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!!