Best Baghalee Polo Recipe; Persian Fava Beans & Rice
by Marjan
Baghalee polo is another classic Persian rice dish. Simple goodness with comforting flavors, this dish is a spring time favorite. Using fresh fava beans and dill, my mother prepares this rice dish on special occasions. She loves gathering the beans and dill fresh from the garden and serving this aromatic rice dish to please all pallets.
Traditionally, baghalee polo is served with tender stew of lamb shank that has braised for hours (lamb shank, turmeric, onion, salt and pepper cooked until the meat falls off the bone). For those who don’t like to consume lamb, rotisserie chicken will do. Baghalee polo is also a wonderful vegetarian option that can be served with fried eggs (my dad’s personal favorite!).
My mother’s secret for preparing baghalee polo is abundant fresh dill and fava beans. Fresh fava beans are seasonal and very few markets sell them; therefore every spring, she will harvest pounds of fresh fava beans to freeze or dry them (peeled out of stem and outer skin) to be enjoyed all year long. Some Iranians will substitute fava beans with lima beans; however, the fragrance and taste is not the same, so please, do not even bother trying.
Enjoy this fragrant Persian dish during these lovely spring days.
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
3 cups basmati rice- rinsed under cold water
2 cups fava beans- peel outer skin and separate bean halves and cut into long quarters (creating 4 long pieces from one fava bean)
2 cups finely chopped dill- stems and leaves
½ teaspoon saffron- mixed in ¼ cup hot water; once cooled add ¼ cup canola oil
Salt
Canola oil
In a large pot bring to boil rice, 10 cups of cold water and 1 tsp of salt. Bring heat down to medium and stir rice and cook until almost ‘al-dente’. Immediately add dill and fava beans. Give it a good, gentle stir until rice, fava beans and herb blend and remove from heat and pour into a rice strainer (thin holes so the rice and herbs do not escape). Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
In the same pot, add ½ cup, each, water and canola oil. With a large spatula lightly spoon the rice back into the pot. Puncture 3 holes in the rice mound to allow hot air to escape from the bottom of the pot to the top. Place a large paper towel on the lid (carefully securing to not catch fire from the flames) and cover pot to capture steam. Heat rice over medium high heat for 5 minutes until you hear the rice crackling, and then reduce heat to low to cook for 50-55 minutes.
Once the rice is cooked, spoon over a large platter and don’t forget to serve the ‘tahdeeg’ (literal translation ‘bottom of the pot’) which is the most delicious crunchy part of the rice. Pour saffron mixture over the top of the rice evenly coating all areas. Using a spoon, fluff the rice in order for the saffron sections to blend into other sections of the rice.
Enjoy with either lamb, chicken or fried eggs.
Noushe jan.
Baghalee polo is another classic Persian rice dish. Simple goodness with comforting flavors, this dish is a spring time favorite. Using fresh fava beans and dill, my mother prepares this rice dish on special occasions. She loves gathering the beans and dill fresh from the garden and serving this aromatic rice dish to please all pallets.
Traditionally, baghalee polo is served with tender stew of lamb shank that has braised for hours (lamb shank, turmeric, onion, salt and pepper cooked until the meat falls off the bone). For those who don’t like to consume lamb, rotisserie chicken will do. Baghalee polo is also a wonderful vegetarian option that can be served with fried eggs (my dad’s personal favorite!).
Enjoy this fragrant Persian dish during these lovely spring days.
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
3 cups basmati rice- rinsed under cold water
2 cups fava beans- peel outer skin and separate bean halves and cut into long quarters (creating 4 long pieces from one fava bean)
2 cups finely chopped dill- stems and leaves
½ teaspoon saffron- mixed in ¼ cup hot water; once cooled add ¼ cup canola oil
Salt
Canola oil
In a large pot bring to boil rice, 10 cups of cold water and 1 tsp of salt. Bring heat down to medium and stir rice and cook until almost ‘al-dente’. Immediately add dill and fava beans. Give it a good, gentle stir until rice, fava beans and herb blend and remove from heat and pour into a rice strainer (thin holes so the rice and herbs do not escape). Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
In the same pot, add ½ cup, each, water and canola oil. With a large spatula lightly spoon the rice back into the pot. Puncture 3 holes in the rice mound to allow hot air to escape from the bottom of the pot to the top. Place a large paper towel on the lid (carefully securing to not catch fire from the flames) and cover pot to capture steam. Heat rice over medium high heat for 5 minutes until you hear the rice crackling, and then reduce heat to low to cook for 50-55 minutes.
Once the rice is cooked, spoon over a large platter and don’t forget to serve the ‘tahdeeg’ (literal translation ‘bottom of the pot’) which is the most delicious crunchy part of the rice. Pour saffron mixture over the top of the rice evenly coating all areas. Using a spoon, fluff the rice in order for the saffron sections to blend into other sections of the rice.
Enjoy with either lamb, chicken or fried eggs.
Noushe jan.
