AI-generated image
Loobia polo
Green bean rice with spiced lamb
Loobia polo (لوبیا پلو): Tehran green-bean rice with cinnamon-spiced lamb mince
Loobia polo is a weeknight favourite in Tehran homes, the rice dish children ask for when they come home from school and the one packed for picnics on the slopes of Darband. Parboiled basmati is layered with a sauce of minced lamb or beef, short pieces of green bean, tomato paste and a warm hint of cinnamon, then steamed slowly until every grain is stained a soft orange and a crisp tahdig forms underneath. For a meat-free pot, swap the mince for diced potato and keep everything else the same. Serve with mast-o khiar, salad shirazi and torshi. A common mistake is adding the beans raw to the rice layers: brown them in the sauce first or they stay squeaky and pale. Chef's tip: let the tomato paste fry in the oil until it turns brick red before adding water; that is where the deep, sweet flavour comes from.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the rice
- 14 oz basmati ricerinsed until the water runs clear, soaked 1 hour
- 2 tbsp saltfor the boiling water
- 10 ½ cups waterfor boiling
- 4 tbsp sunflower oil
- ¼ tsp ground saffronsteeped in 3 tbsp hot water
For the bean sauce
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 14 oz lamb or beef mince
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 14 oz green beanscut into 2 cm pieces
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and fry 1 onion for 10 minutes until golden. Stir in 1 tsp ground turmeric for 30 seconds.
10 minStep 2: Add 14 oz lamb or beef mince and fry, breaking it up, for 8 minutes until browned all over with no pink left. Add 14 oz green beans and fry for 5 minutes until they turn bright green and blister a little.
13 minStep 3: Push everything aside, fry 3 tbsp tomato paste in the clear space for 2 minutes until brick red, then stir in 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp advieh (Persian rice spice) or a pinch each of cardamom and cumin, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper and 1 cup water. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes until the beans are tender and the sauce is thick, not soupy. The mince should reach 160°F.
17 minStep 4: Bring 10 ½ cups water to a rolling boil in a large non-stick pot with 2 tbsp salt. Drain the soaked 14 oz basmati rice, add it and boil for 6–7 minutes until a grain bends but still has a firm white core. Drain and rinse briefly with lukewarm water.
10 minStep 5: Wipe out the pot, add 4 tbsp sunflower oil and 3 tbsp water and heat over a medium heat. Spoon in a layer of rice, then a layer of the bean sauce, and repeat, finishing with rice and building a loose mound.
5 minStep 6: Poke 4–5 holes to the base with the handle of a spoon. Cover the lid with a clean tea towel, put it on tightly and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes until you hear a steady sizzle, then turn to low for 40 minutes.
50 minStep 7: Drizzle ¼ tsp ground saffron over the top 5 minutes before the end. Stir gently with a fork to mix the layers, spoon onto a platter, then lift out the crisp tahdig and serve it in pieces on the side.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 86 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does loobia polo take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of basmati rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Paneer biryaniRice and moong dal in coconut milk
A mild, creamy biryani: rice and husked green gram roasted in ghee, then cooked in coconut milk with peas, carrots, potatoes, peanuts and cashews, and finished with soft fried paneer and a fresh coriander yogurt. Serve hot, garnished with more fried cashews and paneer.
Indian
Khao kluk kapiShrimp paste rice
Everything on this central Thai plate is arranged in little heaps around a mound of rice tossed with garlic and fermented shrimp paste: sticky caramelised pork (moo wan), threads of sour green mango, shallots, chillies, sliced long beans, crisp dried shrimp and ribbons of thin omelette. You mix a bit of each into every spoonful, so salty, sweet, sour and hot arrive together. It's a favourite at Bangkok's curry-and-rice shops and a clever way to use up yesterday's rice at home; lime wedges and cucumber cool it down. Chef's tip: use day-old jasmine rice straight from the fridge, because freshly cooked rice clumps and smears the shrimp paste instead of coating each grain.
Thai
Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani
Hyderabad's biryani grew up in the kitchens of the Nizams, and the kacchi style is its proudest form: the chicken goes into the pot raw, in a thick yogurt, mint and fried-onion marinade, and cooks only in the steam trapped under part-cooked basmati. In the old city it is wedding and Eid food, ordered in huge copper deghs, and at home it's the Sunday showpiece, served with mirchi ka salan and a cooling raita. Because the meat cooks without being stirred, small bone-in thigh and drumstick pieces work best. Chef's tip: marinate overnight in the fridge — the yogurt tenderises the chicken and the flavours go right to the bone.