Recipe: Kalam Polow Shirazi (Cabbage herbed rice with meatballs)

Kalam Polo Shirazi (from the region of Shiraz) was introduced into the family by my father. His love for this fragrant Iranian rice dish dated back to his childhood where it was a popular dish made by my grandmother.  Years later he had to ask around in order to obtain the recipe that was best made by my grandmother. He perfected the recipe and would make it whenever feeling nostalgic or missing his mother. I had never attempted to make Kalam Polow until recently I had a major unexpected craving for it. I think I just missed my father and thought by making his signature dish I'd fill the void brought by the distance. 

Unfortunately, I was not able to find white cabbage and had to use red cabbage. It has to be made with red cabbage but I can't say it tasted too different and the Count and I really enjoyed the rich flavors and colorful dish that resulted from using red cabbage. 

Note: if you grew up hating cabbage. Don't worry as this dish will make you change your mind. I myself am not a big fan of cabbage but when eating it in this dish- it tastes delicious. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups of rice

4 cups of shredded white cabbage

1onion (grated)

1 lbs ground beef

1 teaspoon of turmeric

2 cups of fresh parsley

2 cups of fresh cilantro

2 cups of chives

2 cups of Persian basil

1/2 cup tarragon

1 cup fresh dill (or dry dill)

salt and pepper 

olive oil 

Instructions: 

1. Grate onion into small pieces, remove the onion juice. Mix the onion with the ground beef. Add salt and pepper and turmeric and mix with the meat and onions. 

2. Roll small pieces of meat mix into meatballs. You want the meatballs to be on the smaller side. 

3. Cook meatballs in a lightly oiled pan. 

4. Shred white cabbage into small pieces (here I've used red but again please use white)

5. Saute shredded cabbage in a slightly oiled pan until cooked. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of turmeric. 

6. Chop all the herbs into small fine pieces. 

7. Mix the herbs with the sauteed cabbage and add to the meatballs. Turn heat off. 

8. Place mix aside while preparing your rice. 

9. When your rice is ready, remove from pan. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add layers of thinly sliced potatoes. Add one layer of rice and another layer of mixture. Continue layering and gently mix pot to mix the ingredients together. Finish with a thin layer of rice. With the bottom of your spatula make several holes in your rice layer without touching the bottom of the pot. This allows the steam to reach the top. Cook for 30 minutes on low heat (so that the potatoes don't burn). 

10. Serve with rice and pickled torshee. 

Sabzi Polo Mahee (Fish and Persian Herbed Rice)

The weather has warmed up, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, the Canadian geese are back from their winter trip down south in Mexico (I admire them). It can only mean one thing: Spring is here which means its also time for Persian New Year. On the day of the new year, Persians all over the world get together with family to have the famous sabzi polo meal. This is equivalent to Turkey dinner at Christmas. 

Sabzi polo is a colorful green version of the famous Persian polo (rice) dish. The green comes from a variety of fresh herbs including cilantro, parsley, dill and scallions. Sabzi polo is traditionally served with white fish but in my family we have replaced it with  fresh sockeye salmon given that we live in the mecca of fresh salmon. It is a really healthy meal and perfect for any time of year.  Here is the recipe for those craving this dish on Norooz or any other day of the year. 

Norooz Potluck with Friends

And happy Norooz to all Persians worldwide. 

Ingredients:

4 c. Basmati rice

4 tbsp canola oil

1 large piece lavash bread or lettuce

1/2 c. scallion tops (greens only), washed & chopped fine

1 1/2 c. flat leaf parsley, washed & chopped fine

1 bunch (4-5 stalks) green garlic, washed but left whole

1 c. cilantro, washed & chopped fine

1 1/2 c. dill, washed & chopped fine

Instructions: 

1. Soak the rice in well-salted water for a few hours before cooking, changing the water once towards the end of the soak.
2. Fill a large, heavy pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of salt.
3. Add the rice (and the water it was soaking in), and bring it back up to a boil.
4. Stir gently a couple of times, and keep an eye on the grains - as they begin to turn translucent on the ends, occasionally take one out and chew it - you're looking for something slight on the crunchier side of "al dente", but chewable.
5. Drain the rice in a colander, and run some water over it to rinse off the excess salt.
6. Add the oil to your pot, along with 1/2 cup of water or milk (to make tahdeeg), and lay the lavash bread  on the bottom in one layer (an alternative to lavash bread is lettuce)
7. Begin adding the rice and herbs into your pot, but "mounding" everything so that you have a pyramid of sorts at the end. You want to lightly "fluff" the herbs into the rice to incorporate as you go along. The garlic you want to lay about halfway through the mound in one or two layers as needed.
8. With the handle of a wooden spoon, make a few holes around the mound of rice to create "steam vents"
9. Wrap the lid of the pot in a clean kitchen towel and secure it, ensuring that the towel is well out of the way of any flame. 
10. Drizzle a couple of tablespoons water or oil over the top of the rice, and put the lid on (the towel will help absorb the steam so water doesn't drip back onto the rice).
11. Cook on high heat for 5-8 minutes until you see steam, and hear a sizzling/crackling coming from the bottom of the pot.
12. Reduce to medium, and cook for another 15-20 minutes, keeping an ear and nose on things - you don't want to smell smoke, but you do want to hear light crackling/popping.
13. Finally, reduce again to medium-low, and cook a final 10-15 minutes. You'll know it's ready when you smell a "toastiness" from the tahdeeg on the bottom, and the top grains of rice are tender.

Serve this with the fish, which you warm slowly in the oven, and narenj (bitter orange, which is actually tart-bitter). If you can't find narenj, lemons will do.

Traditionally, this dish is served with white king fish however I choose to use salmon. You can really substitute for any type of fish that you fancy cooked in any way you know best. 

My recipe for cooking the salmon is to place the pieces of fish in foil add lemon pieces and a bit of olive oil to the fish, wrap the fish in the foil and place it in the oven for 15-30 minutes depending on how many pieces of fish you are using. The fish will cook in its own steam leading to one delicious, juicy and healthy dish.