Richard, your post at the top reminded me of this. Green Herb Rice (Sabzi Polow) Persian Style

M

Marg CDN

Well-known member
Green Herb Rice (Sabzi Polow) Persian Style

“Secrets of Cooking - Armenian/Lebanese/Persian” by Linda Chirinian

Note: 3 hours soaking required

1 recipe steamed rice (below)

1 cup freshly chopped flat leaf parsley

1 cup chopped dill

1 cup snipped garlic chives or fresh spinach (I prefer spinach)

1 cup freshly chopped cilantro

I teaspoon dried crushed fenugreek

1 clove garlic minced (optional)

14 T. butter

Salt to taste

1. Prepare steamed rice according to recipe.

2. Mix parsley, dill chives or spinach, cilantro, fenugreek and garlic together. Set aside. Note that this makes lots and it may appear to be overwhelming; it isn’t.

3. Melt 2 T. butter in a 4 quart saucepan, swirling to coat bottom of pan. Spoon ½ of rice into saucepan, lightly. Salt top of rice. Cover with half of herb mixture. Spoon half of remaining rice over herbs and salt light. Add remainder of herb mixture. Top with remaining rice. Keep ingredients mounded high in centre so steam can circulate. Sprinkle 1/4 cup water over rice. Slice remaining 12 T. Butter, place over rice. Cover rice with waxed paper. Cover tightly. (I use a teflon coated, high-sided pan)

4. Cook over med-high heat 5 minutes. Reduce to low. Cook for 30 min or until rice is soft and fluffy.

Steamed Rice (Chelo)

3 c. Basmati rice

3 T. coarse sea salt

6 T. butter

1. Wash rice in a strainer under cold running water, raking with fingers until water runs clear. Drain and cover rice with enough warm water to come 3 inches above rice. Sprinkle with 1 ½ T. sea salt. Set aside to soak at least 3 hours. Rice may be soaked 24 hours. Drain before cooking.

2. Bring 3 ½ quarts water to a rolling boil in 6 quart saucepan. Add remaining 1 ½ T. salt and drained rice. Stir to loosen lumps of rice. Return to a rolling boil, cook 4 minutes or until rice is just firm. Drain and rinse under warm water.

this is just sooo good. It requires planning ahead, although there is nothing difficult about it. Our favourite part is the crust that forms on the bottom, but the fragrant herb mixture makes the rice come alive.

 
and of course, now you are not at the top. But this works so beautifully with a Moroccan meal. Yikes

 
Marg that has my name all over it...

I'm obsessing over mideast foods at the moment and just can't get enough of the intense flavors and fresh healthy ingredients. It really is an an amazing dietary style. It could be the next big diet fad. Fish, olive oil, fruits, veg, grains.

I made up a new Indian Chicken dish this week that is out of this world delicious. I'll post below.

 
Richard's Green Herb Indian Chicken

Cilantro-Mint Chutney

1.5 cups cilantro, stems and leaves
1.5 cups fresh mint, stems and leaves
1 whole serrano chili--stem cut off
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 strips of lemon zest (vegetable peeler)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/3-1/2 cup cold water

Pulse in food processor to a fine puree. Add more or less water to suit your desired consistency.

Set 1 cup of chutney aside to use as a sauce while eating.


Chicken Marinade
The remaining cilantro-mint chutney from recipe above, still in the food processor, add the following:

leaves stripped from 5 branches of fresh curry leaf (I have my own tree so I always have a fresh supply on hand)
1 whole serrano serrano chili
6 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
1 tsp. each of garam marsala, sweet curry powder, fenugreek seed, cumin seed, onion seed, and freshly ground green peppercorns
3 tbls. avocado oil


Roasted Green-Herb Indian Chicken

4 chicken breasts, slashed with a knife to make deep cuts for the marinade to sink into
Marinade above.

Slather and waltz the chicken in the marinade to throughly coat. Place in baking dish and spoon any remaining, run-off, etc, on top and even it out.
Let marinate for 4 hours.

Roast at 475F to 165F internal temperature.

Serve with your choice of traditional Indian sides and the reserved cilantro-mint chutney.

Leftovers are really good for a quick and tasty lunch: Dice chicken into bit size pieces, add a scoop of rice, and crisp steamed chopped broccoli. Combine. Add some cilantro, dust top with sweet curry powder, and sprinkle with cashew nuts. Total Yum.

 
OK. This is not light but ooooooooh so delicious. Chicken B'Stilla

B’stilla

2 T. oil
1 1/2 lb. onions
1 clove garlic
salt & pepper
6-8 strands saffron (or 1 t. turmeric)
1 1/2 t. ground ginger
4 t. ground cinnamon (use 2 t.)
1 medium chicken, about 3 lb.
1 1/4 c. very finely chopped parsley
1 2/3 c. peeled almonds
2-3 T. sugar
1 T. ground cinnamon (use 1 ½ T.)
juice of 1/2 lemon
7-8 large eggs
2 T. (1/4 stick) butter
1 lb. package filo
1 egg beaten

To Serve:
3-4 t. confectioner's sugar 3-4 t. ground cinnamon

1. Choose a casserole to hold the chicken & onions, no more than 1/2 full. Pour in oil to 1" depth & set over medium heat. Grate onion & add, stirring from time to time. Thinly slice garlic & add with the salt pepper, saffron, ginger & 1 t. cinnamon. Cut up chicken & add...(my note: no skin). Raise the heat a bit & cook for about 1 hour, turning the pieces occasionally.

