Lentil & Raisin Rice with Fried Onions (Addas Polo)

Ingredients:

(Serving 4-6 persons) 

4 cups of basmati rice washed 

One cup of green lentils

One large onion, chopped or Julian sliced

One fistful of red seedless raisins

One teaspoon of cinnamon power

One teaspoon of turmeric powder

4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup of olive oil or corn oil

Salt

How to make it: 

Boil water with 2 tablespoons of salt in it

Add rice and let boil for 8-9 minutes, drain water and set aside

(See archive: how to make plain, fluffy Persian rice)

Boil the lentils in water until tender but not mashed, drain & set aside

While the rice & lentils are cooked saute' the onion in a frying pan until golden brown

Add turmeric to the onions and stir

add 1 tablespoon of oil

Add cinnamon powder and add raisins

Stir for 1 minute on low heat and then turn the heat or flame off

Mix all above**

 in a bowl very gently without mashing or breaking the rice grains

Heat 2 or 3 table spoon of oil in a pot

Put mixture into the pot with the lid shut and turn the heat on high for 2 minutes

Reduce the heat to low and let the rice mixture steam cook for 15-20 minutes

 *  It is better to to put the 3 main ingredients in layers back in the pot. It means you put a layer of rice, a layer of lentils, a layer of onion/raisin and so forth. This way you will avoid breaking the rice grains while mixing 

 

* TAHDIG = (The longer you steam the rice the crunchier the rice at the bottom of the pot. This crunchy Golden rice is called "Tah-Dig" which literary means "the bottom of the pot" can be taken out a large round piece and served on the side of this rice pilaf)

* You also can add fried egg on the top of this dish but it is mostly eaten with a side of plain yogurt, pickles, or fresh herbs such as mint or basil

This is the king of all the vegetarian rices and wonderful

Enjoy!