Sabrina Ghayour’s Spiced Beef and Tomato Polow

I never think we Brits are sufficiently respectful of rice. In countries like Iran it’s often the centrepiece of a meal, creating a beautiful looking dish with a fabulously crisp golden crust called a tahdig.

I can’t think of anyone better to introduce you to the technique than best-selling author Sabrina Ghayour whose latest book Persiana Easy includes this delicious recipe.

Sabrina writes “While this is not a traditional recipe, the flavours are pretty classic of Persian home cooking.

Tomato purée and turmeric or saffron with onions is a standard treatment for meat for us and this dish makes for a delicious family meal. Serve with yogurt if you want to be really Persian!”

Serves 6

? 500g (1lb 2oz) basmati rice

? olive oil, for frying

? 1 large onion, minced in a food processor or very finely chopped

? 4–5 fat garlic cloves, thinly sliced

? 500g (1lb 2oz) minced beef

? 1 heaped teaspoon ground turmeric

? 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

? 140g (5oz) tomato purée

? 50g (1¾oz) butter, cut into small pieces

? 400g (14oz) potatoes, peeled and cut

into slices 1cm (½ inch) thick

? 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil

? good pinch of saffron threads, ground to a powder using a pestle and mortar,

then steeped in 3 tablespoons boiling water

? 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt

? Maldon sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the rice and stir to avoid the grains sticking together, then parboil for 6–7 minutes until they turn from a dullish off-white colour to a more opaque brilliant white. Drain and rinse thoroughly in

a sieve under cold water until cooled and well rinsed of starch.

Drain thoroughly by shaking the sieve, then leave for 10 minutes to allow any remaining water to drain. Shake off any excess water before use. Rinse and dry the pan.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, drizzle in some olive oil and fry the onion with the garlic until translucent and turning brown around the edges. Add the minced beef with the spices, tomato purée and a generous amount of salt and pepper and fry, breaking it up to prevent it cooking in clumps, until cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the butter until it melts and check the seasoning (remember you need to add enough seasoning for

the whole dish here). Mix in the potato slices.

Place the cleaned rice pan over a low heat and add the ghee or the vegetable oil. Add the saffron solution and yogurt with a little salt and stir, then scatter in just enough rice to coat the base. Gently fold the remaining rice into the beef and potato mixture, taking care not to break the rice grains, then add to the rice pan and spread out to the sides. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke 6–8 holes right down to the pan base.

Wrap the pan lid with a clean towel so that it fits snugly on the pan. If using a gas hob, cook on the lowest flame for 1 hour; if using an electric/induction hob, cook over a gentle medium heat for 11/4 hours – you will know when the rice is cooked, as steam will push its way out of the closed lid. Once cooked,place a large serving plate over the pan and flip the polow on to the plate to reveal the crunchy tahdig base, then serve.

What to drink: I suspect it would be usual to drink a non-alcoholic, maybe pomegranate-based sharbat (cordial) with this but I’d enjoy a young Greek or Lebanese red or an orange wine. 

Extracted from Persiana Easy by Sabrina Ghayour. Published by Mitchell Beazley at £28.
Image Credit: Kris Kirkham

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