Baghali Polo ba Mahicheh

The story

Baghali Polo ba Mahicheh is a Iranian main with a clear sense of place. Baghali polo is Persian rice scented generously with dill and broad beans, often paired with lamb shank for a celebratory or restaurant-style dish. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Ingredients

• 6 piece lamb shanks
• 500 g basmati rice
• 300 g broad beansshelled, skins removed if tough
• 100 g fresh dillchopped
• 300 g onionssliced
• 15 g Garlic
• 1.5 tsp ground turmeric
• 0.4 g saffron threadsbloomed
• 60 g butter
• 1200 ml lamb stock or water
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 0.5 tsp black pepper

Method

1. Brown lamb shanks in a heavy casserole

   Brown lamb shanks in a heavy casserole until well coloured. Remove, then cook onions until golden; add garlic and turmeric.

   Look for: well coloured Tip: Add beans near the end of rice parboiling so they survive the steam stage with some shape. Avoid: Overcooked broad beans turn grey and mushy, excess dill can taste grassy and hurried lamb remains tight.

2. Return shanks, add stock, salt and pepper,

   Return shanks, add stock, salt and pepper, cover and braise gently for 2–2½ hours until the meat is very tender but still attached to the bone. Reduce the cooking liquid at the end into a light sauce.

   Look for: the meat is very tender but still attached to the bone

3. Rinse and soak rice

   Rinse and soak rice. Parboil for 4 minutes, then add broad beans for the final 2 minutes. Drain immediately before the rice is fully cooked.

4. Layer rice and beans in a clean

   Layer rice and beans in a clean pot with chopped dill and small dots of butter. Make a loose pyramid, add a few spoonfuls of water, wrap the lid and steam on low heat for 35–40 minutes.

5. Mix a small scoop of finished rice

   Mix a small scoop of finished rice with bloomed saffron. Taste the dill rice for salt without stirring so hard that the grains break.

6. Serve one lamb shank per person beside

   Serve one lamb shank per person beside generous dill-bean rice, top with saffron rice and spoon reduced lamb juices around the meat.

   Look for: Lamb yields easily from the bone and rice grains are long, separate and fragrant with dill.

Nutrition

per serving

Estimated from the listed ingredients and default serving size. Actual values vary with brands, trimming, absorption and cooking losses.