water is absorbed completely, and then steamed. The grains of rice may not get as fluffy and light as the polo method of cooking and the crust on the bottom may not get as thick and crispy. However, the rice will have more flavor and aroma.

Sabzi Polo (Herb Rice)

Wash the herbs, drain and chop them. Peel and chop the garlic, add to the herbs.

Bring 4½ cups water to a boil, covered, in a 5-quart pot over high heat. Add rice, oil, butter and salt to the pot and bring back to a soft boil.

Add fresh herbs and garlic, stir gently to combine with rice.

Lower heat to medium and cook uncovered until all the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to low. Place a clean dishtowel or 2 layers of paper towel over the pot, folding corners to keep away from the heat source. Cover the pot firmly with a lid; cook for 30 minutes.

The paper towel is used to keep the steam from escaping and to absorb the water that condenses on the inside of the lid, preventing it from falling back into the pot. This results in drier and fluffier rice.

Dissolve a pinch of saffron in 1 tablespoon hot water, mix with 1 cup of sabzi polo.

Use for garnish.

fenugreek