Adas Polo (Persian Lentil Rice)

Serves	Total Time
8	48 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup lentils
1 cup raisins
1 cup barberries
3 cups water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
2 pinches saffron
1.5 tsp salt
2 cups Basmati rice
3 Tbsp saffron

Cookware

1 saucepan
1 large pan
1 large nonstick pot
1 pan
1 colander
1 serving dish

Instructions

Step 1

Rinse lentils with cold water before boiling to remove any dust or debris. You can soak the lentils for one to two hours to speed up the cooking process.

Step 2

Wash the raisins and barberries and pat dry on kitchen paper.

Step 3

Cook on a stovetop, using 3 cups of water to 1 cup of lentils. Be sure to use a large enough saucepan as the lentils will double or triple in size. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, reduce heat and simmer until they are tender. For whole lentils, cook time is typically 15-20 minutes. Then set aside.

Step 4

In a large pan, heat the vegetable oil. Fry the onion until it’s golden. Add the salt, cinnamon, turmeric, and bloomed saffron. Reduce the heat and add the raisins and dates and stir. Set aside.

Step 5

Pour 6 cups of water into a large nonstick pot and bring to a boil over high heat with salt. Add Basmati rice into a pan filled with boiling water. After 6 to 8 minutes when it begins to rise to the top and the water comes back to a boil. Check the rice is cooked at the end by trying a grain. Break one grain in half. Rice should be soft on the outside but hard in the middle. Pour rice into the colander to drain; then set aside.

Step 6

Scoop one-third of the rice into the pot. Layer with one-third of the cooked lentils. Repeat until you're out of rice and lentils and shape it into a pyramid. Add 3 tablespoons of the bloomed saffron. Cover the pot and cook until rice begins to steam for 30 to 40 minutes.