Baghali Polo Ba Mahiche
A Persian feast plate: dill-and-broad-bean rice with a saffron tahdig, served alongside slow-braised lamb shanks. A Nowruz dish.
Overview
Lamb shanks brown hard; cook for 2 hours 30 minutes with onion, garlic, turmeric, cinnamon and saffron in a covered pot with a small amount of stock until fork-tender. Meanwhile, basmati rinses and soaks for 1 hour. Frozen (or fresh, podded) broad beans simmer briefly until tender; the rice parboils for 6 minutes in heavily salted water; drains. The rice layers in the cooking pot with the broad beans, dill and saffron: bottom oil-and-rice for tahdig; then a mixed layer of rice + beans + dill; another rice-and-bean-and-dill layer; topped with rice and saffron-water; lid-wrapped-in-towel; steam for 40 minutes. Plated with the lamb shanks alongside.
Ingredients
Lamb shanks
- 4 lamb shanks (about 350 g each)
- 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 2 onions (large, sliced)
- 6 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large pinch saffron threads (soaked in 4 tablespoons hot water)
- 500 ml light lamb (or chicken stock)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
Rice
- 500 g basmati rice
- 3 tablespoons salt (for the parboil)
- 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 1 large pinch saffron threads (soaked in 4 tablespoons hot water)
- 250 g podded broad beans (fresh or frozen, defrosted)
- 1 large bunch fresh dill (chopped fine - about 80 g)
Method
Stage 1 - Sear and braise the lamb
- Heat oven to 160°C (140°C fan).
- Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a wide ovenproof lidded pot over medium-high.
- Pat shanks dry; season with salt and pepper.
- Brown shanks 4 minutes per side, deep colour. Lift to a plate.
- Reduce heat to medium; add onion to the same pot.
- Cook 10 minutes until soft and gold.
- Add garlic, turmeric, cinnamon and salt; cook 30 seconds.
- Add tomato paste (if using); stir 1 minute.
- Return shanks; pour in stock; add saffron-water.
- Bring to a simmer; cover; transfer to the oven.
- Braise 2 hours 15 minutes. Turn the shanks once at the 1-hour mark.
- Lift off the lid; cook 15 minutes more uncovered to reduce the sauce.
Stage 2 - Rinse and soak rice
- Rinse basmati until the water runs clear.
- Cover with cold water and 1 tablespoon salt; soak 1 hour.
Stage 3 - Broad beans
- If using fresh: bring a pot of water to a boil; cook beans 3 minutes; drain.
- If frozen: defrost.
- Pop beans out of their thin skins (the inner bright-green bean is what you want) - fiddly but worth it.
Stage 4 - Parboil rice
- Bring 3 litres water + 3 tablespoons salt to a boil.
- Drain soaked rice; add to the boiling water.
- Cook 5-6 minutes - outside cooked, centre still firm.
- Drain into a sieve; rinse briefly with lukewarm water.
Stage 5 - Layer for steaming
- Wash and dry the rice-cooking pot (or use a new one).
- Add 3 tablespoons oil and 30 g butter to the bottom; heat over medium until bubbling.
- Add 2 large spoons of plain rice to the bottom as an even layer (this will be the tahdig).
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of saffron-water over.
- In a wide bowl, gently mix the remaining rice with the broad beans and chopped dill.
- Spoon the rice-bean-dill mixture over the tahdig layer in a heap (cone shape).
- Poke 5 holes through the rice cone with the handle of a wooden spoon (steam vents).
- Dot the remaining 30 g butter around the top.
- Drizzle the remaining saffron-water across.
Stage 6 - Steam
- Wrap the lid in a tea towel; clamp on the pot.
- Cook over low heat 35-40 minutes - bottom forms tahdig, rice steams fluffy.
Stage 7 - Plate
- Spoon rice onto a wide platter, fluffing it gently.
- Lift the tahdig out as a disc with a flat spoon (or break into pieces); place to one side.
- Set the lamb shanks alongside; spoon some of the reduced sauce over them.
Stage 8 - Serve
- Eat with a wedge of lemon; some Persian families serve with maast (plain yogurt) on the side.
Notes
- Pop the bean skins: Inner green bean only. The tough outer skin makes the dish chewy. Yes, it's tedious; yes, it matters.
- Dill in abundance: Fresh, chopped fine, generous quantity. Dried dill is a poor substitute. The dish is named for the rice's herb, not the meat - get it right.
- Cloth-wrapped lid: Standard Persian rice technique; absorbs condensation and keeps the rice fluffy.
Storage
- Lamb shanks refrigerate 4 days; reheat covered in sauce at 160°C 25 minutes.
- Rice best fresh; reheats in a covered pan with a splash of water.
- Both freeze separately for 2 months.
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