Rice in All It's Yumminess - Part 3

Lubia Polow - rice with french beans and minced lamb or beef

(serves 3-4)

Lubia means beans in Persian.

My husband has fond memories of this dish which would be sometimes served by his mom when he got back from school. He remembers how he'd wolf down his lunch and imagine that it was the best food he'd ever had.

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups of white long grain rice.

2. 8 table spoons of cooking oil.

3. Turmeric and pepper.

4. 3 cups of french beans cut about an inch long.

5. A quarter kg of minced lamb or beef.

6. 2 onions - chopped finely.

7. 2 flakes of garlic - chopped finely.

8. Salt as per taste.

Directions:

I usually soak the rice for at least half an hour (if it's new rice) or for 1 hour (if it's old rice) in warm water and some salt before cooking. Before cooking wash and drain the rice.

In a medium-sized pot, stir fry the french beans in about three table spoons of oil until it has cooked and keep this aside.

Fry the onions along with garlic in oil until it turns a lovely golden brown. Add the minced beef/lamb to it and stir fry until the color changes.

Add about 4 tablespoons of tomato paste to this along with salt, pepper and turmeric and fry for a few more minutes. Add the fried beans to this. Fry for a few more minutes.

Add about 3 cups of hot water and bring to a boil. Cover and let it cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Add rice to this, mix well and let it boil on high heat for a few minutes until most of the water has evaporated. Keep stirring so that the rice does not stick to the bottom.

Sprinkle some oil on the rice and cover the pot. Put it on low heat for another 15 minutes. You may get a crusty layer at the bottom of your (hopefully) non-stick pot. This is called Tah deegh. It is a delicacy in these parts.

This is really delicious. Believe me.

Your Lubia polow is ready. Serve piping hot.

Tip:

This is usually accompanied with salad, yoghurt and torshi (fresh vegetables which have been soaked in vinegar for a while)

To Make Torshi:

Use vegetables like green chillies, carrots, green chillies, celery, cauliflower, and garlic. Wash the vegetables, drain and let it dry. Chop the vegetables finely into one-inch pieces. Take a clean, dry wide-mouthed bottle and put the vegetables inside this. You could add some fresh, clean cilantro, parsley, and coriander leaves to give it some more flavor. Pour white vinegar into the bottle until it just cover the vegetables. Preserve for about a week.

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