PERSIAN SAFFRON BARBERRY RICE

Zereshk Polo ba Morgh or Saffron Barberry Rice with Saffron Chicken with tomato sauce is one of the most famous dishes in Persian cuisine. It is full of wonderful flavours such as saffron, turmeric and barberry and is easier than it looks to make. I usually make this during my hour lunch breaks when working from home for dinner. The image below is for a different type of rice than zeresh polo that is also popular to have with saffron chicken and it is made with fresh dill and basmati rice.

PERSIAN SAFFRON BARBERRY RICE

Ingredients for Persian Saffron Barberry Rice

  • 1g of Persian Premium Super Negin Red Saffron
  • Barberries
  • Premium Basmati Rice

Ingredients for Chicken Stew with Tomato Sauce

Tomato Paste Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • ½teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon Telicherry pepper
  • 3 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 ½ cup water

Chicken:

  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • ½ tablespoon butter
  • 1.5 lb chicken thighs bone-in and skin-off
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  •  1 teaspoon Telicherry pepper
  • 1 tablespoon saffron Liquid

Veggies:

  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 bell pepper cut into chunks
  • 2 carrots sliced
  • 1 tablespoon saffron Liquid
  • One whole lemon

Barberries:

  • 3 tablespoon barberries
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  •  tablespoon sugar
  •  2 teaspoons saffron Liquid

 Instruction for preparation of the Saffron Barberry rice

Put basmati rice in a large bowl of cold water. Swish with your hands to release starch, then drain. Repeat until the water runs clear. In a medium bowl, dissolve 3 tbsp. salt in 2 cups cold water. Add rice and soak at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.

While rice soaks, heat up 2 tbsp. water until hot (not boiling).  Grind saffron threads in a mortar and pestle and add the ground saffron to the hot water and set aside to steep.

Fill a pot with 3 qts. water and 1/4 cup salt and bring to a boil, covered. Drain the soaked rice and add to the rice to the pot. Stir once gently. Bring back to a gentle (not rolling) boil, uncovered, and cook rice, skimming off any foam, until softened but still with a bite to it, 4 to 6 minutes, You will be able to tell if the rice is ready to drain when it starts to release its aroma. Drain the boiling rice in a colander and rinse quickly under lukewarm water. Let sit in a colander to drain fully.

Put the yogurt in a medium bowl, and add 1/2 tsp. saffron water and ¼ tsp turmeric curcumin and stir to mix. Stir in 3 cups of drained rice and set aside. Heat another 2 tbsp. water until hot (not boiling). Add 2 tbsp. melted butter; set aside.

Set a 10- to 11-in.-wide Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid or Teflon pots with lid over medium heat. Add 3 tbsp. melted butter, swirling it around to cover the bottom of the pot and up sides by 1 in. With the back of a large spoon, spread the rice-yogurt mixture evenly across the bottom of the pot. This will be the tahdig (crispy rice cake) layer. Spoon in remaining rice to form a cone, with rice at sides of pot only 1/2 in. deep over tahdig layer. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke two to three holes in rice cone (without disturbing the tahdig layer) so steam can escape. Drizzle butter-hot water mixture over rice.

Set the pot lid on a large clean kitchen towel, fold the edges of the towel up over the lid, and cover the pot with the lid. Cook over medium heat (to set the tahdig) until steam starts to escape from beneath the lid, 10 to 12 minutes.

Turn the heat as low as possible and cook rice, rotating pot a few times for even cooking, until rice is tender and tahdig is golden and crisp (check by lifting with a rubber spatula), 50 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, soak barberries: Sort through berries, picking out any stems and small stones. Put in a small bowl, add 2 cups cold water, and soak 15 minutes to rehydrate. Drain.

Heat 1 tbsp. melted butter in a small pan over medium-low heat. Add barberries and 1 tsp. reserved saffron water. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes to just warm through. Stir in sugar; remove from heat.

Heat up 1 more tbsp. water until hot but not boiling. Pour into a medium bowl. Add remaining 2 tbsp. melted butter and remaining 1 tbsp. or so saffron water. When rice is ready, add 1 cup rice and 1/3 cup barberries, toss, and set aside.

Gently spoon about 1 cup of cooked rice from the pot (without disturbing tahdig) and arrange on a platter. Scatter 2 tbsp. berries and a quarter of Saffron Chicken (including onions) on top. Repeat with the same amounts of rice, berries, and chicken to form three more layers. Top with saffron rice and barberries. Using a rubber spatula, gently lift out tahdig, break it into pieces, and place it around the edges of the rice.

How to Make the Tomato Paste saffron Chicken Stew

Chop and mince the onions on a chopping board. Bring an iron cast pan to heat, everything is better in an iron cast, but it also works with a regular deep Teflon pan as well. Bring the pan to heat but not very high heat, add the chopped onions and stir occasionally until the water is evaporated, you need to watch the onions, so it does not burn, add a little bit of vegetable oil. I use grape seed oil as it stands high heat, stir until onions turn golden, add chicken thighs, add salt, grind the Telicherry pepper on it and add half a tablespoon of turmeric however try to cover all the chicken pieces with turmeric. I usually pick one or two check thighs per person, and make sure all parts of the chickens are covered with salt, pepper, and turmeric. Close the lid and let it cook for about 20 minutes until the chicken is almost cooked add a bit of hot water to it, so it does not stick to the pan. After 20 minutes, add the other vegetable to chicken like carrots, and chopped green bell peppers. I also sometimes add mushroom or chopped potato it, but the original recipe is only with carrots and green bell peppers.

In a separate small pan add the three-tablespoon tomato paste with some vegetable oil and stir regularly on medium heat, tomato paste easily gets dark so you need to keep steering it until it releases its aroma, add the saffron liquid mixture and some freshly squeezed lemon juice to the mixture and stir it with some of the water from the pot that chicken has been cooking. Stir fry them for a short while and then add them to the chicken and cover the chicken pot on low heat to simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes on very low heat.

To serve: Add the barberry rice to a plate on one side and add the chicken to the other side with the juice and enjoy.