Baghali Polo Recipe

Baghali Polo ba Mahiche or Persian dill and fava bean Rice is one of my favorite Persian foods with plenty of flavors. It is usually served at parties or wedding ceremonies. A delicious rice-based dish that is served with chicken, lamb shanks, lamb neck, or minced meat. In the preparation of Baghali Polo, you can use fresh, frozen, and dried fava beans. The dill adds flavor and aroma to Baghali Polo, and you can use it fresh or dry, but we suggest the use of the freshest ingredients.

About This Recipe

Baghali polo is a special occasion rice dish full of flavor, and aroma, cooked with fava beans and topped with saffron rice. Cooking Baghali polo for the first time? Just follow the recipe instructions step by step. Although you may think that Persian recipes are time-consuming, most of them have simple and straightforward recipes and are worth the effort they require.

What Do You Need To Make Baghali Polo?

• Rice: To make Persian dishes, It is better to use high-quality Iranian rice or long-grain basmati rice.
• Lamb shanks: Soft and tender lamb shanks will perfectly pair with dill and fava bean rice. If you don’t like lamb shanks you may try Baghali polo with chicken!
• Yellow onion: We need onions for cooking lamb shanks.
• Bloomed saffron: When rice is cooked you can mix a few tablespoons of rice with bloomed saffron and use it as the topping.
• Advieh: Persian cuisine is all about flavors and aromas and colors. Usually, salt, pepper, cinnamon sticks, or ground cinnamon and turmeric are used to cook lamb shanks.
• Fava beans: Fava beans are used in some Persian recipes. Their peak season is in the spring. You can make Baghali polo with fresh, frozen, or dried fava beans. I suggest fresh or frozen beans. If you are using fresh fava beans, just open the pod and remove the beans and then remove the translucent skin.
• Dried dill: You can typically find dried dill leaves at Iranian grocery stores or use your homemade dried dill.

How to Make Baghali Polo Mahiche?

Cook Lamb Shanks

Wash lamb shanks well. Chop onions and sauté with some oil and 2 tablespoons butter to soften. Then add the lamb shanks. Lower the heat, put the lid and let the meat cook for 10 minutes turn the meat over after10 minutes.

Add Spices and Garlic

Chop garlic and add them to lamb shanks. Sprinkle a little black pepper and a little turmeric on the lamb shanks. Add 1 cinnamon stick to the lamb shanks and then add a few glasses of water (water should cover the lamb shanks), allow to cook, and soften for 3 hours on low heat.

Boil Rice

Wash the rice and pour a few cups of water, a little oil, and salt into the pot and cook over medium heat to boil the rice. Then rinse the rice with lukewarm water. Rice should be soft on the outside but hard in the middle. Pour rice into the colander to drain; then set aside.

Cook Fava Beans

Fresh, frozen, and dried beans can be used in the preparation of Baghali Polo. I used fresh fava beans in the Baghali Polo recipe but if you used dried fava beans, first soak them for half an hour in water and then rinse to prepare them for consumption.

Pour the water into the pot and bring it to a boil. Pour fava beans into boiling water to soften slightly. Fresh fava beans become soft very rapidly and you need to be careful but dry and frozen beans take longer to soften. Drain the beans and pour a little cold water over them to cool them down.

Cook Rice

In a large pot heat 2 tablespoons of oil or butter. Arrange potato slices or Lavash naan. Spread a layer of rice, then place a thin layer of dill and cooked fava beans. Make several alternating thin layers of rice, dill, and fava beans. Pour 2 tablespoons of bloomed saffron over the rice. Cover the pot with a kitchen towel and a lid. Cook rice over low heat until tender and a crust forms.

