Shiraz Cuisine - part 2

Shiraz Cherry Rice

Ingredients:

4 cups dry white rice
1 kilogram pitted cherries
1 chicken breast
3 medium sticks of cinnamon
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons steamed saffron
1 cup melted unsalted butter
1 cup vegetable oil
1 pita bread
Slivered almonds and pistachios to garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

How to:

1. Wash rice and soak in cold water for at least three hours or overnight.
2. Spread the pitted cherries in a glass plate and sprinkle with sugar. Leave for 2 hours. Transfer to a small saucepan and set on medium to come to a boil. Set aside for at least 8 hours or overnight.
3. Boil the cherries again for 10 minutes. Drain and return the juices to the saucepan and boil until it reaches the consistency of syrup.
4. Cook the chicken breast in one cup of water with salt, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks and steamed saffron. When cooked completely, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
5. Fill a big pot with water, set on medium heat and bring to a boil. Add a dash of salt then add soaked rice and cook for 4 minutes. Drain.
6. Set a medium pot on low heat and add one cup vegetable oil. Cover the bottom of the pot with the pita bread. Top with one third of the rice and add half of the cherries and continue until the pot is filled (The top layer must be white rice) drizzle half the melted butter evenly on top.
Cover pot with cloth and set on the lid, make sure no steam escapes. Cook on low heat for 40 minutes up to one hour. To check if the rice is done, wet your finger slightly in cold water and quickly touch the side of the hot pot. If you hear a sizzling sound your rice is ready! Be careful not to burn yourself.
7. To serve: transfer rice to a round serving plate and top with sliced chicken. Garnish with slivered almonds and pistachios and drizzle with the remaining butter. Enjoy!

White Cabbage Rice

Ingredients:

1 kilogram dry rice
1 kilogram chopped white cabbage leaves
500 grams chopped mixed greens (equal parts fresh dill, tarragon, chives and basil)
2 medium onions
Vegetable oil for frying
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
To make the meatballs:
300 grams ground beef
4 tablespoons chickpea powder (from Persian grocery stores) or 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 medium onion
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste

How to:

1. Soak rice in cold water for at least 3 hours or overnight.
2. Sauté chopped cabbage leaves in a big saucepan with salt and pepper. Add lemon juice when cabbages are almost tender.
3. Slice the two onions and fry in oil, then add one or two tablespoons of water to make caramelized onions.
4. Bring water to a boil in a big pot. Add soaked rice to boiling water with a dash of salt and one teaspoon turmeric powder and cook for 4 minutes. Drain. Mix together the half cooked rice, chopped greens and sautéed cabbages.
5. Grate onions over the ground beef. Add salt and pepper and knead well using your hands. Form into very small meatballs and fry in vegetable oil over high heat to reach a brown color.
6. Heat oil in a medium saucepan, add the rice mixture and form into a domed shape to ensure even cooking. Top with meatballs. Cover pot with cloth and set the lid on and make sure no steam can escape the pot. Cook on low heat for 45 minutes up to an hour until rice is completely done. To check if rice is ready to serve, wet your fingers slightly in cold water and quickly touch the side of the hot pot. If you hear a sizzling sound your rice is ready. Be careful not to burn yourself!
7. To serve: transfer to a serving plate and garnish the caramelized onions.

Shiraz Dopiaza

Ingredients:

500 grams potatoes
75 grams unsalted butter
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons crispy onions
Salt, pepper and turmeric powder to taste

How to:

1. Cook potatoes in a pot of water with some salt. The remove, peel and grate in a big bowl. Mix well the crispy onions.
2. Heat oil in a medium sauce pan and add the potato mixture. Stir well for a few minutes to remove some of the excess liquid. Add lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper and turmeric powder.
3. To serve: transfer to a serving plate and garnish with chopped parsley.

Quince Curry

Ingredients:

400 grams well marbled lamb
1 medium onion
1 cup dry red dal
500 grams quince
Steamed saffron, lemon juice and granulated sugar as needed
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste

How to:

1. Cut meat in small bite sized pieces and cook with chopped onion in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil on medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add two cups of water the red dal and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and cook for 1 hour until the dal is cooked completely.
3. Add peeled and chopped quince and cook for one more hour to remove excess liquid. You can add sugar, steamed saffron and lemon juice according to your own preferences.

Shiraz Chickpea Stew

Ingredients:

500 grams well marbled lamb
2 cups (or 1 can) cooked chickpeas
2 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
3 pita breads, cut in 2 inch pieces
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt, pepper and turmeric powder to taste

How to:

1. Chop onion and sauté in vegetable oil until crispy and golden. Add chopped meat and continue cooking. Season with salt, pepper and turmeric powder and add one cup of water. Cook until the meat is completely done and tender.
2. Wash, peel and chop potatoes into bite sized pieces. Add to the meat mixture with one cup water. Add cooked chickpeas.
3. Once everything is cooked completely, drain mixture and preserve the liquids. Puree the mixture in a food processor and serve in a round plate. Transfer liquids to a glass bowl and mix with the cut up pita bread. Let the bread soak, and then serve along the pureed mixture. Enjoy!

