Basmati Rice with Cabbage (Kalam Polo)

This Persian cabbage rice (kalam polo) is full of flavor, made with long grain basmati rice, scented with saffron and features a crispy onion crust (tadigh).

I am half Persian and my Persian side of the family is full of wonderful and talented cooks. My family’s love for good food was instilled by my grandmother, who married very young and was always cooking amazing meals for her ever growing family.

My mother may have a PhD, but she too is a very talented cook and I grew up with delicious home cooked meals. It shouldn’t surprise you when I share that my uncle is also an amazing cook. And he was the one who introduced kalam polo to me.

Why you must try this recipe

When I say Persian rice, I am always talking about one specific kind of rice: long grain basmati rice. This aromatic rice is something very special. White rice (chelo) is served as a base for kabob and stews. The rice is usually garnished with some saffron, giving it that bright yellow color.

Other rice dishes (polo) can contain vegetables, herbs, dried fruits, lentils and meat. These types of rice dishes are served as standing meals or part of a large buffet for parties. The recipe I am sharing today is for cabbage rice (kalam polo) and I prepared it without meat baked in it, so I use it as a side dish.

This dish is a wonderful side dish to break away from the usual plain rice. It is very easy to prepare, has wonderful flavor and goes with so many main dishes like roasts, chicken and fish.

And you can make this dish with Brussels sprouts, too! My uncle shreds Brussels sprouts and uses it instead of cabbage in this recipe.

Ingredients needed

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• Basmati rice: This is long grain rice that is very aromatic. There are many varieties available, most grown in India. I’m personally fond of Royal, Pari and Zaffarani brands of basmati rice.
• Cabbage: You will use green cabbage for this recipe. You can use other cabbage varieties if you like. I don’t recommend purple cabbage as it will color the rice. As I mentioned above, you can also use shredded Brussels sprouts instead of cabbage.
• Onion: I use the onions for the tadigh. If you are making potato tadigh, sauté the onions with the cabbage. I use regular yellow/brown onions, but you can also use white or sweet Vidalia onions.
• Saffron: When using saffron, choose long strands that are crimson in color for best quality. Powdered saffron can have food coloring or turmeric mixed in and is not as fragrant as real saffron. Saffron should be aromatic even before steeping, so let your nose tell you if you have quality saffron or not.
• Extra virgin olive oil: I prefer to use olive oil in all of my cooking. They come in a variety of flavor blends, from mild to pungent. Either works for this dish. You can also use vegetable oil.
• Pantry staples: Salt, pepper and ground cinnamon.

Tools to Use

• Chef’s Knife
• Cutting board
• Mixing bowls

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Step-by-step directions

1. Bloom the saffron. I typically grab a bit of hot water boiling in the pot before I add the rice and use that to steep the ground saffron. The longer it sits, the darker your saffron bloom will become. This will result in a brighter and deeper yellow rice.

This will be used at the end of the cooking process, right before serving. So let the saffron steep and set it aside while you prepare your kalam polo.

2. Clean and soak the rice. In some parts of the world you have to remove the pebbles and debris in the rice. Here in the US, this is not necessary. But we rinse the rice to remove the starch. I usually rinse the rice and drain it three times.

How long you soak the rice after rinsing is up to you and how much starch you want in your rice. Some people soak the rice overnight. I only soak it after rinsing it and let it sit while I boil my pot of water.

2. Parboil the rice. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Drain your rice and then add it to the boiling water. Boil it for 6 minutes, or until the outer part of the rice is cooked but the inside is still hard.

I live at sea level and 6 minutes is the time it takes for my rice to reach this state. You do not want to completely cook or over cook the rice. When it reaches this stage, pour the contents of the pot in a fine mesh strainer to drain out the water.

3. Prepare the cabbage. If you have a whole head of cabbage, you will need to remove the core and shred it first. One medium head of cabbage should yield about 8-9 cups of shredded cabbage.

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Sauté cabbage in batches until vegetables start to wilt, approximately 3-5 minutes

4. Season the cabbage. Remove from heat and season with ground cinnamon and salt. Reserve.

5. Prepare the tadigh. To create the crunchy onion crust (the treasured tadigh) you will add a decent amount of olive oil to the bottom of the pot. Place the pot over medium high heat and add the oil. Add the thick onion rounds in one layer over the oil and season with salt and pepper.

6. Layer in the rice and cabbage. Using a large spatula, scatter a layer of rice over the onions, making sure the onions are just covered. Layer some of the sautéed cabbage over the first layer of rice.

Continue alternating layers of rice and cabbage until everything is in the pot, finishing with rice at the top.

7. Cook the rice. Using the handle of your spatula or wooden spoon, gently poke a hold down the center of the rice. This is help release the steam to finish cooking the rice.

Cover the lid of the pot with a thin towel or two layers of paper towel and gently press it over the pot. The towel will collect the excess steam and keep your rice from getting mushy. Reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.

8. Serve the rice. Once the rice is done steaming and cooking, it is time to serve it. One way is to pour the saffron liquid over the rice then place a serving platter over the pot and carefully invert the pot and carefully release the pot. This gives your rice a cake look with the tahdig on top.

