Herbed Rice (Iran)
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Source: Second Avenue Deli Cookbook
| Iranian Jews—and non-Jews, for that matter—slowly steam their rice in a pot with butter or oil. It makes the rice very fluffy and forms a delicious golden crust. Since the first time we tried this method, we’ve never cooked rice any other way again. | |
| 4 cups | plain chicken soup or stock |
| 2 cups | water |
| 2 cups | long grain white rice |
| 6 tablespoons | olive oil |
| 2 cups | chopped onions |
| 1 tablespoon | finely chopped or crushed fresh garlic |
| 1 cup | scrubbed mushrooms, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces, 1/8 inch thick |
| 1/2 cup | coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans |
| 1/2 cup | golden raisins |
| 1 teaspoon | rosemary |
| 1 teaspoon | thyme |
| 1/4 teaspoon | pepper |
| Salt, (the amount will depend on how much salt is in the chicken stock you use; if it’s salty, you may not need any) | |
| 3 tablespoons | margarine |
1. In a large stockpot, bring chicken soup and water to a boil. Add rice, and simmer for 18 minutes. (Hint: A teaspoon of cooking oil in the water keeps the rice from sticking.)
2. While rice is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet and saute onions until nicely browned. Add garlic at the last minute, and brown quickly. Remove to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet (use a little more if needed), and saute mushrooms. Remove with slotted spoon to the same bowl. Saute nuts and raisins (these brown very quickly) in the remaining oil, stirring very frequently, and remove to same bowl with slotted spoon. Set bowl aside on counter.
3. Drain rice, but do not rinse, and place it in a different large bowl. Mix rosemary, thyme, pepper, and, if needed, salt into the rice.
4. In a clean wide-bottomed stockpot, melt margarine with remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, swishing a bit on the lower sides of the pot. Return rice to pot, pour onion-mushroom-nut-raisin mixture on top, and cover completely with a folded terry-cloth towel secured by a lid. Turn heat very, very low, and cook for 30 minutes.
5. Gently stir to combine all ingredients, including the crust from the bottom of the pot.
Note: For a dairy version, use vegetable stock instead of chicken soup and butter in place of margarine.
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