Persian Jewelled Rice

This is a GUEST RECIPE inspired by The View from Great Island and is based on a traditional Persian Wedding Feast.

It is packed full of flavour and exciting ingredients including spices, fruit and nuts and looks very colourful - definitely a dish to impress and looks so pretty!

There is the fragrance of the saffron rice, gently infused with subtle flavours of the spices,

the crunch of the toasted nuts, gentle sweetness of the apricots and figs,

aromatic flavour of the edible rose petals and finally the rich, tangy

sweetness of the Pomegranate seeds.   Each mouthful is an explosion of different flavours.

Following a recent trip to Iran and tasting the amazing Pomegranate rice dishes, this recipe has now been altered

to reflect the authentic flavour and appearance of those dishes.

We served this with Roast Aubergine with Halloumi which includes the recipe for

Mint, Garlic, Cucumber and Yogurt Raita

Utensils

One chopping board

One sharp knife

One jug for boiling water and saffron

Frying pan (to dry roast the spices)

Large Sauté pan and spatula / wooden spoon

10 small glass dishes or bowls, or similar, to lay out your ingredients of spices, onion, lemon, barberries, apricots, figs, toasted almonds, toasted pistachio kernels, rose petals and seeds from one pomegranate.

Large serving platter.

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon of Saffron threads
• 2½ cubs of boiling water
  
• ¼ teaspoon Fennel seeds, crushed
• ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds, crushed
• ¼ teaspoon or six Cardomon pods, with husks removed, then crushed
• ¼ teaspoon or six berries of Allspice, crushed
• ¼ teaspoon ground Cinnamon
• 2 generous knobs of butter or coconut oil
• One large Spanish onion, peeled and diced
• 1½ cups Basmati rice
• Sea salt
• 2 Bay leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Finely julienned rind of one lemon
• ¼ cup of dried barberries
• ¼ cup of dried ready to eat apricots, diced
• ¼ cup of dried figs, diced
• ¼ cup of flaked almonds, toasted
• ¼ cup of pistachio kernels, toasted
• ¼ cup of edible rose petals
• Seeds of one pomegranate

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C.
   
   
2. Place the nuts into a roasting pan and allow about 5 minutes to turn golden.   Keep an eye, as the nuts will taste bitter if they are allowed to go too dark.    Remove from the oven and set aside.
   
   
3. Add the saffron threads to boiling water in a glass jug and set aside.
   
   
4. Using a pestle and mortar, crush the fennel, cumin, cardamon, allspice and cinnamon to a powder and heat in a dry frying pan until the aromas begin to waft into your cooking area, remove from heat and set aside.
   
   
5. Melt the butter in a large frying pan or sauté pan (with a lid), add the onion and sauté over low heat until the onion is softened, about 10 minutes.
   
   
6. About five minutes in, add the spices stirring well.
   
   
7. Add in the rice and saute it for a minute or 2 with the spices and onion.
   
   
8. Pour in the saffron infused water, along with the bay leaves and lemon rind. Stir to combine, season with salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
   
   
9. Add in the apricots and figs , stir to combine, and cover with a tight fitting lid.     Cook on low to medium heat for about 12 minutes, then turn off the heat.
   
   
10. Now remove the bay leaves and let the rice sit, covered, for further 10 minutes.
    
    
11. The dish is almost ready - add most of the pistachios and almonds, pomegranate seeds and edible rose petals, mix well - (keeping a little of each to one side for a final garnish) then transfer with a large spoon onto a large platter.
    
    
12. Now scatter the remaining pistachios, almonds, pomegranate seeds and edible rose petals on top to garnish.
    

Notes

I strongly advise you to measure out all your ingredients into little dishes as this is quite a fiddly recipe and so that you do not forget any of the ingredients listed.

I used heaping 1/4 teaspoons when I measured out my spices. You can adjust to your taste. Keep some extra fruit and nuts aside so you can sprinkle them, along with the pomegranate seeds, across the rice in the final presentation.

You can buy dried barberries on Amazon, or these can be substituted with dry sour cherries and you can also add dried, sliced plums.   The edible rose petals can also be purchased on Amazon.   All the ingredients are easily available at either a major supermarket or on Amazon.

​ 4th April 2024