Recipe: Aromatically spiced polow with minced beef

Persiana Every Day is the sequel to Persiana, the successful debut by Sabrina Ghayour, the uncrowned queen of Persian cuisine. In Persiana Every Day, she shows that dishes such as this spiced polow with minced beef from the rich Persian cuisine are easy to make with readily available ingredients and, above all, packed with flavour.

Sabrina: “One-pot dishes are my salvation when I simply don’t have the time or energy. This dish is a winner: my biggest critics (my stepsons) gave it a big thumbs-up, and there’s so much in it that side dishes are unnecessary. And that’s exactly what you need when you have to feed a bunch of hungry mouths quickly and cheaply. I used minced beef, but minced lamb, pork, turkey or chicken work too. As a Persian, I like to serve some yoghurt alongside it, but it has to be said that children (apparently of all ages) also love it with ketchup. Oh well, what can you do?”

How to make the aromatically spiced polow

• Heat some oil in a large sauté pan or cooking pot over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until soft and translucent.
  Add the minced beef and immediately break it up as finely as possible. While the meat is still raw, add the tomato purée, curry powder, cinnamon, ground cumin, chilli flakes and bay leaves, and stir well. Add the garlic, peas and plenty of salt and pepper (as you need to season a whole pan of rice), followed by the basmati rice and butter. Stir until the butter has melted.
• Pour in the cold water and simmer gently with the lid on the pan for 30 minutes, until the rice is cooked. Stir through with a fork and serve. No side dish is needed.

Title: Persiana Every Day
Author: Sabrina Ghayour
Price: €27.50
Publisher: Good Cook

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