Persian Thanksgiving
Recipes for each one of the items on the table will come soon, with special thanks to our good friend B. A. 
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Dec 04
Nov 10
I finally got around to making Koofteh Berenji, which is a very tasty Persian recipe that mixes ground beef, aromatic green vegetables, and rice!
Koofteh Berenji
One thing to note is that some of the aromatic green vegetables (Sabzi moatar) are not easily found (i.e., Reyhan and Tareh). I used a bit of Cilantro in place of Reyhan since I didn’t have dry or fresh Reyhan. And as I have mentioned in other recipes, in place of Tareh you can use the ends of green onions. But if you happen to have these ingredients definitely use them
Ingredients (makes 6 large Koofteh Berenji’s):
1 lb ground beef –lean ground beef (kam charbi) is better
1 lb aromatic green vegetables : mint, Reyhan (if you have it), Tarragon (Tarkhan), Green onions (the ends in place of Tareh; unless you have Tareh), and Parsley. I used Cilantro in place of Reyhan.
2 onions — 1 to be grated and added to the ground beef, the other to be chopped up for Piaz dagh (fried onion)
1 cup rice
1 cup split yellow peas
3 eggs
turmeric
salt/pepper
lemon juice
1 tablespoon tomato Paste
1/2 teaspoon (or less) baking powder or baking soda
zereshk (barberries)
crushed walnuts
Mixing the ingredients for Koofteh Berenji
Forming the Koofteh Berenji
Directions:
Boil some water in a small pot and add the rice. Once the rice boils use a strainer to drain the water. In a small pot boil water and add the split yellow peas and allow them to boil and then use a strainer to drain the water.
Chop up all the Sabzi (green vegetables), you can use a food processor to chop them up as well. In a large bowl, mix in the grated onion, turmeric, salt, and pepper with the ground beef. Add the rice, split yellow peas, and the green vegetables to the ground beef and mix all the ingredients. Add the baking powder (or baking soda) and the three eggs and mix the ingredients. If you desire you can add a bit more salt and pepper.
In a pot go ahead and saute the chopped onion. Once the onion has turned a golden color take out half the onions. Add 2 cups of water into the pot and set the stove top heat to medium. Mix some zereshk (barberries) and walnuts with the fried onions you took out of the pot. Once the water boils begin forming large round balls and insert bits of the zereshk, walnuts, and fried onions mix into the center.
Insert zereshk, walnuts, and fried onion into center
Cooking the Koofteh Berenjis in water
Note: you can poke a hole to the center of the ball and add the mixture of zereshk, walnut, and fried onion then cover over the hole.
After all the Koofteh Berenji’s are formed and in the pot add the tomato paste and some lemon juice. Make sure the Koofteh Berenji’s are covered with water, if needed add more water to make sure they are all covered. Place the lid on the pot and allow it to cook for 45 minutes.
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Sep 24
Zereshk Polo is one of my FAVORITES!!! And I really mean that! I just love this Zereshk Polo dish. Good thing its also one of my husbands favorites…except he likes to add loads of sugar to his Zereshk Polo.
Zereshk Polo
Ingredients (for 3-4 people):
1 medium onion
2-3 chicken breasts (or other chicken parts) - cut up into pieces
liquid saffron
sugar (3-4 spoons usually is enough)
3 cups rice - soak in salt water after washing the rice
1 cup zereshk (barberries)
salt/pepper
turmeric
oil
Directions to make Zereshk Polo:
In a pan, saute onions until tender then add cut up chicken pieces. Stir the pieces around a bit and then add salt, pepper, and turmeric powder. Add 1 cup water and cover the pan for the chicken to cook. Set the temperature on medium- low and let it cook for 30 minutes - 45 minutes. Once cooked you can keep 1/2 cup of the chicken stock (after straining it) if you wish to pour it over the rice.
In a large pot bring water to a boil, and then add rice (after draining the water the rice is soaking in). Guessed right! This is the polo for zereshk polo. Once the rice boils drain it and add about half a cup to one cup water to the pot, oil, and if you choose butter. Set the pot back on the stove and leave it on high temperature. Pour the rice into the pot. If you choose you can also place the chicken pieces into the pot (between two layers of rice). I typically make the chicken separate from the rice for Zereshk Polo. At this time if you chose to save chicken stock you can pour it over the rice. I usually add a bit more oil to the chicken stock, plus some saffron. Obviously, if you want to keep your Zereshk Polo closer to a white and not a yellow you don’t want to pour saffron into your chicken stock. Once this is done cover the lid of the pot with a towel and place it over the pot. When steam starts escaping from the sides of the pot you can take the temperature down to a low setting. Allow the rice to cook for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
Wash the zereshk (barberries) after cleaning them (make sure there are no stones mixed in). Place them in a small pot and set the temperature to medium. Add some oil to the zereshk (barberries) and add a tad bit of liquid saffron and then pour a couple spoons sugar into the pot and mix. Once they have cooked you can turn the heat to low or turn it off. If you leave it on the stove too long it can be over cooked. I usually make the barberries about 10 minutes before everything is done.
Once you are ready to serve the rice put half the rice on a serving platter then mix 2/3 of the remaining rice with 2/3 of the barberries you cooked and pour on top of the rice on the platter. Then take the remaining rice and add saffron to it and the remaining barberries and decorate onto the top of the platter. Place the chicken around the platter or keep in a separate platter. You can save some barberries to sprinkle on top of the chicken as well.
Note: Some people don’t like the barberries to be too sweet, so if you just add about 3 or so spoonfuls of sugar to them that should be good. Then if anyone desires they can add more sugar to their plate…that’s pretty much what my husband ends up doing to his Zereshk Polo 
I hope you enjoyed this Zereshk Polo recipe, and please don’t forget to check out my other Persian recipes.
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