Reshteh Polo (Persian Rice and Noodle Dish)
Reshteh polo is a flavorful Persian dish featuring saffron infused rice and noodles, creating a remarkably delicious medley of flavors.
Ingredients
Meatball and Onion layer
- 1 lb ground turkey or chicken
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ⅓ teaspoon tsp ground cumin
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon separated to ¼ and 1 tsp
- ¾ teaspoon salt separated to ½ and ¼ tsp
- ¾ teaspoon pepper separated to ½ and ¼ tsp
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 3 onions, medium sized thinly sliced
- 1 cup currant raisins or small raisins
- ½ teaspoon saffron, ground dissolved in ⅓ cup of warm water
Rice Layer
- 1 ¾ cup uncooked basmati parboiled rice rinsed several times
- 6 oz thin noodles (reshteh)
- ½ cup yogurt
- 4 tablespoon oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoon butter optional
- ¼ teaspoon saffron
Instructions
Make the Meatballs
- In a medium bowl, mix ground meat, onion powder, cumin, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Using your hands or a mini cookie scoop, form the meat mixture into small meatballs.
- Heat oil in a saute pan, and lightly fry the meatballs so that they are golden on all sides.
- Remove the meatballs from the pan and add the thinly sliced onions. You may need to add a splash of oil. Sautee them until golden brown. Season with remaining salt and pepper.
- Stir in raisins, remaining cinnamon, and liquid saffron. Liquid saffron is made my grinding saffron to a powder, then adding 2-3 tablespoons of warm water to every ¼ teaspoon of ground saffron. It is ideal to let the saffron water bloom for 10 minutes.
- Return the meatballs to the pan and stir to combine. Then turn off the heat. The meatballs will soak up the sauce. Set aside while preparing the rice.
Boil the Rice and Noodles
- Break the noodles into 1 inch pieces. Dry toast them in a pan until they are golden. Set aside.
- Rinse the rice several times until the water runs mostly clear.
- In a large pot, bring 8-10 cups of water to a boil. Add 1.5 tablespoon salt and 2 tablespoon of oil.
- Add the rice to the pot. Once the water comes back to a gentle boil, let the rice cook for 6-8 more minutes or until it is a bit more firm than al dente.
- Now add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes, or until you are able to just break a noodle in half between your fingers. The general rule is to cook the pasta halfway, so if directions say cook for 12 minutes, cook for 5 or 6 minutes.
- Strain the rice noodle mixture in a large colander in the sink. Set aside while you prepare the bottom of the pot in the next step.
Assemble the Reshteh Polo
- Add 3 tablespoon of oil to the bottom of the pot.
- In a small bowl, mix 1.5 to 2 cups of your rice from the colander with ½ cup yogurt and 2 tablespoon of oil. Spread this on the bottom of the pot to form the crispy crust, or tahdig.
- Layer half of the rice and noodle mixture on top of the tahdig layer.
- Now add a layer with the cooked meatballs and onion mixture, reserving some of the onions and raisins for garnish.
- Add the remaining rice on top.
- Add the reserved onions on top of the rice layer.
Steam the Rice
- Turn the heat on the rice to medium-high. Wait for the pot to become hot and build up some steam (usually within 5-10 minutes).
- Drizzle 2 tablespoon of oil mixed with 4 tablespoon of hot water over the rice. Cover the pot with a clean cloth or paper towel and top with the the lid.
- Turn the heat to low or medium-low and cook for 40-45 minutes. The rice should steam but not burn.
Serve
- Remove lid and paper towel.
- Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of butter melted with ¼ teaspoon of ground saffron. (you can do this ahead and set aside)
- Spoon the rice onto a serving platter, and top with the meatballs.
- Remove the tahdig from the bottom of the pan and enjoy.