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It was the 21st of December, last year, that I received a request from Radhika of SINSATIONS-Cakes, at my Persian Rice / Polo post asking for a recipe for mujaddarah (Arabian lentil rice dish). I responded within a couple of hours, with a speedy recipe, not for mujaddarah but an Iranian version, adas polo. It is a complete vegetarian/vegan dish by itself, or served with meats for an elaborate dish. I made the dish for dinner tonight. Since I now have photos and actually jotted down what I did, here it is for all!
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Lentil Rice • Adas Polo • عدس پلو
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
INGREDIENTS
• 2¼ cups basmati rice
• salt
• 1¼ cups lentils
• vegetable oil
• 340 g/ 12 oz/ 1 large onion – or – 5~6 Tbsp caramelized onion
• 1½ cup raisins (I prefer golden or sultana)
• 12 pieces quality dates, 8 cut in half (latitude), 4 kept whole for decoration, and all pitted
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¾ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• pinch (1/16 tsp) ground saffron dissolved in 2 Tbsp hot water (optional, but makes a difference)
For tah-dig:
• 1 piece flour tortilla bread (large enough to cover bottom of the pot) –or- see other options of tah-dig
DIRECTIONS
To soak the rice:
◊ Although today, clean fine rice is available, some imported rice brands may contain small, non-rice particles which must be scrutinized and removed by hand before washing. Also, some brands may need to be washed with extra agitation until water is clear. Put the rice in a large enough bowl with plenty of water and rub the rice between two hands to scrape off any powdery substance. Drain in a fine-meshed colander. Rinse the rice until clear water runs through.
◊ Put the washed rice in a bowl, add 1 Tbsp salt, cover with water level 3 cm/ 1″ above the rice, stir gently and set aside for more than an hour. This can be done in advance and soaked for 3+ hours. (Note: A faster step for cooking rice is… wash rice and soak without salt for 30 minutes. Add the salt to boiling water and follow the next steps.)
◊ Rinse lentils and put them in a non-stick medium~large saucepan (5+ cups capacity), add 3 cups water and 1 tsp salt and bring to boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until almost tender (not overcooked). Drain and briefly rinse with cold water (to stop cooking) and set aside. Rinse the pot well for the next step.
◊ Cut onions in half, putting cut side on the board. Slice longitudinally (from the root end to stem end) as thinly as possible.
◊ Add 4 Tbsp oil to the saucepan and set on medium-high heat. When oil begins to ripple, add cut onion and stir. Lower heat to medium. Stir cut onion often, fry until evenly golden crisp caramelized. Spoon out and set aside.
◊ In same saucepan with remaining oil, on medium heat, add raisins and stir for a minute. Add dates and stir for another minute. Turn off heat.
◊ Add lentils, one-half of caramelized onion, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, pepper, dissolved saffron and mix gently and set aside.
To boil the rice:
◊ Have a colander ready in your sink (fine-mesh or with very small holes, hopefully, with legs and don’t touch the sink bottom).
◊ In a non-stick pot (10 cups capacity with lid) bring 7 cups of water to a boil and add 1 Tbsp salt.
◊ Pour the soaked rice with its brine in the boiling water. Pay attention to the pot or else foam from boiling rice may overflow.
◊ As rice starts to boil briskly, lower heat to medium-high and occasionally, gently stir the rice in a circular motion. In a few minutes, after rice begins bubbling like a volcano, it boils slower/thicker.
◊ Test/bite a grain to check its hardness. Do this repeatedly, as timing is very important. As soon as there is no more hardness/crunch in the center of the rice (don’t let it get completely soft), drain rice in colander waiting in sink. It is better for rice to be a tad under-cooked than overcooked. Rice needs to be tad saltier than you like. If it is too salty, pour a little warm water over the rice while in the colander.
◊ Rice should not sit in the colander more than a minute or two (it will continue cooking and be sticky soft).
◊ At this point, you must act quickly. Rinse pot and have it ready for preparing rice.
To prepare the rice:
◊ Put 4 Tbsp oil in pot. Lay tortilla bread in bottom of pot (or tah-dig of choice).
◊ Gently, sprinkle ¼ of drained rice over the tortilla bread.
◊ Layer 1/3 of lentil/raisin mixture evenly over rice layer (away from touching sides of pot) and cover/layer with ¼ of rice. Repeat this two more times.
◊ Poke a few holes into the rice (with chopstick like). Pour 2~3 Tbsp of oil evenly over rice in the pot.
◊ Cover pot with 1 sheet of paper towel and tightly put lid on.
◊ On medium-low heat, steam for 45 minutes.
◊ Dish out rice, spatula at a time, sprinkling into a serving dish (keeping tah-dig intact at bottom of pot).
◊ Sprinkle and garnish the other-half of the caramelized onion on top of the dished out rice, decorate with the whole dates.
◊ Loosen, dish out tah-dig with wooden or non-stick pot-safe spatula and serve in same dish or a different dish.
~ Noushe jan • نوش جان ~
Caramelized Onion
Tortilla Tah-dig
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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Hello Fae,
I have been noticing lately after the steaming process…the basmati rice seems to come out of the pot with a curl. Do you know why that is? Could it be that I’m steaming the rice too long? Or the rice is over cooked? Or could it be the brand of rice. Any advice would be appreciated!
