Lubia Polo
Lubia polo is a delicious Persian green bean rice dish made with tomatoes, green beans and chunks of beef stew meat. It can easily be prepared vegetarian style.
Servings 10
Calories 466kcal
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef stew meat
- 2 lbs green beans
- 2 cups diced onions
- 5 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon all purpose flour optional
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 cups rice
- ¼ teaspoon ground saffron steeped in 1 TBS hot water
- 1 russet potato
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add 2 TBS olive oil. Sauté onions in hot olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add 1 teaspoon turmeric and continue cooking the onions.
- Season stew meat with ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon turmeric and flour. Mix to coat evenly.
- Stir in another 1 tablespoon of oil to the onions. Add meat with the onions and brown evenly on all sides.
- Stir in beef broth, water, tomatoes, tomato paste, lemon juice and cinnamon. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour.
- Heat a large pan over high heat and add 1 TBS olive oil. Sauté green beans until they just start to soften. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon turmeric.
- Transfer green beans to the stew and let it simmer uncovered while you prepare the rice.
- Fill a large nonstick pot with 6-8 cups of water with ½ teaspoon salt. Bring water to boil.
- While waiting for the water to boil, rinse rice and drain rice 3 times.
- Once water is boiling, add drained rice to pot, boil for 6 minutes and then pass it thru a fine mesh strainer.
- Heat nonstick pot over high medium-heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Layer potato slices in the oil and season with ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Using a spatula, gently scatter a layer of rice over the potatoes. Using the same spatula, gently add a layer of the tomato-green beans. You want to cover most of the rice, but not drown it.
- Keep alternating layers of rice and green bean into the pot, ending with green bean layer on top.
- Gently press the handle of your spatula or a wooden spoon down the center of your rice pile to create a steam spout for the rice.
- Cover lid of pot with paper towels or a thin kitchen towel and place it on top of pot. Lower heat to simmer and cook for 1 hour.
- To insure tadigh is crispy, raise heat to medium high for about 5 minutes. While tadigh is crisping, use spatula to scoop out of pot and transfer to platter, mixing the white and red rice together.
- Scoop out a spatula of cooked rice and add saffron water to that, mix til yellow and sprinkle over lubia pollo.
- Place potato tadigh around it or on a separate plate.
Notes
You can also make this with 1-pound of ground beef.
It is easy to make this vegetarian too. Skip the meat and use vegetable broth or just water. Serve as is or with kabob, roast chicken or any meat/protein you like.
TO STORE: Store any leftover kabob in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. You can reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stove. Just add a tablespoon of water and simmer on medium-low to steam and reheat.
TO FREEZE: You can freeze lubia polo, but the texture of the rice is different once thawed. Place leftovers in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3-4 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 466kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 736mg | Potassium: 879mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 782IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 4mg
