Project Description
Persian Jewelled Rice is an Iranian celebratory dish once reserved for special occasions like weddings, it is a colourful and intriguingly tasty dish and a fabulous addition to your BBQ and outdoor cooking repertoire!
The addition of Roast Chicken, in this case Chermoula marinated Chicken, will see it become a comfort food favourite and a spectacular BBQ banquet star!
Chermoula
1 cup flat leaf parsley
1 cup coriander (cilantro)
3 cloves peeled garlic
½ cayenne chilli
Neutral oil like peanut or grape seed
Water
Put the parsley, coriander, garlic and chilli in a blender and pulse till it forms a paste
Loosen the paste by adding a couple of tablespoons of oil and a little water if needed
Coat the chicken and let marinate for a few hours
Persian Jewelled Rice (Javaher polow)
1.5-2 cups best-quality Basmati rice
2-3 Orange slices
Cinnamon quill
1 Tablespoon Rose Petals
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅓ cup blanched slivered almonds
⅓ cup roughly chopped pistachios.
⅓ cup goji berries or dried barberries if you cannot find either, use dried cranberries
Optional:
⅓ cup chopped dried apricots
or
⅓ cup golden raisins or currants
Method
Combine all the dry ingredients in a cast iron pan
Add water or chicken stock (20% more than the volume of rice)
Add marinated chicken
Cook uncovered at 180C for 1 hour 15 minutes in your BBQ or Oven
Serve with some minted yogurt and a cucumber salad if you are keen.
