Name: Sabzi Polo Ba Mahi
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Yield: 4-6 servings
Cuisine: Persian
Ingredients: 3 cups rice — rinse your rice and soak it for an hour or more before cooking it. Add salt to the water you are soaking the rice in.; Sabzi (herbs) — I used a combination of parsley, cilantro, green onions (green ends only ...you can use chives/tareh), and fresh dill (or 1/2 cup dried dill); 1.5 to 2 lbs fish fillets (Salmon, Trout, Halibut, or Tilapia — allow it to thaw out if frozen before cooking); 1/4 cup cooking oil (divided for pot and frying pan); 2 to 3 tablespoons butter; 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic powder); 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging the fish; 1 to 2 eggs (optional, for dipping before flour); Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; 1 fresh lemon (or Seville orange / Narenj), sliced for serving; 2 tablespoons bloomed saffron (optional, for aroma and color)

Step-by-Step Instructions

طرز تهیه

Chop up the herbs: Chop up the herbs, which includes: parsley, cilantro, green onions (only the ends where it is green) or chives (tareh), dill (if using fresh), and a small amount of spinach. I use a food processor to slightly chop up the herbs so it is quick and easy.

Wash and soak your rice: Wash and soak your rice prior to cooking (for 30 minutes to 2 hours with some salt in the water). Once herbs are chopped and rice has soaked, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add in the herbs and let them cook for 5 minutes before adding in the rice.

Boil and drain: Once the rice comes to a boil with the herbs (about 5 minutes, until the grain is tender on the outside but firm inside), use a strainer to empty the pot and drain out the water.

Set up the pot and Tahdigh: Add a half cup water and some oil to the pot and return it to the stove top on medium-high heat. At this point you can also add some butter to the oil and water mixture (and a splash of bloomed saffron if you like). Add the Sabzi Polo (herbs and rice) back to the pot, mounding it into a loose pyramid. Cover the lid with a clean kitchen towel (damkoni) and place it over the pot.

Steam the rice: Allow it to steam until you see steam escape from the sides of the lid. That’s when you know to reduce the temperature to low. You can allow it to stay on the stove top for 30 to 45 minutes. The longer it stays on low, the crispier your tahdigh (crispy rice bottom crust) will get!

Prepare the fish: For the fish that is served with the Sabzi Polo, first heat some oil in a frying pan. Pour some flour in a bowl or plate and add salt, pepper, and garlic to it, then mix together. If you like, you can put an egg or two in a different bowl and mix it as well, then you would dip your fish into the eggs then into the flour. Using an egg is optional — I dipped the fish directly into the flour, coated it on both sides, then placed it in the frying pan.

Fry and serve: Place the lid on the frying pan if you like to allow it to thoroughly cook through. Flip it over after a couple of minutes for the other side to fry a bit too. After the fish is done frying, add some fresh lemon juice to it and serve hot with the herb rice and crispy tahdigh.

Note: If you are using dry dill instead of fresh dill, don’t add it to the boiling water — wait and mix it in when you are adding the rice back into the pot with the rest of the sabzi.

Sabzi Polo Ba Mahi

Ingredients

Step-by-Step Instructions

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