A Persian Meal in Just an Hour
Here is the question: is it really possible to make a Persian meal in an hour? The truthful answer to this question is, yes, but it depends on what you are making. My plan was to make Baghali Polow, rice with fava beans, in my rice cooker last Friday when I got back home from my mid-morning meeting. The idea was to stop by the Persian store on my way home to pick up fava beans and fresh dill then come home and get to work. While I was on my way to the store I had a hint of hunger going on. I started day dreaming about Baghali Polow with Lamb Shank. I quickly pushed those thoughts away because I knew that the cooking process would take too long. But then I had a genius idea, what if I could manage to make my polow with a side of meat in less than an hour.
I decided to make one small change to the rice from the original recipe. Instead of using fresh dill, I decided to use dried dill. This cut the cooking process by a good 10 to 15 minutes since I could by pass the stripping and cleaning of the dill. I opted to get some chicken which cooks fast instead of Lamb Shank. I was pretty happy with the end product as I had the food ready to eat in just an hour! Pretty impressive!!!
Here is what I did:
The first step is to get your Baghali Polow going. Follow the recipe that I posted on Monday for Baghali Polow in Rice Cooker.This rice recipe is good for 6 people. It’s only the two of here, but we had delicious leftover polow and chicken for two meals!
Once the rice is cooking away move on to the chicken.
Ingredients
6 chicken leg and thigh
1 onion
1 large bay leaf (or 2 small ones)
1 tsp turmeric
salt & pepper
Slice onion and add to a pot. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place on top of the onion. I opted for boneless chicken because it cooks faster. Add turmeric, bay leaf, and 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes stirring the chicken half way through the cooking process. If there is too much juice, then uncover and continue cooking until juices are reduced.
In the end I had a fabulous meal! A salad like Salad Shirazi is a perfect addition to this dish as well.
I was pretty happy with the end result and I was even happier that I had leftovers for a couple of days! The Persian rice cooker definitely made things much easier!!
January 28, 2011
I don’t know if there’s a whole lot of khoresht you can make in an hour, but outside of khoresht there’s stuff like mirzah ghasemi and kotlet with sabzi and bread.
January 30, 2011
Sanam azizam,
my sous chef needs at least one hour to peel the bagali, and for 27 years Agha argues each time with me, why the shell should be removed ?
Never used dry dill, is the fragrance same as fresh ?
January 31, 2011
even faster…. use frozen lima beans instead of fava beans! i am not a huge fan of fava beans, but prefer the milder flavor of lima beans. i always use dried dill from iran (i ask friends or family to bring it back for me). i agree, it is super easy in the rice cooker and i prefer it to be served with chicken. another time saver….. buy a rotisserie chicken and put it in a low oven and add saffron, a bit of chicken broth, a bit of fresh lemon juice, some butter, and you have a “persian rotisserie chicken”. 🙂
this one is great with an ONION tahdig!
January 31, 2011
Maryam, great suggestions!! ONION Tahdig??!! I had never heard of it before and you better believe that I am going to have to make it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 31, 2011
Vivi khanoomeh aziz, you had me laugh out loud!!! I totally splurged and bought double peeled baghali from the Persian store. I think I paid $4 for the bag, but I decided that it was worth paying more to save time!! Truth be told, fresh dill is so much better as dry dill is not as fragrant. But for some reason I find that stripping fresh dill is hell of a lot more time consuming than any other herb. 🙂
February 11, 2011
Hi there! My Persian boyfriend and I made this version of baghali polow last night and it was fantastic! My first time ever making tahdig – I just followed your wonderful instructions and it was done! I can’t tell you how excited I was. And I can’t wait to enjoy the leftovers today!
February 11, 2011
Melissa, awesome!!! You go girl!! Leftovers taste even better!! 😉
May 10, 2011
salam aziz vaghean ghaza haton harf nadare
tanha soal e man in ke man az koja mitonam advieh bekharam
az har magahze irani ke miporsam aslan nemidonan chi hast 🙁
plz agar emkan dare baray man ye email befrestin mamnon & have nice one
May 29, 2011
Do you have any tips for “quickie” rice without a rice cooker? When I don’t have time, I tend to boil the rice in just a little bit of water and then turn down the heat and put on the lid to let it steam. In this way I have half way decent white rice in like 20 minutes or so… but maybe there is a better way?
June 3, 2011
Hello,
I’m anticipating another visit from my relatives for the summer (in-laws) and I need to make some meals in advance. I have five kids and it is hard to cook while they are here. Do you have any more ideas of good meals to freeze in advance?
September 27, 2011
Hi there! What heat temperature/heat setting would I use to cook the chicken? I’ve never cooked chicken in a pot like that before..thanks so much, I love this website!
November 10, 2011
Hello from an Aruse Farangee. Would this work with boneless chicken breast or would it be too dry?
November 10, 2011
Leila, yes you can use boneless chicken, however, the cooking time is less as cooking chicken with bones takes longer.