2. Add the parsley. Cook for another 30 minutes or until meat falls easily from the bone.

3. Dry roast the almonds, grind them roughly & mix with sugar & the rest of the cinnamon. Set aside.

4. When chicken is cooked, remove with slotted spoon & set aside to cool. Strain the contents of the pan through a double layer of cheesecloth into a bowl. Reserve the liquid & return the parsley & onions to the pan. Add the lemon juice, & 6 or 7 eggs. Stir gently until they being to set. The whole mixture should have the texture of a puree. Set aside while you skin (if you did not before) & bone the chicken & cut into bite-sized pieces.

5. (My note: allow 45 minutes from this point) Melt butter & use some to grease your largest roasting pan. Put a piece of filo pastry lengthwise in the centre, moisten lightly all over with fingers dipped in reserved chicken stock, & set a second sheet of filo the same size on top. Moisten each sheet. Arrange more sheets radiating outwards like petals of a flower, with the inner end of each resting on the first 2 sheets & the outer end hanging over the edge of the pan. Overlap sheets until they are about 4 layers thick in all.

6. Pile the chicken pieces onto the filo in a tidy rectangle the same size as the first 2 sheets. Spread the parsley mixture on top. Cover with one sheet of filo. One by one, lift up the outer ends of the top layer of the overlapping filo sheets, fold each one over the rectangle & stick each one lightly in place by moistening with your fingers dipped into the beaten egg. Take car to keep the rectangle compact.

7. Add most of the rest of the melted butter to the almond mixture & check the balance of flavours: the almond, cinnamon & sugar should be distinct, without overwhelming each other. Correct the proportions if necessary. Spread this mixture on top of the now nearly completed pi & smooth it gently with your fingers. Place 2 more layers of filo on top, lengthwise, exactly like the first 2. Fold over & stick down the remaining outer sheets. Check that the filling is evenly crosswise over it & tuck underneath.

8. Preheat oven to 350. 9. Brush the pastilla with remaining melted butter & bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool a little, then decorate with alternating trails of confectioner's sugar & cinnamon.

 
Onions Stuffed with Lamb and Apricots

Onions Stuffed with Lamb and Apricots Saveur Magazine
MAKES 6

The pairing of lamb and apricots is classic in Middle Eastern cuisine.

6 medium yellow onions
5 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp. minced lemon zest
16 dried apricot halves, chopped
1/2 lb. ground lamb
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp. coarse fresh bread crumbs

1. Without peeling onions, cut about 1'' off the top of each, and enough off the bottom so that onions stand upright. Reserve tops. Remove all but the outer 2 layers of each by scooping out centers with a paring knife or pushing them up through the top. Set shells and tops aside; finely chop centers.

2. Melt 3 tbsp. butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add chopped onions and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring stock to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Add lemon zest and apricots and cook until soft, about 10 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 400°. Add lamb and cinnamon to onions; increase heat to medium; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until lamb is crumbly and just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in stock-apricot mixture and 2 tbsp. each parsley and mint. Cool slightly.

4. Spoon filling into onion shells; place in an ovenproof dish. Heap bread crumbs on top (lay onion tops alongside); dot with remaining butter. Pour 1/4 cup water into dish. Bake, basting twice, for 20 minutes, then cover with aluminum foil and bake until onions are tender, about 20 minutes. Garnish with remaining mint and parsley. Serve with onion tops and couscous, if desired.

 
I posted this in 2006 as Chicken Pastilla. Just so I do not confuse. I don't know the roots of the

terminology. Wish I did. An Egyptian friend did not recognize it as B'Stilla but as Pastilla. And I got B'stilla from an Egyptian book.

 
By the way, a comment on cumin. I know I have said this before. But Mediterranean cumin has,

in my opinion, a completely different flavour than that of Indian. I never sub one for the other.

Turkey, Morocco, etc. produce this cumin that is not so pungent and offers a different experience than what we use for Indian cooking.

And now my Moroccan chatter is finished.

 
Interesting...

I know it as Bastilla. The Morroccan restaurant that I go to serves it and calls it Bastilla.

Also, there is no "P" in the Arabic alphabet.

Cleopatra? It is pronounced Kiyubatra in Arabic.

 
Shepherds Salad (Turkish Salad)

1 small unwaxed cucumber, or 1/2 English cucumber
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 green chili (serrano)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
2 tbls. olive oil
2 tbls. lemon juice
salt
pepper

Mix. Eat. Cilantro is also good added to this. So simple and so delicious made with ripe summer vegetables.

 
Turkish Potato Casserole (Patates bastisi)

1.5 lbs. new potatoes peeled and quartered ( I don't peel)
2 onions, halved and sliced
4 tbls. olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, smashed with salt
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tbls red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup black olives, stoned (oil cured pref, not canned ever)
4 tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
1 tsp kirmizi biber (or sub. crushed red pepper flakes)
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh chopped Italian parlsey
Salt, pepper
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

400F oven

Fry the potatoes and onions in the oil until they begin to brown. Sti in garlic and cumin and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar, olives, and sugar. Add the tomatoes, oregano, parsley, and kirmizi biber. Season with salt and pepper.

Transver to shallow casserole, spread out evenly. Sprinkle with hazelnuts and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, browned, and most of the liquid is absorbed. Serve with a dollop of whole jogurt.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top