Baqala Polow, Another Iranian Treat

Tender pieces of lamb falling off the bone; melting in your mouth. Dill infused fava bean saffron rice. Yes, its the recipe to another delectable Iranian dish. This was not like anything I had tried at an Iranian restaurant. It was a home cooked meal by my Persian friend, Leila, who definitely knows how to cook.

Leila brought over her beautiful cookbook "New Food of Life," and showed me a picture of the Baqala polow we were about to make. The photo itself was enough to make my mouth water and jump started our cooking endeavor. I quickly appointed myself sous-chef and we were on our way.

First we washed the lamb shanks and kept them aside. I chopped up two onions and Leila put them into a large pot along with some garlic and dill. She added the lamb shanks and seared them quickly on both sides. For seasoning, she added a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, cinnamon, lime powder, and saffron. She then added water until the meat was almost all covered and brought it up to a gentle boil. After the water began to boil, she brought it down to medium heat, covered the pot, and let it cook for three hours turning the shanks every half hour.

While the lamb was cooking we washed the rice and made it like you would ordinary rice. While the rice was cooking, Leila emptied the frozen fava beans into the pan and sautéed them with some salt, pepper, cinnamon, and lime powder until they were cooked.

Once the rice was done she layered the rice with beans and dill. First she put a layer of rice at the bottom of the pot. On top she added a layer of beans with dill, garlic, cinnamon, and a little saffron, and repeated the layers, until she reached the top of the pot. Once the layers were done, she covered the pot with a dish towel (to prevent the steam from escaping) and put the lid on top. To ensure the rice was completely infused with the herbs and spices, she cooked it for 45 mins over low heat.

After three hours on the stove, the lamb shanks were perfect. The way to tell whether they are done, is to tear a little piece off with a fork and if it falls off the bone easily, its ready to eat. She arranged the saffron-flavored rice in the middle of the platter and arranged the meat around it.

The smell of the fresh lamb permeated the air and I took a bite of the delicious rice richly flavored with cinnamon, garlic, saffron, dill, and fava beans. I started to dig into the extremely tender, juicy, chunks of lamb which were literally melting in my mouth, when I looked over at Leila, and discovered her eating mushrooms with the rice. It turns out she's a vegetarian and I had no idea! She claims though, that this is one of the only dishes, that really tempts her to eat meat. I think that speaks for itself...

Recipe for Baqala Polow (by Carolyn Dille adapted from New Food of Life)

Ingredients

• 3 to 3 1/4 pounds lamb shanks, cut in thirds
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 6 cups loosely packed fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground saffron threads, steeped in 1/4 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
• 3 cups basmati rice
• 4 quarts water
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 pounds fresh or 1 pound frozen fava beans, shelled, or 1 pound frozen baby lima beans, thawed
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• Reserved saffron water
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. In a 3-quart baking dish, combine the meat, onions, half the garlic, and 2 tablespoons of the chopped dill. Add 1/2 cup water, the salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons of the saffron water, and the lime or lemon juice. Cover and bake for 2 hours.

3. Rinse the rice in warm water until the water runs clear; drain.

4. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a 6-quart or larger pot. Add 3 tablespoons salt, the rice, and the fava beans or limas. Stir in the turmeric. Boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes, then drain the rice and beans, rinse with lukewarm water, and drain again.

5. Combine 3/4 cup of the rice mixture with the yogurt and a teaspoon of the reserved saffron water.

6. Heat the butter and oil and pour half of the mixture into a large nonstick pot. Spread the yogurt rice over it to form the traditional rice crust. Place the pot over medium heat.

7. Mix the remaining garlic and dill with the cinnamon in a bowl. Layer the rice and beans on the yogurt rice alternately with the dill mixture in a loose pyramid, ending with rice. Combine the remaining butter mixture with the reserved saffron water, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1 teaspoon salt, and drizzle over the rice pyramid.

8. Cover the pot tightly with a lid wrapped in a tea towel and steam for 30 minutes over medium-low heat. The rice may be held over very low heat for 15 minutes while the meat finishes cooking.

9. To serve, reserve a few tablespoons of the top saffron-scented rice. Mound the rice in a loose pyramid on a large serving platter. Break up the crust and scatter it over the rice. Surround the rice with the meat and its juices. Sprinkle the reserved saffron rice over the platter.