Hello Marion, You have a very interesting question. How much curl? I think it is the brand of the basmati rice. Or, the other possibility I can think of is that this particular brand of rice needs more soaking for better outcome. Try this… soak the rice overnight or even longer in brine, using lukewarm water. i.e. wash the rice with tap water, add salt (at least 1 Tbsp), add lukewarm water up to 1″ above rice and let it soak for 12 hours. Be watchful when boiling as it will cook faster than the rice soaked for less time. Drain as soon as no crunch in the center (don’t let it get soft). Work quickly either if making plain or mixed rice. Steam on medium-low for 45 min. Let me know if the cooked polo looks any better. Hope this helps. 🙂
Thanks for the tips. I will try soaking the rice longer and see if that helps. I’ll keep you posted 🙂
My husband is Persian and we absolutely love your Adas Polo recipes! I’ve made it many, many times and can’t get enough of this. Your recipe is very descriptive and very easy to follow for a non-persian like myself. Thank you!
One questions…I sometimes make it for dinner when we have guests. How can I prep this dish so that it is hot and right off the stove while hosting a dinner? Is it okay to prepare and put everything in the pot and let it sit for a couple of hours before doing the last step of steaming?
Yes. Make sure you poke the holes and leave the pot’s lid a bit ajar, so the rice will not continue cooking while sitting. Drizzle the oil on the top right before you put on the covered lid for steaming. 🙂
Thank you for the tip!
Hi Marion, I love feedback like this. 🙂 Thank you. I’m glad you like my recipe. You have a very lucky husband, who you delight with his cultural cuisine. 😀
Merci Fae! I enjoy learning new dishes and enjoy the challenge of perfecting it. 🙂
this looks so good! A must try! adas yumm
Oh you and your family are going to love it! Adas yumm alright! 😀 )))
This looks great. I’m going to try it this weekend. Thank you for visiting Off the Cuff and enjoying the Truffle recipe. And Tonight in my humble kitchen I’m making a Winter Salad. Some day I’ll post the recipe.
Whoa, this is something I’m willing to take a try…
Excellent vegan dish… a~n~d goes well with meat on the side too! 😛
I’ll be taking the opportunity while the ingredients is easily available here! Thanks again Fae!
Fae, how long would you estimate this dish takes? I made some great Persian chicken kabobs last night and I’m looking to make a rice dish for the side. I’m scouring your site and Azita’s for a little help. Any recommendations?
Darling Amanda, Total ~2 hrs (1 hr 10 min preparation + 45 steaming)
◊ 35 min to wash and soak basmati. Meanwhile cook lentils, at the same time make caramelized onion, raisin and dates mixture.
◊ 30 ~ 35 boil the water and boil the soaked rice. Tortilla tah-dig is easiest. To layer the rice & mixture.
◊ 45 min to steam the rice on medium-low.
Bon Appétit !
Thanks so much! I suspect that info was there and I just missed it! I may give it a go!
Wonderful ! My kind of thing….
Yes, this one pleases everyone! 😀
How many servings, approximately, does this make? Many thanks!
This ingredient amount would serve 5~6 people as a main, and may serve up to 8 as a side.
Hi Fae, I’m so happy I discovered your blog and am enjoying all of your posts, especially these Persian dishes. I need to try this one! And your presentation is always beautiful. Cheers! -Laura (The Seasoned Traveler)
I couldn’t wait to get to this recipe. The photo is wonderful – it looks like jeweled rice, absolutely beautiful.
Caramelized onions and rice? Guaranteed deliciousness! 🙂
Fae, I’m litterally drooling through this dish. Recipe saved on my laptop. Thank you for sharing and stopping by my blog! 🙂
Oh my Fae!! (these words always tumble out from my lips when I check out your recipes!) This is glorious! I’m making it for lunch tomorrow! I love Adas Polo but have never tried making it. Yours look out of this world. I didn’t know we could add dates too. We’re doing vegetarian on weekdays and fish/chicken on weekends. This would be perfect. HUGS, Sharon
This look so, so delicious Fae! I have no idea how I managed to miss out on your beautiful blog posts for so long, but I love all that I’ve read so far. That gorgeous crispy tortilla is calling my name. I love Iranian/Persian dishes, and this rice dish has all of the yummiest components rolled into one! Thanks xx
I just love rice dishes. I would be happy making a meal of this dish. It looks wonderful Fae!
Oh my goodness. This looks fabulous! My interest in Persian food started when I had some of the fabulous rice dishes. We had found a Persian restaurant in Chicago that served the best rice – like nothing I had before. The restaurant is long gone but I’d love to try these dishes again and yours looks very close to what we had – the yellow basmati with a hint of saffron and the sweet and spicy flavors. Thanks for posting this!
I want to come to your house for dinner!!! This dish looks fantastic with the caramelized onions, spices and dates. Delicious!
Dear Fae, just read through the entire post….thank you for the mention 🙂
I am going to make this soon. It looks so divine and I’m sure it smelled and tasted wonderful too! Love the new look! R
Fae, I haven’t read through fully as yet, but I have to say, “This looks phenomenal!”. I am a South Indian and I unabashedly LOVE rice!
More in a while 🙂
Looks wonderful, and I can just imagine how fragrant adas polo is!
What a beautiful rice you made and the tadigs look brilliant. Just perfectly crispy. YUM! A mouthwatering post!
I’ve never actually thought of slicing onions that way. How clever!
– Recipe sounds divine.
Looks delicious!
This looks so scrumptious!!
This is beautiful. I like how you take your time preparing each step as it should be done. This is what I love so much about Persian cooking, the sweet raisins to balance the earthy lentils, the onions, a little oil and of course the most beautiful spice in the world….saffron. Thanks for sharing.
I love this dish and yours looks great!
I was reading along and imagining the wonderful flavor of the lentils and then the rice preparation came up! This is fantastic. Such a delicious meal I have never had the pleasure to try.
An easy to follow recipe Fae, but very elegant turnout! Must be delicious!
Oh so happy to see this, I love adas polo, there are so many recipes I made years ago that I have forgotten about and this is one of them, Thank you for posting this. Can’t wait to make it.