Tips And Tricks for Baghali Polo Recipe

• Make sure to use green fava beans that have green skin and have not been frozen for a long time, because the long-term storage of the beans in the freezer can change their color and taste of them.
• Use a 2 to 1 rice to fava beans ratio.
• The best meat to serve with Persian dill and fava bean rice is, lamb shanks and lamb neck, of course, you can serve Baghali Polo with chicken.
• Before adding fava beans to rice, place them in boiling water and simmer until the beans are tender.
• The best herb for Baghali Polo is dill. We recommend using it fresh!
• When steaming rice, add a little cinnamon to the rice. This way Persian Dill and fava bean rice will have a different taste.
• For the crunchy rice crust (tahdig), you can use lavash bread (cracker bread) or medium-thick potato slices.
• The best side dishes I offer to serve with Persian dill and fava bean rice, are Salad Shirazi and pickles, of course, depending on your taste, you can choose any other side dishes.

Baghali Polo With Chicken

First, pour oil into a pan and put it on medium heat until it becomes hot. Then add the chopped onions into the pan and fry them until golden. In this step, add turmeric, salt, and pepper. However, pay attention that the chopped onions do not burn. Add chicken breast pieces and saute them until their color changes.
In this step, you should cook the chickens. For cooking the chickens, add a cup of water to the pan and close its lid. The chicken will be cooked after about 30 minutes. After cooking the chicken pieces, you can serve them with fava bean rice.

How to Make Healthier Baghali Polo?

• For a healthier recipe, you should add some fresh garlic to the rice and limit the addition of salt. You can use potatoes alongside chicken because it is high in potassium and will help control your blood pressure. Of course, if you eat potatoes with this food, minimize the amount of rice consumed because you would otherwise be overweight.
• If you have high blood cholesterol, you should eat white meat such as turkey or chicken with it because it has less fat, prepare it with less oil and eat it with a plate of greens. This fiber will help regulate your blood fat.

Did you like the Persian dill rice with fava beans recipe? Try my dolmeh kalam recipe and mirza ghasemi recipe as well! Leave your comment below and If you make this recipe, be sure to tag your photos #yummynotes 

Looking for More Persian Recipes?

• Kookoo Sabzi Recipe
• Khoresht Karafs Recipe
• Albaloo Polo Recipe
• Tahchin Recipe
• Adas Polo Recipe
• Mirza Ghasemi Recipe

Baghali Polo Recipe

Serves: 3 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 4 Hours 4 Hours

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.9/5

( 22 voted )

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Ingredients

• 3 cups rice
• 300gr of lamb shanks
• 3 tablespoon Dried dill
• 1 cup green fava Beans
• 1 big onion
• 2 tablespoon bloomed saffron
• Salt, pepper and turmeric
• Oil

Instructions

Step 1

Cut the onions to small pieces and stir with a little oil and 2 tablespoons of butter to soften.

Step 2

Then add the lamb shanks. Lower the heat and leave in the pot and let the meat cook for 10 minutes and Turn lamb shanks over after 10 minutes.

Step 3

Add a little black pepper and a little turmeric to the lamb shanks.  Add one cinnamon root to the pot, then add a few glasses of water (note that the water should cover the lamb shanks), let it cook for 3 hours on low heat, until the lamb shanks are cooked through.

Step 4

Rinse rice until the water went clear. Place rice in a large pan filled with water. Add some salt and let it cook. The rise is done after 6 to 8 minutes when it begins to rise to the top and the water comes back to a boil. Check the rice is cooked at the end by trying a grain. Break one grain in half. Rice should be soft on the outside but hard in the middle. Pour rice into the colander to drain; then set aside.

Step 5

If you use fresh fava beans, first Shell them and place them in boiling water and simmer until the beans are tender.

Step 6

In a large pot heat 2 tablespoons of oil or butter. Arrange potato slices or Lavash naan. Spread a layer of rice, then place a thin layer of dill and cooked fava beans.

Step 7

Make several alternating thin layers of rice, dill and fava beans. Pour 2 tablespoon bloomed saffron over the rice.

Step 8

Place the pot on medium-high heat directly on the stovetop. Cover the pot and cook until rice begins to steam. Then lower the heat and cook for one hour until the crust forms.