I fondly remember the first time I tasted this dish. During a time when I loved experimenting with foreign cuisines, I found myself booking a dinner at a very small Persian restaurant in the city, which turned out to be a delightful surprise.
The menu offered various typical preparations of Iran, and one in particular caught my attention, of course, I’m talking about zereshk polo, which is the subject of this recipe I’m going to share with you today.
Basically, it is a one-dish meal consisting of stewed chicken with onion and plenty of turmeric that is then plated together with basmati rice, partly white and partly seasoned with saffron, pistachio, and cranberries, which I actually replaced with barberries used in the original Persian recipe.
Zereshk polo with cranberries is my variant of an incredible dish from Persian cuisine that encompasses a unique, enveloping, and well-balanced taste, thanks to the presence of ingredients that blend perfectly together!
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 2 Hours
- Cooking time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cuisine: Persian
Ingredients
For the zereshk polo with cranberries
- 1 onion
- as needed vegetable oil
- 4 chicken thighs, with skin
- as needed ground turmeric
- as needed water
- 2 packets saffron
- 1 knob butter
- 1.4 oz tomato paste
- 1 coffee cup lemon juice
- 5.3 oz dried cranberries
- as needed crushed pistachios
- as needed salt
- 1.1 lbs Basmati rice
Steps
To prepare the zereshk polo with cranberries
First, chop the onion by hand or using a chopper
Next, heat the oil in a large nonstick pan and sauté the onion without letting it burn
Then, in the same pan, add plenty of turmeric and sear the chicken thighs on both sides for a few minutes
At this point, add a glass of water and cook with the lid on, at medium heat, for about 20 minutes
Meanwhile, heat 2 glasses of water in a small pot and dissolve the saffron packets in it, turn off the heat and set aside
In another small pot, melt the butter and add the tomato paste and lemon juice. Add half of the saffron water, mix everything, turn off the heat and set aside
At this point, take a small pot and heat a bit of vegetable oil over low heat, add the cranberries and crushed pistachios, stir, turn off, and set aside
After 20 minutes, turn off the heat on the chicken and let it cool
For this step, take the thighs and remove the skin. Then debone the pieces, breaking the meat into pieces
Proceed by putting all the skinned and deboned chicken back into the same pan and turning the heat back on, cooking for another 20 minutes without a lid
Add to the chicken the butter and tomato paste mixture and the remaining saffron water
Similarly, add the salt and adjust the acidity with a hint of sugar according to your personal taste
In the meantime, cook the rice in lightly salted water and after cooking, proceed by draining the water and dividing the rice into 2 equal parts in separate bowls. Leave one part plain while the other season with the cranberry and pistachio mixture, stirring
Plate by placing 2 ladles of plain rice in the center and all around the seasoned rice with cranberries and crushed pistachios
Place the chicken on top and drizzle with plenty of cooking liquid
Finally, garnish with more cranberries (uncooked) and crushed pistachios
Tip!
The chicken should be well-cooked, tender, and have a tangy flavor. Also, the mixture should be thick and not too liquid.
