Kadoo Polo Sistani - Persian Lamb and Zucchini (Courgette) Rice
Kadoo Polo Sistani as the name suggests, is from the Sistan and Baluchestan Province - the second largest of the 31 provinces of Iran. A mix of rice, courgettes (zucchini), lamb, and spices creates a wonderfully delicious and flavorful dish that is comforting and satisfying. Each component brings its unique qualities to the dish.
Reshteh Polo - Persian Noodle Rice with Onions and Raisins
Reshteh Polo is a widely loved Persian rice dish. The floral aroma of the saffron rice combined with the sweetness of the caramelised onions and raisins make for a multifaceted dish - too good for a humble side dish really. The brown noodles in the rice create the most mouthwatering tahdig (the crispy bits from the bottom of the pot)!
Shirin Polo – Persian Sweet Jewelled Rice
Shirin Polo, also known as Persian Sweet Rice, is a delicious and aromatic Iranian dish that combines rice with various ingredients to create a sweet and flavorful dish. Shirin Polo is often served at special occasions and celebrations in Iran. It's a beautiful and aromatic dish that combines sweet and savory flavors.
Kalam Ghomri Polo Shirazi - Persian Kohlrabi Rice
Kalam Polo Shirazi is a popular dish from Shiraz. A delightful Iranian dish that combines the earthy taste of Kolhrabi with aromatic spices and herbs.
Shiraz is a historic and culturally significant city located in the southwest of Iran. It is the capital of the Fars Province and one of the country's most famous cities. Shiraz is known for its rich history, poetic heritage, beautiful gardens, and vibrant culture. Its blend of history, culture, and natural beauty makes it a must-visit destination for those interested in exploring the rich heritage of Iran. It is a city that beautifully showcases the depth and diversity of Persian culture.
Kabuli Pulao – The Afghan National Dish
Kabuli Pulao is an incredibly delicious dish from Afghanistan, as the name suggests. This light and aromatic rice dish with lamb, other meat or poultry, that’s jewelled with carrots and raisins is the Afghan national dish. It is also popular in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Other forms of spelling include Qabuli Pulao, Qabeli Palaw and Qabuli Palau. In Persian, we call it Qabeli Polo.
Qabuli, Qabeli, Kabuli, … whatever you may call it, it’s absolutely drool-worthy and I dare you to give it a try! The first time I had it in an Afghan restaurant a few years back it became one of my wife’s and my favourite dishes. I’m sure you’ll love it too, so I just had to borrow this yummy dish from our neighbours and come up with a recipe for it.
Makaroni - Iranian Pasta
Iranian macaroni, known as "Makaroni" in Persian, is a popular and widely consumed pasta dish in Iran. It has a unique preparation method and flavor profile that distinguishes it from other pasta dishes. A fair warning to my Italian friends: This recipe might make you cringe at first but I encourage you to put all comparisons aside and give it a go. You might just be positively surprised!
Havij Polo – Jewelled Carrot Rice
Havij Polo is a colourful jewelled rice dish. The aromatic Persian saffron rice is accompanied by caramelised bitter orange peel and julienne, sweet carrots.
Polo Zaferooni - Persian Saffron Rice
Polo Zaferooni is the basis of Persian Cuisine. Most of the Persian stews and kabab dishes are served with Persian Saffron Rice. It’s like the foundation of a house. Making aromatic, fluffy rice is the first thing you want to pay attention to when starting your Persian culinary journey. Since it is served with almost every dish you’ll have plenty of opportunity to master it.
Nokhod Polo – Persian Dill Rice with Peas
Nokhod Polo is probably my favourite variation of Persian rice. It is saffron infused basmati rice with dill and peas – Such a good combo!
You can combine it with almost any Persian dish you fancy! If lamb isn’t really your thing, you can make it with Saffron Chicken for example. Nokhod Polo also goes really well with vegetable stew. Or serve it with fried eggs for a quick vegetarian weekday version! I’m telling you, the latter is one of my favourite things ever!
However if you want to make something a bit more classy on the weekend, lamb shanks (Mahiche) are a great option.
Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh - Saffron Rice With Caramelised Barberries And Saffron Chicken
Zereshk Polo ba Morgh is such a popular dish, especially among my European friends. I mean, tender chicken with a delicious sauce and aromatic saffron rice with sweet, slightly sour barberries? What’s not to love? So this is a great dish to cook for your friends and family.
Khoresh-e Fesenjan - Persian Pomegranate And Walnut Stew
Khoresh-e Fesenjaan is a delicious Persian pomegranate walnut stew! It’s a definite favourite among my friends! This rich sweet and sour stew makes the perfect comfort food for the colder months! It makes you feel all warm and cozy inside.