But this can be a little disastrous if your tahdig sticks to the pot and/or it didn’t crisp enough.

I prefer to serve my rice this way. Once the rice is done, remove a scoop of cooked rice, place it in a bowl, then mix it with the bloomed saffron, turning the rice yellow. Use a spatula to scoop out the remaining rice and scatter it over a serving dish and top with the saffron rice.

Then arrange the tadigh around the rice. If your tahdig is not crispy enough, leave it in the pot and raise the heat until desired doneness.

Expert tips and recipe FAQs

Persian rice can be made traditionally in a pot over the stove, baked in the oven (for tahchin) or prepared in a rice cooker. If you have ever sat down for a Persian meal, then you know about tadigh, the crispy crust from the bottom of the pot.

Only certain rice cookers can create tadigh, which is why I like to prepare rice traditionally in a pot.

Tadigh can be made with rice, potatoes, onion slices, pieces of lavash or even tortillas. For a rice crust, some people mix a bit of rice with yogurt to create a thicker tadigh. My family really loves potato tadigh – I mean it’s crispy potatoes, what’s not to love?

I have instructions to make potato tadigh with my Persian rice recipe.

Lavash and tortilla crusts are wonderful to serve when you have a stew (khoresht) because they are strong enough to hold the stew you heap onto it. For this cabbage rice dish, I chose to use onions for the tadigh because the caramelized onions pairs beautifully with the sautéed cabbage.

This dish does not have meat in it. Persian polo can be prepared with or without meat. I personally don’t like having meat in it as it can dry out the meat. The meat can be beef, lamb or chicken. It is a very versatile dish.

So I like to pair my rice dishes with some chicken thighs, lamb shanks or a roast chicken. It also goes well kabob like my delicious oven baked chicken kabob. Since kalam polo is made with cabbage, you can also cross cultures and serve it with your baked corned beef.

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Yield: serves 6

Cabbage Rice (Kalam Polo)

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This Persian cabbage rice (kalam polo) is full of flavor, made with long grain basmati rice, scented with saffron and features a crispy onion crust (tadigh).

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cup basmati rice
• 2 TBS + ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 TBS hot water
• ⅛ teaspoon crushed saffron
• 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1 head of cabbage, green, cored and shredded
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into ¼-inch thick rounds

Instructions

1. In a medium-sized bowl soak rice with water.
2. Gently wash the rice by stirring the rice in the water with your hand. This helps wash some of the starch and grit out. Pour out the water and repeat two more times.
3. After washing the rice a third time, rinse and then cover rice with water and add 1 TBS salt.
4. In a small bowl combine crushed saffron with 1 TBS hot water and set aside.
5. In a 5-quart non-stick pot add 8 cups of water and 1 TBS salt and bring to boil.
6. While waiting for the water to boil, heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add 1 TBS olive oil.
7. Sauté cabbage in batches until vegetables start to wilt, approximately 3-5 minutes, remove from heat and season with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper.
8. When the water has come to boil, pour out the water in the bowl containing the soaking rice. Add the wet rice to the boiling water.
9. When the water comes to boil again and the rice floats to the top of the pot (approximately 6 minutes), pour the contents of the pot into a fine colander. You know your rice is ready to strain if you bite a rice kernel and the center is still uncooked.
10. Return the pot to the burner, set heat to medium and add 1 TBS olive oil.
11. Arrange the onion slices along the bottom of the pot, in the oil.
12. Using a spatula, gently scoop the drained rice covering the onions, forming the first layer of rice in the pot. Make sure you do not push the rice in together as this will result in mushy rice
13. Spread some of the cooked cabbage over the first layer of rice.
14. Continue alternating layers of rice and cabbage until you are finished with both and ending with a rice layer. Your pot should not be filled to the top. You will need about 3 inches between the top of your rice and the top of the pot.
15. If you must tap the rice off of your spatula, do not tap it against the pot. This will move the rice in the pot and press them together. Tap your spatula against the colander.
16. Using the handle of a long wooden spoon or another utensil, gently press several holes around the rice down to the bottom of the pot. This will allow the steam to travel freely through the pot.
17. Pour the saffron mixture over the top layer of rice.
18. Cover the lid of your pot with a clean towel or several paper towels, and set firmly over your pot to prevent steam from escaping. The towel will keep the condensation from dropping back into your rice and turning the rice into mush.
19. After 7 minutes, lower the heat to low and let the rice finish cooking for another 45 minutes. You will know your rice is done because it has fluffed up. Another trick to see if your rice is down is to lick your finger and quickly touch your wet finger against the side of the hot pot. If you hear a sizzle sound, your rice is done (and hopefully your finger isn't burned!).
20. To serve, you can place a large round platter over the top of the pot, then carefully invert the pot and remove gently. This will create a cake-effect, with the onion crust showing on top. Or, you can use a spatula to gently remove the rice and scatter on your serving platter, creating a pyramid-effect, placing the crunchy onions on top or surrounding the rice.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 200Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 212mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 5gSugar: 7gProtein: 5g

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This post was originally published November 17, 2011. It has been updated with more information and new photographs.