Sabzi Polo - Persian Herb Rice with Rice Crust

One of many dishes that is popularly served for the Persian New Year Nowrouz is Sabzi Polo. Sabzi means herbs and Polo means rice. The various herbs used serve as harbingers of spring and refine the rice with a fine fresh note.

18 Dezember

Ingredients for 2 people:

  • 250 g basmati rice
  • 50 g flat leaf parsley
  • 50 g coriander
  • 50 g spring onion
  • 50 g dill
  • 25 g chives
  • ½ bulb garlic
  • 50 g clarified butter
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tbsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp saffron
  • 1/4 tsp Ceylon cinnamon

Preparation Herbed Rice:

1. wash the rice with cold water until the water remains clear and does not change color. Then soak the washed rice in a bowl with ½ tsp salt for half an hour.

2. then wash the herbs and pluck the leaves from parsley, cilantro and dill. Dry the herbs with a tea towel and then chop them very finely. Cut the chives and spring onion into fine rings and peel the garlic before chopping it finely as well.

3. Grind the saffron in a mortar and pour 15 ml of boiling water over it. Stir the saffron-water mixture well and cover the mixture with a plate before setting it aside to infuse.

4. In a saucepan, bring 1.5 liters of water to a boil with ½ tablespoon of salt, and in the meantime, pour the washed rice in a sieve. Once the water boils, add the rice and let it cook for about 5-7 minutes. Then add the chopped herbs and garlic and stir them well into the rice. Then drain the herbed rice through a sieve.

Preparation of rice crust:

1. Put the already used pot back on the stove top and add 25g clarified butter with 40ml boiling water. Let both boil briefly and then add 2 tbsp of the saffron water. Stir the mixture well.

2. Now spread the herb rice on the bottom of the pot until it is covered. Pile up the remaining rice in a pyramid shape in the cooking pot. Now spread the remaining clarified butter over the herbed rice and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp cinnamon.

3. drill about 5 holes in the rice pyramid with the handle of a wooden spoon until you hit the bottom.

4. wrap the pot lid in a clean tea towel and close the pot tightly until the end of the cooking time. Important: Do not open the pot before the end of the cooking time either!

5. Let the rice steam on the lowest setting for another 60 minutes. After that, the herb rice with the rice crust is ready and ready to serve.

Saffron rice preparation:

1. before serving, remove a large ladle of herbed rice from the pot and mix it with the remaining saffron water.

Tip: To help you get the rice crust off the pot, place it briefly in cold water in the sink. Then you can turn the rice out onto a large plate. It is important that you are quick here and quickly turn over the pot including the plate. If this succeeds, the rice should land in the middle of the plate like a cake. You can serve the herb rice like a cake and add the saffron rice separately. If you don't succeed with the cake, you can serve the herbed rice on a large platter and decorate with saffron rice and rice crust.

- Hamed, Karlstein am Main