Nov 05
I didn’t know of this dish until I became friends with plenty of people from Shiraz. Its a vary tasty Persian recipe that can be eaten with Koofteh (meatballs) or chicken. The Shevid Loobia (Loobia Polo Shirazi) I have explained below is made with Koofteh (meatballs). Also, a key item that adds a sweet and sour taste is the Rob va Shireh (a pomegranate and sugar syrup) that is poured over the Shevid Loobia rice.
Shevid Loobia
Ingredients for 4-6 servings:
3 cups rice –rinse rice and soak in warm water for 2-3 hours, add salt to the water
1 cup black eye peas –I used Persian black eye peas from Shiraz that are extremely tiny, so I used less than 1 cup of black eye peas — rinse the beans and soak in cold water for 2-3 hours
1 large onion –half to be grated for the ground beef and half to be chopped up
.75 lb to 1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup Shevid (dill) — dry dill or fresh dill
turmeric
salt/pepper
pomegranate paste — desired amount (the more you use the more sour your syrup will be)
sugar –desired amount (the more you use the sweeter your syrup will be)
3/4 cup water
oil
Loobia Polo Shirazi
Directions:
For the Koofteh (meatballs) — in a bowl add the grated onion, ground beef, some turmeric powder, salt, pepper, and any other desired spices. Mix ingredients well. In a frying pan heat up oil (medium heat) and add the chopped onion. Begin forming tiny meatballs and placing it in the frying pan. Once all the Koofteh is prepared stir the contents around and then place the lid on top of the frying pan. Leave the heat on a medium-low temperature and all the meatballs to cook.
In a small pot boil some water and add the loobia (beans). Allow them to cook on a medium heat for 20-30 minutes (or until soft) then drain out water in a strainer.
Shevid Loobia
In a large pot bring water to a boil and add the loobia into this pot, then add the rice. Allow the rice to boil and then you want to strain the contents and drain out the water. If you are using fresh dill you will need to add it into the pot as well. Return the pot to the stove top and add 1/2 a cup water to the pot and some oil. If using dry dill add half of the rice to the pot then sprinkle the dill over the rice and cover with the remaining rice. Place a towel or cloth over the lid of the pot and place it on the pot. The stove top temperature should be on high, and once steam begins leaving the sides of the pot you will take the temperature down to low. Leave on the stove top for over 45 minutes (the longer it stays the crispier your tah digh will become).
In a small pot you need to pour in the water (3/4 cup) and bring it to a boil. Add the amount of sugar you prefer and stir, then add some robeh anar (pomegranate paste). You will end up with a syrup that has a sweet and sour taste and goes very well with Shevid Loobia (Loobia Polo Shirazi).
When the Shevid Loobia polo (rice) is done you want to mix together the dill with the rice as you are taking it out of the pot. Serve with the koofteh and pomegranate/sugar syrup. If you choose you can add some saffron to the a bit of the rice and sprinkle it on top of the rice in the serving dish. Its best to not pour the syrup over all the Shevid Loobia, but to allow everyone to add it themselves to the Shevid Loobia in their plates.
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Tagged with: Beef • Black Eye Peas • Dill • Pomegranate Paste • Sugar
Oct 30
This is a simple Kookoo Sabzi recipe…there are a few different ingredients that can be added to vary the Kookoo Sabzi. Kookoo is considered a souffle and Kookoo Sabzi is a vegetable souffle with various green vegetables mixed in with eggs (and a few other things) and then cooked.
Kookoo Sabzi
Ingredients:
2 packages (baste) Parsley
2 packages Cilantro
1/2 package spinach
2 packages green onions –only use the ends where it is green in place of Tareh
1 - 2 tablespoons dill (dry or fresh)
Garlic — finely diced or grated
4 eggs
Turmeric
Salt/pepper — dont add too much salt because it can become bitter
a pinch of Baking powder
oil
Directions:
After cleaning and rinsing the sabzi (vegetables) you want to chop them up…can use a food processor to simplify the task. Note: I typically let the vegetables soak in water for at least 30 minutes before rinsing them to make sure all the dirt is removed. In a bowl add the chopped vegetables, garlic, turmeric, a little salt, pepper, baking powder, and then the eggs. Mix all ingredients well.
Kookoo Sabzi
In a frying pan (that has a lid) pour in a good amount of oil. Put on the stove on a medium- high heat and once the oil is heated add the mixed ingredients and flatten out in the pan. After a few minutes bring the temperature to medium and place the lid on the frying pan. After about 15 minutes you want to cut up the Kookoo Sabzi into 4 or more pieces and then flip it over for the other side to fry as well. You should notice a darker green color to the side that is fried…if needed you can allow it to fry a bit longer before flipping it over. When you flip it over you will cover the frying pan with the lid again and allow it to cook another 15 - 20 minutes.
You can serve the Kookoo Sabzi with bread or with Sabzi Polo. In fact many times I have eaten Sabzi Polo ba Mahi and Kookoo Sabzi. Very tasty 
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Tagged with: Cilantro • Dill • Eggs • Green Onions • Parsley • Sabzi • Spinach
Oct 29
Sabzi Polo ba Mahi is a rice with greens that is typically served with mahi (fish). Obviously everyone uses different types of fish, and depending on where you live you probably don’t have all the types of fish you would like to have.
Sabzi Polo ba Mahi
I made Sabzi Polo ba mahi and have explained the ingredients I used below. For the fish I used Tilapia, which doesn’t take long to cook at all. You can use another type of fish. Halibut is pretty good and if you have access to buying Mahi Sefid (white fish) its pretty tasty too.
Ingredients:
3 cups rice — rinse your rice and soak it for an hour or more before cooking it. Add salt to the water you are soaking the rice in.
Sabzi (greens) — I used a combination of parsley, cilantro, green onions, and dill.
Tilapia –allow it to thaw out if it is frozen before cooking
lemon juice
salt/pepper
garlic powder
flour
eggs (optional)
Directions:
Chop up the parsley, cilantro, green onions (only the ends where it is green, this is in place of tareh), and dill (if using fresh dill). I use a food processor to chop it up.
For the rice, you will bring a pot of water to boil and then add your chopped up greens first and after about 5 minutes add the rice (after draining the water it is soaking in out). Once the rice boils (about 5 minutes) you want to use a strainer to drain the water. Add a half cup water and some oil to the pot and return it to the stove top on a medium-high temperature. Add the rice (now with sabzi) back to the pot and cover the lid with a towel and place it over it. You want to allow it to steam and then turn the heat down to a low temperature. You can allow it to stay on the stove top over 30 minutes. Again the longer it stays the crispier your tahdigh (crispy rice bottom crust) will get. Note: if you are using dry dill don’t add it until you are adding the rice back into the pot with the rest of the sabzi.
For the fish that is served with the Sabzi Polo, first heat some oil in a frying pan. Pour some flour in a bowl or plate and add salt, pepper, and garlic to it then mix together. If you like you can put an egg or two in a different bowl and mix it as well, then you would dip your fish into the eggs then into the flour. For Tilapia I didn’t use eggs, instead I dipped the fish into the flour and coated it on both sides then placed it in the frying pan. Like I mentioned above it doesn’t take long for Tilapia to cook, so make sure you keep an eye on it. Place the lid on the frying pan if you like to allow it to thoroughly cook. Flip it over after a couple a minutes for the other side to fry a bit too. After the fish is done frying you can add some lemon juice to it.
Serve the Sabzi Polo with the mahi.
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Tagged with: Cilantro • Dill • Eggs • Flour • Parsley • Sabzi
