Zereshk Polo ba Morgh is my favorite dish. Therefore, I recommend cooking this delicious meal and enjoying rice with the amazing flavor of barberry and chicken.
How can we cook Zereshk Polo ba Morgh? What is a Persian barberry?
First of all, I want to explain to you about the Zereshk Polo, in Iranian cuisine, various types of special rice dishes are made by combining different ingredients with rice.
“Zereshk Polo” is one of the famous them, that is served with many dishes like chicken or Zereshk Polo ba Goosht. Trust me, once you’ve tasted it, you won’t be able to forget the flavor!
Where can I buy barberry or Zereshk?
Zereshk is a type of dried Persian berry with a special salty and sour taste. You can find the dried barberry in supermarkets and grocery stores, especially those with international aisles.
Ingredients:
. 2 cups rice
. 4 chicken thighs or breasts
. 1 large onion, thinly sliced
. 1 cup barberries (Zereshk)
. 1/2 teaspoon ground saffron, dissolved in ice or 2 teaspoons hot water
. 2-4 carrot, cut them into two or four parts
. 2-4 Bukhara dried plum – optional
. 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
. 1/4 cup sugar
. Salt and pepper to taste
. Oil or butter for frying
. Sliced almonds or pistachios – optional for garnish
Ok to start cooking, First you have to brew saffron because it takes time to brew. Put ice or very little boiling water in a small cup or teapot
(we want to shock saffron, so we either use very boiling water or ice) add the ground saffron to the ice or boiling water, and leave it aside until it changes color and brew. If you use boiling water cover the cup or teapot.
choose a pot pour washed rice and enough water with butter and salt, and bring them to a boil over high heat until the water is absorbed. After boiling, lower the heat and cover the pot and let the rice cook.
The next step is about barberries. In a pan, pour the barberries and sauté them in a bit of butter for a few minutes, lower the heat add sugar, and mix well as long as barberries absorb the sugar syrup. Set aside.
In another pan pour some butter, and fry the sliced onions until golden brown. Wash the chickens, and marinate chickens with salt, pepper, and turmeric (If you want you can use saffron in your marinate) and put them into the pan.
Pour carrot and Bukhara dried plum. In this step, you can add various vegetables such as garlic, sweet peppers, and many more. Lower the heat and wait until the chickens cook.
Now your tasty dish is ready, First, serve rice on a platter. Add some cooked rice to brewed saffron, mix well and pour the saffron rice and cooked zereshk (barberries) over the rice in platter. Garnish your rice with sliced almonds or pistachios.
Finally, add the chicken pieces to the platter and your Zereshk Polo ba Morgh is ready!
Side Dishes:
Lemon
You can serve your dish with fresh lemon. Iranians typically use Shirazi lemon for its unique taste and aroma.
Doogh
Doogh is a refreshing Iranian traditional drink made of water, yogurt, salt and dried mint
Sabzi Khordan
A platter of fresh herbs such as mint, basil, chives and different green leaves.
Fries
You can fry some potatoes to use as a garnish.
Fried eggplant
You can also fry some eggplant to use as a garnish.
Salad
