Adas polo(Persian Lentil Rice) is one of the traditional and popular Iranian dishes which, in addition to having a good taste, has a high nutritional value due to having Lentils. Packed with plant-based protein, topped with sauteed barberries, raisins, and dates this dish is hearty and comforting!
Adas polo is considered a mixed rice dish. A dish consisting of rice, beef, or chicken, barberries, raisins, and dates. Persian lentil rice has a special place among traditional Persian cuisine. It is rich in protein and is served with various delicious side dishes.
Why You Will Love This Recipe?
- Easy to Make. Adas polo has a simple cooking method and comes together in less than 1 hour.
- Loaded with nutritious ingredients. Lentils are the main ingredient of this traditional dish. Lentil is a great source of protein, dietary fiber, iron, and potassium.
- Can be turned into vegan food: Adas polo is usually served with sauteed minced beef or chicken, but the good news is that you can cook adas polo without meat and turn it into a delicious vegan dish. Adas polo is a delicious combination of rice layered with lentils topped with raisins, minced beef, and sauteed onions. However, some people prepare the topping without adding meat and serve it as vegan food. (You can add dates and raisins in the vegan version).
What You Need to Make Adas Polo
- Rice: To make Persian dishes, It is better to use high-quality Iranian rice or long grain basmati rice.
- Lentils: You should use brown lentils for this recipe.
- Ground beef: The ground beef is sauteed with a little onion and spices until it is completely golden brown.
- Yellow onion: We need onions both for topping and for cooking minced beef.
- Advieh: The spice needed to make adas polo is a combination of black pepper, cinnamon, salt and turmeric. It is not necessary to add cinnamon and you can ignore it.
- Barberries, raisins, and dates: As a topping, raisins, barberries, and dates are usually sauteed with some oil.
- Bloomed saffron: When rice is cooked you can mix a few tablespoons of rice with bloomed saffron and use it as the topping.
Notes and Tips to Make Adas Polo
- Adding a small amount of saffron to the Adas Polo recipe can give it a rich, pungent taste.
- If you wish, you could use dates, pistachio, and almonds for topping rice.
- The combination of cinnamon and saffron gives the food a unique flavor.
- Do not add salt to lentils while soaking them, because salt makes them uncookable.
- Adas polo is one of those foods that is very delicious with caramelized onion, so if you like the taste of caramelized onion, use it more.
- Soak raisins for at least half an hour in the water. Frying raisins too much cause raisins to lose their water and become hard.
- When you want to brew the rice, add some water and oil to Adas polo.
- To make food more delicious, you can add walnut and dates. Soak walnut in water overnight to become soften.
What to Serve with Adas Polow?
You can serve Adas Polo with a bowl of salad Shirazi, I also love to serve this food with a bowl of plain yogurt mixed with mint. Adas polo can be served with dates, raisins, and mincemeat.
Adas Polo With Chicken
Some people like to make this recipe with chicken instead of minced beef. To cook Adas Polo with chicken, place some chicken breasts into a saucepan and pour in enough water to cover. Place over medium heat; bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes.
Heat vegetable oil in a small non-stick saucepan over medium heat; add onion and saute until it’s golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Mix in the shredded chicken, turmeric, salt, and pepper and cook for some minutes. Serve with lentil rice and raisins.
Crunchy Crust (Tahdig)
If you are a huge fan of crunchy crust, pour some oil at the bottom of the pot. Then Sprinkle the desired amount of sesame on it and then cover it with lavash bread. Then add layered rice and lentils.
Different Methods of Making Lentils and Rice
- In Yazd province, lentils and rice are cooked with dried dill and Cinnamon (which is Sprinkled in layers of lentils) which have a different and distinctive taste.
- In Fars province, lentils and rice are cooked with cabbage.
- lentils and rice are served with a little caraway in Khorasan.
Lentils and Rice for Vegetarians
- Serve lentils and rice with sweet or salty scrambled eggs or Khagineh.
- You can serve lentils and rice with fried dates or raisins.
- Serve lentils and rice without additives as a delicious vegan dish.
Looking for More Persian Recipes?
- Kookoo Sabzi Recipe
- Khoresht Karafs Recipe
- Tahchin Recipe
- Albaloo Polo Recipe
- Estamboli Polo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils
- 200 grams ground beef
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 pinches good quality saffron threads
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup Medjool dates pitted (optional)
- For the rice
- 2 cups basmati rice washed and drained
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
Step1
Rinse lentils with cold water before boiling to remove any dust or debris. You can soak the lentils for one to two hours to speed up the cooking process.
Step 2
Wash the raisins and barberries and pat dry on kitchen paper.
Step 3
Cook on a stovetop, using 3 cups of water to 1 cup of lentils. Be sure to use a large enough saucepan as the lentils will double or triple in size. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, reduce heat and simmer until they are tender. For whole lentils, cook time is typically 15-20 minutes. Then set aside.
Step 4
In a large pan, heat the vegetable oil. Fry the onion until it’s golden. Add the ground beef and cook until it’s light brown. Add the salt, cinnamon, turmeric, and bloomed saffron. Stir until ground beef is cooked completely. Reduce the heat and add the raisins and dates and stir. Set aside.
Step 5
Pour 6 cups of water into a large nonstick pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add rice into a pan filled with boiling water. After 6 to 8 minutes when it begins to rise to the top and the water comes back to a boil. Check the rice is cooked at the end by trying a grain. Break one grain in half. Rice should be soft on the outside but hard in the middle. Pour rice into the colander to drain; then set aside.
Step 6
Scoop one-third of the rice into the pot. Layer with one-third of the cooked lentils. Repeat until you're out of rice and lentils and shape it into a pyramid. Add 3 tablespoons of the bloomed saffron. Cover the pot and cook until rice begins to steam for 30 - 40 minutes.
Step 7
Transfer the rice to a serving dish. Serve with cooked ground beef mixture.
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