Rice and Butternut Squash

Ingredients
Serving 4
3 cups rice
400 g minced meat
600 g butternut squash
600 g onions
3 tablespoons brewed saffron
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
Salt and pepper for seasoning
1 tablespoon sour lemon juice or 1 tablespoon sugar
1 large potato, sliced, or Lavash, thin Persian bread
The tasty dish belongs to the northern parts of the country and is considered as a main meal. Give it a try if it is the right season for butternut squash.
Directions:
Wash the rice and soak in cold, salted water 2 hours. Remove the outer and inner layers of the squash and cut into pieces of 2 cm size. Then saute in oil 10 minutes. Take care not to crush them.
In case you'd like to have sweet dish you can add in 1 spoon sugar and if not, you can apply 1 spoon of lemon juice.
Take 500 g of onions and slice them finely and fry them.
Take the remaining onions and grate finely and mix well with minced meat, pepper and salt. Knead properly till consistent. shape the mixture into plenty of meatballs of the same size. Saute in oil a bit.
Put rice with enough water inside a pot and set over the heat till half-cooked. Try to turn the heat off earlier than usual Polo (rice) recipes as there is squash among ingredients which contains water.
Strain the rice and grease the bottom of the pot with 3 spoons of oil. Sprinkle salt and saffron and place a layer of potato slices at the bottom. If you apply Lavash for Tahdig, you don't need to use salt. Place a layer of strained rice followed by sauteed squash, fried, sliced onion, and meatballs and sprinkle with cinnamon powder. Pour in 1 spoon brewed saffron as well. Again another layer of the rice and the rest of the procedure onto the top. The top layer should be of rice and saffron.
Put the pot over the high heat and wait till steaming starts. Then wrap the lid with a clean piece of cloth and close the pot. Reduce the heat increasingly and cook at low heat 45 to 1 whole hour. Transfer into a desired platter and serve with lots of fresh leafy vegetables and soft drinks like Doogh. Bon appetit!
Key Cooking Point:
If you apply sugar, you should apply bread for Tahdig or it will burn but if you use lemon juice, go for slices of potatoes.