Persian Beef and Green Beans Rice(Lubia Polo)

This delicious Persian Beef and Green Beans Rice (Lubia Polo) deserves to be as well known as the Asian fried rice or the Italian risotto because it’s just as delicious. It’s a one pot meal, made with a handful of simple ingredients that results in a comforting dish, summer or winter and any other time in between. Although it takes a little bit of time to prepare, very little effort is actually required.

What you need to make Lubia Polo..

Essentially it is a layered dish of parboiled rice, ground beef cooked in Persian spices and Green Beans. Such a simple combination but with spectacular results!

• Meat – Minced beef , lamb or chicken. I’m not a big fan of lamb so I use ground beef.
• Basmati Rice – You need the long grained basmati rice for this dish.
• Green Beans – These are called Lubia in Persian, hence Lubia Polo. Top and tail the beans and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces.
• Aromatics – The original recipe uses the spice blend called advieh. Advieh is a multipurpose spice blend extensively used in Persian cooking. Although , it can vary from region to region, usually it has cumin, cinnamon , black pepper and turmeric. You can source this spice blend from most Middle Eastern shops,however you don’t have to go out of your way to get one. In this recipe, I’ve used a mix of curry powder cinnamon turmeric and paprika, and the Persian Prince, the authentic Persian in our house, can’t tell the difference!
• Pantry /Fridge Staples -Cooking Oil, Onion,Garlic,Butter,Tomato Paste,Salt and Pepper

How to cook Persian Beef Green Beans Rice(Lubia Polo)

• Rinse rise in plenty of cold water then add clean water and soak rice for at least an hour.
• Parboil the rice in plenty of salted boiling water.
• Sauté the ground beef in the spices.
• In a heavy bottomed pot (like a dutch oven) layer cooked beef and beans over parboiled rice.
• Cover the lid of the pot with a clean tea towel. This catches the excess steam while the rice cooks. Cook on very low for 45 minutes.
• To serve, place the serving plate over the cooking pot and flip the whole thing over, so the rice drops to the serving plate in one piece. See photo below.

What to serve it with..

• Plain Yoghurt or Persian yoghurt with cucumber garlic and dill mixed in.
• Pickles – Any pickles will do.
• A simple green salad or Persian Shirazi Salad of Tomato Cucumber and Spanish Onion
• Funnily enough, I like to eat Lubia Polo with Korean Kimchi. I guess I’ve got no boundaries when it comes to food.

Persian Beef and Green Beans Rice(Lubia Polo)

Recipe by Lola AdeleCourse: MainCuisine: PersianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Rice Beef and Green Beans

Ingredients

• 500g minced beef/lamb or chicken

• 2 cups basmati rice
  2 tablespoons oil

• 250g green beans, topped and tailed, cut into one inch pieces

• 1 onion, peeled and diced

• 1 teaspoon turmeric
  1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  1/2 teaspoon curry powder

• 3 teaspoons tomato puree

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Soak the rice in water for at least an hour. Drain the rice and rinse in running water, then drain in a colander. Set aside.
• In a pan, heat oil on medium. Stir fry the beans until half cooked, about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.
• In the same pan, fry the onions in the leftover oil, until onions are translucent. Add the minced meat and cook until browned. Break up the lumps of mince with a fork or wooden spoon so it cooks evenly. Add tomato paste turmeric,cinnamon and curry powder to the meat and mix well to coat the meat with spices. Season with salt and pepper to taste.Remove from heat and set aside.
• Boil plenty 2 litres of water in the pan and add a pinch of salt. When the water boils, add the drained soaked rice to the pot.
• Cook for 12 minutes or until the grains have doubled in size. They rice grains should still have a bite to it. In pasta terms, al dente. Drain the rice in colander and rinse with cold water.
• Return the pot to the stove, and add a teaspoon of butter. Heat on medium until the butter melts, then change the heat setting to very low.
• Place a layer of rice on the pot over the melted butter. Then place a layer of the meat mixture. Use a spoon to pack the first layer in. This helps in creating a crusty bottom. Continue layering until the rice and meat mix is used up. Dot pieces of butter on top of the rice.
• Cover the lid of the pot with a clean tea towel, and use this to cover the cooking pot. The tea towel catches the excess water when the rice is cooking.
• Cook in very low setting for 45 minutes. P
• When ready to serve, place the serving platter on top of the pot of rice and carefully flip it over so the rice is now in the serving platter. Serve with sides of pickles and yoghurt.

Notes

• Australian Measurement Standards used