Shirin Polo

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 400 g Basmati, soaked for a few hours or overnight
• 4 chicken breasts, halved (or 600 g chicken breast fillet or 4 chicken drumsticks)
• 2 onions
• 2 orange(s), unsprayed
• 3 large carrots
• 100 g pistachios, shelled
• 100 g raisins
• 100 g butter
• oil
• 6 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp saffron powder
• salt and pepper
• n. B. water

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes

Persian sweet rice with chicken and pistachios – from Iran

Wash the rice thoroughly, then pour it into a sieve. Wash the oranges in hot water, peel them thinly, and cut the peel into strips approximately 2-3 mm wide. Peel the carrots, cut them lengthwise into 2-3 mm thick slices (best done with a bread slicer), and then cut them into strips like the orange peel. Bring 200 ml of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of sugar in it and cook the orange peel in the sugar water for about 5 minutes. Then drain. Melt 60 g of butter in a Teflon pan. Add 4 tablespoons of sugar and the carrot sticks and simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. When all the water has evaporated, the sugar will begin to caramelize. Continue stirring until the mixture turns light brown. Now add the pistachios, raisins, and orange peel; stir briefly and set the pan aside. Bring enough water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and pour in the rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until almost tender. Then drain into a fine sieve. In the same pot, add about 40g of butter and 3 tablespoons of water. Once the butter has melted, add a layer of rice to the pot. Sprinkle half of the carrot mixture on top, then another layer of rice. Repeat this process until all of it is used up. The last layer should be rice. Place a clean kitchen towel around the lid and cover the pot tightly. Simmer on a very low heat for about 90 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the onions and chop them into coarse strips. Heat oil in a non-stick pan with a lid and fry the onions. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric over the onions and place the meat on top. Season with salt and pepper. Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of saffron powder in 3 tablespoons of hot water, then pour about 2 tablespoons over the meat, setting the rest aside for now. Now add 1/4 liter of water to the meat, put the lid on and let it simmer for 30-40 minutes. Make sure the water doesn’t completely evaporate; add more if necessary. When the rice is cooked, rinse the bottom of the pot with cold water to loosen the crust. Now remove about 4-5 tablespoons of white rice from the top and mix it with the remaining tablespoon of dissolved saffron in a small bowl. Lift the rice out of the pot, carefully mixing the layers. Place on a large platter and garnish with the saffron rice. Arrange the pieces of meat and the broken crust (tah-dig) around the outside. Serve the meat sauce with the onions separately.