Zereshk Polo — Barberry Rice with raisins

Zereshk Polo — Barberry Rice with raisins. Independently written modern Persian halal variation, with broad culinary inspiration from Najmieh Batmanglij, Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern…

• 300 g basmati rice
• 25 ml olive oil
• 4 g salt
• 0.2 g saffron threads
• 1800 ml cooking water
• 50 g dried barberries
• 10 g sugar
• 30 g raisins

1. Rinse rice until the runoff is nearly clear; soak in cold water for 30 additional minutes, then drain. Rinse and drain the raisins. Steep saffron in 30 ml of the measured hot water for 10 minutes.
2. Bring 1400 ml of the measured water and half the salt to a boil. Cook rice for 5–7 minutes until the outside softens but the centre stays firm; drain.
3. Rinse barberries briefly and drain. Warm with sugar, 5 ml of the measured oil and 20 ml of the measured water for 2 minutes; reserve half to scatter over the finished rice. Mix the rest with the variation ingredient. Heat oil in a heavy nonstick pot, spread 2 tablespoons of rice across the base, then layer remaining rice with the additions and variation ingredient. Add saffron water, remaining salt and 70 ml of the measured water; unused cooking water is discarded.
4. Cover tightly and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, then on the lowest heat for 30–35 minutes. Rest off heat for 10 additional minutes. Fluff the upper rice and lift out the golden crust separately. Serve four portions. Cool leftover rice rapidly in shallow containers and refrigerate at 4 °C within 1 hour; use within 24 hours.
5. Photo: Marcuscalabresus — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zereshk_polo_-_Riso_con_crespini.jpg Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 Resized and converted to JPEG; no crop. Barberry rice illustration; garnish and added fruit or nuts may differ.