One of the most well-known dishes in Persian cuisine is Persian Barberry Pilao Morgh. It is bursting with delicious tastes like saffron, turmeric, and barberry. Zereshk polo morgh is so delectable that every minute spent in the kitchen preparing it is worthwhile. It’s a narrative about handmade cuisine, spices, family, and love, all wrapped together in one wonderful mouthful!
Use of Saffron in Persian Barberry Pilao:
Saffron would be my taste of choice if I could only eat one for the rest of my life. It has a joyous, enchanted, and dreamlike quality. It’s savoury, sweet, and comes from a lovely flower. And it goes a great distance before it can be used in our kitchens. That’s why I hold this spice in such high regard. It occupies a unique spot in my spice cabinet. It’s the greatest spice of all, I often say, and I store it in a special container.
Use Of Chicken – An Easy Protein:
You can utilise chicken, which is an incredibly versatile protein, for every type of dish, from homey comfort food to a glamorous date-night supper. You can transform this basic protein into a delicious dish with a little imagination and wise component choice! For a fast meal, you could transform it into sheet pan Mediterranean chicken or excellent harissa chicken and serve it with some couscous. Additionally, chicken is ideal for one-pan dishes like Greek chicken and rice. To put it mildly, there are virtually no restrictions when it comes to cooking with chicken.
Major Ingredients in Persian Barberry Pilao (Zereshk Pulao):
Saffron:
The process of saffron blooming may be done in a few different ways. To begin with, be sure to grind it finely and avoid using the entire threads. The way we bloom saffron is to put one ice cube in a little cup, add a few grinds of saffron (1/8 to 1/4 tsp), and let it rest at room temperature until the ice melts completely and the saffron dissolves. If the liquid is an intense shade of orange, your saffron has flowered perfectly. For more information on saffron and its advantages, see our article about flowering saffron.
Barberry:
In a Persian pantry, we frequently utilise the ingredient barberry. You may purchase it online or in stores in the Middle East. I’ll shortly publish another dish that calls for barberries. It is sour and delicious, and we typically add sugar to it to give it a sweet kick as well. Barberries are combined with a little water, oil, sugar, and saffron to produce the topping for Zereshk polo morgh. They are then cooked over low heat for a few minutes until they are dark red and lustrous. Avoid overcooking them at all costs since they will stick to your teeth.
Rice:
You must prepare some rice for this meal. Making my Persian-style rice is simple. Remove part of the rice from the top, mix it with saffron, and then put the remaining rice on a platter with the saffron rice and barberries on top.
How To Cook Homestyle Persian Barberry Pilao (Zereshk Polo)?
Zereshk polo morgh is a complete supper made up of two components:
Barberry (Zereshk) saffron rice is known as zereshk polo.
Morgh: Chicken prepared in a simple but tasty tomato sauce.
Lightly warm salt, black pepper, and turmeric in a small saucepan with olive oil to prepare the tomato paste sauce. Cook the tomato paste for a little while after adding it. After that, add water and cook it gently. After 3 minutes of cooking, turn off the heat.
How To Serve this Amazing Pulao?
When presenting this lovely dish, we occasionally divide the rice over two large serving dishes and top the chicken with the sauce and vegetables. If we serve them on individual plates, we put the sauce on a separate dish so that each person may add as much or as little as they like to their chicken. Additionally, you might serve it with a side of mast o khiar (Persian yoghurt and cucumber salad) or Shirazi salad!
How To Cook Homestyle Persian Barberry Pilao (Zereshk Polo)?
Lightly warm salt, black pepper, and turmeric in a small saucepan with olive oil to prepare the tomato paste sauce. Cook the tomato paste for a little while after adding it. After that, add water and cook it gently. After 3 minutes of cooking, turn off the heat.
Ingredients
- Saffron liquid:
- 1.5 teaspoon saffron ground
- Sauce with tomato paste:
- 12 ice cubes
- 3 teaspoons of oil
- A teaspoon of turmeric, 1.5
- Salt, 1.5 teaspoons
- Pepper, 1.5 teaspoons
- Tomato paste, 9 tablespoons
- 5 cups of water
- Chicken:
- Oil, 6 tablespoons
- Butter, 1.5 teaspoons
- 4.5 lb. bone-in, skin-off chicken thighs
- 3 salt sachets
- 3 peppercorns
- Saffron liquid, 3 tablespoons
- Vegies:
- 3 sliced onions
- 3 bell peppers, diced
- 6 sliced carrots
- Saffron liquid, 3 tablespoons
- Barberries:
- Barberries, 9 tablespoons
- Water, 3 tablespoons
- 3 teaspoons of oil
- 3 teaspoons of sugar
- Saffron liquid, 6 teaspoons
- To Perform:
- Persian-style rice has appeared on the blog six times.
- Saffron liquid, 6 tablespoons
Directions
- Step 1 Saffron liquid:
- Step 2 In a little cup, put some ice cubes and cover them with saffron. Allow it to stand at room temperature until the saffron has completely dissolved. See how to bloom saffron for additional information.
- Step 3 Sauce with tomato paste:
- Step 4 In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Step 5 Stir the spices for 30 seconds after adding the turmeric, salt, and pepper.
- Step 6 Sauté the tomato paste until it turns dark crimson.
- Step 7 Add water, bring to a boil, and then simmer for two to three minutes. Leave it alone.
- Step 8 Chicken and vegetables: Liberally season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- Step 9 Large pan with oil on medium heat.
- Step 10 Melt the butter after adding it.
- Step 11 Place the skin-side down chicken thighs in the pan.
- Step 12 Pour the liquid saffron all over the pan while tilting it slightly to allow the saffron to reach the skin.
- Step 13 About 7 minutes should be spent searing the chicken until the skin is golden and crispy.
- Step 14 For the other side to become golden brown, flip the chicken thighs. five minutes or so.
- Step 15 Remove the chicken thighs from the pan and replace them with the onion, bell pepper, and carrots. The rendered fat from the chicken thighs eliminates the need for additional oil.
- Step 16 Remove the chicken thighs from the pan and replace them with the onion, bell pepper, and carrots. The rendered fat from the chicken thighs eliminates the need for additional oil.
- Step 17 After 2 minutes, add the vegetables and the chicken, skin side up.
- Step 18 Add the liquid saffron to the tomato paste sauce in the pan.
- Step 19 Bring to a simmer and cook for 40–45 minutes on low heat, or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Step 20 Make the rice in the meanwhile. Prepare the barberries a few minutes before serving (recipe on the blog):
- Step 21 Put the liquid saffron, sugar, water, oil, and barberries in a bowl. Give it ten minutes to rest.
- Step 22 Cook the barberries in the pan over low heat until they are bright red and
- Step 23 To serve, combine 2 tablespoons of liquid saffron with 4–5 tablespoons of Persian-style rice and keep aside. You may either serve the barberries on top or add some cooked barberries into the dish.
- Step 24 The saffron barberry rice should be placed on top of the Persian-style rice that has been served.
- Step 25 Serve the chicken with some sauce on the side, some in a bowl for extra flavour, and some drizzled on top.
its looks amazing. delicious