Pomegranate Rice

Ingredients:

1 kilogram dry white rice
1 cup pomegranate paste
1 cup shelled halved walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
2 large onions
Granulated sugar for sprinkling
Vegetable oil for frying
(You can buy pomegranate paste from Persian grocery stores. If you can't find it, you can make your own pomegranate paste at home. Simply set on medium heat one kilogram of pomegranate seeds with a half a cup of water and lightly sprinkle with both sugar and salt. Cook until the mixture comes to a boil. Drain. Discard the solid matter and return the liquids to the pot and continue boiling until it is the consistency of honey. Alternatively you can process one kilogram of pomegranate seeds in a food processor, run through a sieve to remove the white seeds and boil down the liquid to make the paste. You should aim for 1 and a half cup of homemade paste for this recipe as homemade paste is usually less dense than the store bought paste)

How to:

1. Soak rice in cold water with a dash of salt for at least 3 hours or overnight.
2. Chop onions and sauté in vegetable oil over medium heat until golden. Add walnuts and raisins and continue cooking.
3. In a small saucepan mix together the pomegranate paste with 2 tablespoons of sugar (you can add or reduce one tablespoon of sugar according to your own preference) set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
4. Fill a big pot to 2/3 with water and bring to a boil. Cook soaked rice in boiling water with a dash of salt for 4 minutes. Drain. Mix the half cooked rice with the paste and stir well until completely incorporated. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a medium pot and add the rice and form a dorm shape to ensure even cooking. Top with the onion mixture.
5. Cover pot with cloth and set the lid on and make sure no steam can escape the pot. Cook on low heat for 45 minutes up to an hour until rice is completely done. To check if rice is ready to serve, wet your fingers slightly in cold water and quickly touch the side of the hot pot. If you hear a sizzling sound your rice is ready. Be careful not to burn yourself! Serve in a round serving plate and enjoy!

Shiraz "Polo" Rice

"Polo" is a general term for many rice dishes but this staple of Shiraz cuisine carries the name in its title because it is considered the most well known rice dish of Shiraz in other parts of Iran.

Ingredients:

3 cups dry white rice
1/2 cup unsweetened Greek yoghurt
1 tablespoon steamed saffron
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 chicken breast
1 medium onion
3 eggs
3 tablespoons dry barberries
1 big eggplant
1 tablespoon slivered pistachios
Butter for greasing
Salt, pepper and turmeric powder to taste

How to:

1. Soak rice in cold water with a dash of salt for at least 3 hours or overnight.
2. Cook chicken breast with one cup of water, halved onion, salt, pepper and half a teaspoon turmeric powder on medium heat. Cut into bite sized pieces.
3. Bring water to boil with a dash of salt in a big pot. Add soaked rice to the boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Drain. Mix half cooked rice with yoghurt and steamed saffron. Beat eggs and one with rice has cooled down mix and stir well to combine. Add sugar and mix well.
4. Peel the eggplants and cut in one inch pieces. Fry in vegetable oil until caramelized. Transfer to kitchen towels to remove excess oil.
5. Generously grease the bottom and sides of an oven safe dish, around 3 inches deep. Press half of the rice mixture into the dish. Top with chicken mixture, caramelized eggplants and dried barberries. Press in the remaining half of the rice mixture. Sprinkle with slivered pistachios.
6. Cover dish with aluminum foil. Poke a few small holes into the foil so that some of steam can leave the dish. Too much steam would result in mushy rice.
7. Bake in preheated oven set to 200 degrees centigrade for one hour. Transfer to a serving plate same way as you would a cake. Enjoy!

Shiraz Lamb Rice

Ingredients:

4 cups dry white rice
250 grams boneless lamb
1 cup lentils
250 grams cabbages
250 grams chopped fresh greens (equal parts chives, parsley, coriander and fenugreek leaves)
1 medium onion
3 tablespoons butter
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt, pepper and turmeric powder to taste

How to:

1. Soak rice in cold water with a dash of salt for at least 3 hours or overnight
2. Cut meat in bite sized pieces and fry in vegetable oil with chopped onions. Season with salt, pepper and turmeric powder. Once the meat is brown add one cup of water and cook on low heat until completely done.
3. Cook lentils with 3 cups of water for one hour or until cooked through. If you are using cooked/canned lentils add them to the meat without adding any more water and proceed to the next step.
4. In another saucepan sauté the chopped greens with chopped cabbages for a few minutes. Add to the meat pot. Add soaked rice with 4 cups of water to the meat and greens mixture and bring to a boil. Continue cooking until only a few tablespoons of liquid remains in the pot. Cover pot with cloth and set the lid on and make sure no steam can escape the pot. Cook on low heat for 45 minutes up to an hour until rice is completely done. To check if rice is ready to serve, wet your fingers slightly in cold water and quickly touch the side of the hot pot. If you hear a sizzling sound your rice is ready. Be careful not to burn yourself! Once you make sure the rice is cooked, you can transfer it to a serving plate and enjoy.

Caramel Coated Almonds

These are a well known Shiraz specialty. These sweet crunchy almonds are coated with caramel to make a delightful snack. You can keep these caramel coated almonds in an airtight container in room temperature up to three months.

Ingredients:

1 kilogram almonds
700 milliliters water
100 grams vegetable oil
2 kilograms sugar
1 cup lemon juice
1. Dissolve sugar in water and set on low heat to bring to a boil.
2. Add almonds to the boiling syrup and continue cooking until only a few tablespoons of liquid remain and the almonds get a coat of sugar.
3. Drain almonds. Return the excess sugar to the pot and caramelize on low heat be careful not to burn the sugar. Add oil and lemon juice. Add almonds and stir well to make sure all almonds get the caramel coat.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the caramel over the parchment and leave aside to cool. Once cooled completely, break down the almonds to separate them. Transfer to an airtight container. Enjoy!