My Fesenjaan recipe is sweet and sour. Many people prefer it this way, while others like it sour only. I believe the sweet and sour taste is what makes it so appetising for western taste buds. So I suggest, if you haven’t tried Iranian food before and would like to give it a go, this is a great recipe to start exploring Persian cuisine.
Tahchin - Aromatic Saffron Rice Cake With Caramelised Barberries
Tahchin is such a versatile Persian classic! It’s a rice dish, that can be prepared with chicken, meat, veggies or plain as a side dish. Tahchin-e Morgh has a crispy golden rice crust on the outside and juicy chicken in the centre, surrounded by fragrant saffron rice and sweet and sour barberries on top. Served with the flavourful juices of the chicken or meat and some creamy yoghurt, this makes for a delicious meal, that’s also a feast for the eyes.
This time I made Tahchin-e Morgh (with chicken filling) but you can use this recipe to make any type of Tahchin you like. Simply replace the chicken with lamb or veggies, if you prefer. If you go for chicken, I recommend chicken legs, because they are more juicy than breasts.
Baghali Polo Ba Mahicheh - Persian Dill And Broad Bean Rice With Lamb Shanks
Baghali Polo ba Mahicheh is an aromatic Persian rice dish with fava beans aka broad beans and dill, served with flavourful, tender lamb shanks.
Khoresh Gheymeh Bademjan – Lamb Aubergine Stew with Split Peas
Khoresh-e Gheymeh Bademjan is a delicious Persian lamb stew with aubergines/eggplants, yellow split peas, and tomatoes. This tasty red stew is very popular with European and American friends.
Khoresh-e Gheymeh - Persian lamb stew with yellow split peas and dried limes
Gheymeh Stew is one of the classic Persian dishes! This lamb stew with yellow split peas, topped up with crispy homemade potato fries is high up on most Iranians’ list of favourite foods. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you do. I’m sure you’ll love it!
I’m certain that I’m not the only one who has memories of family dinners revolving around Khoreshe Gheymeh. Usually we would all storm the kitchen as soon as the enticing smell of homemade fries hitting the hot oil would reach our bedrooms. Needless to say, few of the fries lasted until it was time to serve. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Dalaar - Persian Green Salt
Dalaar is a salty Persian herbal paste, that’s often referred to as green salt. It comes from northern Iran and serves as a seasoning for different fruits, such as oranges, cucumbers and goje sabz (greengage). Since goje sabz season has begun, I thought it’s the perfect time to share my Dalaar recipe with you. It contains lots of salt, so that it can be stored in the fridge for quite a long time. I don’t know how long exactly, because it never lasts longer than 2 days. :D
Morasa Polo – Persian Jewelled Rice
Morasa Polo is a gorgeous Persian jewelled rice dish with a delightful sweet and sour taste. This fragrant and beautiful dish doesn’t only look stunning, it tastes heavenly too! It is easy to prepare and looks like a work of art.
A variation of this jewelled rice dish is Shirin Polo, which translates to “sweet rice”. The only difference is that Morasa Polo has raisins in it while Shirin Polo doesn’t. So if you want to make Shirin Polo, simply leave out the raisins.
Sabzi Polo ba Mahi – Fried Fish with Saffron and Herb Rice
Sabzi Polo ba Mahi is a classic Persian dish which translates to “herb rice with fish”. Iranians around the world don’t only prepare this delicious on Shab-e Norouz, the night before Norouz. Norouz (the Persian New Year at the beginning of spring), but any day from autumn through spring.
The fish is fried and served with aromatic saffron and herb rice, bitter oranges (naarenj), and pickled garlic (sir torshi).
Dam Pokhtak Recipe - Split Fava (Broad) Bean Rice
Dam Pokhtak is an easy, delicious Persian rice dish with split fava (broad) beans. It’s also called Dami Baghali. This dish is so underrated! You never hear anyone say ‘Dam Pokhtak is my favourite Persian dish!’, but as soon as someone mentions it, everyone goes ‘Oh I love it!’.
At dinner parties of course every Iranian wants to show off their cooking skills and use expensive ingredients, so no one prepares Dam Pokhtak for their guests. But if they’d ask their guests ‘what would you like me to cook?’, I bet many of them would ask for Dam Pokhtak.
Kalam Polo Recipe - Persian Cabbage Rice
Kalam Polo is a flavourful Persian rice dish with white cabbage and ground meat. The rice is steamed together with the white cabbage, onions, garlic, meat and spices, so that it soaks up all the goodness.
I used beef in this recipe but you could also use lamb, a mix of beef and lamb, or a vegan ground meat alternative. You can also leave the meat out completely and it will still taste phenomenal!