Lubia Polo

Put the chopped green beans in a pot with half a cup of water and let it cook for about 15 minutes. Then, pour some cooking oil in a pan and after it heats up, sauté the chopped cube onions until they become golden. Add turmeric, pepper, and ground meat and sauté them together. After the meat is sautéed enough, add green beans and sauté them altogether. If your pan is not big enough, you can sauté green beans separately and add to the meat afterwards.

At this stage, add tomato paste to the mixture, and sauté until it becomes well integrated into the mixture. Then add cinnamon powder, salt and cumin along with 2 cups of boiling water. Add 2 tbs of brewed saffron, cover and simmer with lid on, and let the main ingredients of the bean and meat sauce cook for about 15 minutes. It should be wet, but not watery (If needed, add another cup of water if it’s too thick or dry).

It is better to soak the rice in water with a small amount of salt for an hour before cooking. Fill a suitable pot halfway with water and heat until it boils. Remove the soaked rice from the salted water and add it to the boiling pot. It should boil about 10-15 minutes. Then check the grains, they should be half cooked. Now drain in a colander and rinse under cold water.

Put some oil and 4 tbs of water in a Teflon pot. Let it heat a little bit. Pour 2 ladles (slotted ladle) of the rice on the bottom of the pot and then spread one ladle of the meat sauce on top of the rice. Repeat the same, until all of the rice and the meat sauce have been layered and mixed in the pot. Add some cooking oil around the pot, then with the end part of a ladle, make holes in the rice pot, this helps create air pockets. Cover and let it steam. After you saw the signs of steaming, wrap the lid with a clean kitchen towel to capture the steam and cover. Let the rice cook in low heat. The low heat also allows the bottom layer to become crunchy golden-brown called “tahdig” which is the most valued part of the Persian rice dishes.

It takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour for your delicious green bean fluffy pilaf to be ready to serve. Select a large tray or platter to place on top of the pan and carefully and swiftly invert the rice onto the platter.

You can serve the rice with a piece of butter on top and a side of yogurt or Shirazi salad.