Lubia Polo Recipe

Today, we’re diving into the Lubia Polo Recipe, a beloved Persian dish known for its combination of green beans and rice, beautifully seasoned with a blend of spices. This dish offers a comforting and aromatic meal that’s both satisfying and flavorful. Follow this recipe to create a delightful Lubia Polo at home, complete with step-by-step instructions and tips for the perfect result.

Lubia Polo Recipe

Main Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups Basmati rice
• 1 lb fresh green beans, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 8 ounces ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 potatoes, sliced (½ inch thickness)

Liquids

• 6 cups water (for rice)
• ½ cup water (for sauce)
• ¼ cup bloomed saffron

Spices and Seasonings

• 1 ½ teaspoons salt (for rice)
• 1 teaspoon salt (for sauce)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Other

• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil (for rice)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (for sauce)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

Step 1: Prep the Green Beans

Start by boiling 4 cups of water in a saucepan or pot. Put in the green beans and allow them to cook for 5 minutes. Then, drain your beans and rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set it aside for now.

Step 2: Brown the Onions and Beef

On medium heat, 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large pan heat up. Put in the onion to the pan, cooking it until it turns to the color of golden brown. Add the ground beef to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink, breaking it up as you do so.

Step 3: Spice it Up

Now add the beef to the pan and mix with 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix well, let it cook for a further 5 minutes to allow the spices to meld into the meat.

Step 4: Add Tomato Paste and Water

Stir in 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and 1/2 cup of water into the beef. Stir well to mix in the tomato paste.

Step 5: Combine with Green Beans

Add green beans to the beef mixture in the pan. Stir together well, reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer for 20 minutes—or until green beans are tender. Check occasionally to see if you need to add more water; the mixture should be moist but not watery.

Step 6: Parboil the Rice

Meanwhile, as that’s cooking, get started with the rice. For the rice: bring 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a ample pot. If there is a little time, then rinse 2 1/2 cups Basmati rice 2-3 times under cold water, and pour off any excess starch.

Step 7: Cook the Rice

Once boiling, add rinsed rice and cook for 6 minutes. The rice needs to be par-cooked or al dente, meaning the rice will be soft outside but still has its firm center.

Step 8: Rinse the Rice

Drain the par-cooked rice in a colander and rinse it with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set the rice aside.

Step 9: Prepare the Pot

Dry the pot and add in about three tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Put the heat at medium to high, after the oil has reached a nice hot temperature, line the sliced potatoes in a way so that they cover the bottom of the pot to make that crispy, browned base.

Step 10: Layer the Ingredients

Now, for the layering—take 1/3 of the par-cooked rice and spread it over the potatoes, then sprinkle some bloomed saffron over the rice layer. Then add one-third of the beef and green bean mixture.
Continue layering in this manner, and finishing off with a layer of rice shaped in a mound or pyramid, until all the ingredients are used up.

Step 11: Cook the Rice

If you put the rice in, with the back of the handle of the wooden spoon, poke a lot of holes in the rice down to the bottom of the pot for the steam to pass easily through the rice. Water 1/3 cup all around the edges of the rice. Cover the pot with a lid wrapped in a clean kitchen towel (this absorbs excess steam).

Step 12: Steam the Rice

15 minutes to medium-high on the heat of the fire. At the bottom of the pot, you will be seeing steam coming out, then pour the rest 3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil onto the rice in the pot.

Step 13: Final Cooking Phase

Lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot again, and let the rice continue cooking for 30 minutes. This should be able to cook in full, with the flavors blending in together.

Step 14: Fluff and Serve

Fluff with a fork and slightly mix up the layers of the rice when done with the cooking time.

Step 15: Presentation

Serve Lubia Polo hot. Enjoy it accompanied by Salad Shirazi and plain yogurt sprinkled with dried mint for a meal in one dish.

Recipe Summary

Lubia Polo is a kind of delicious Persian dish in which the green beans and ground meat are spiced with an aromatic mix of spices, then laid at the bottom of the pot and layered with partially cooked Basmati rice before finally steaming it to perfection. Bring the green beans to boil and let sit. Meanwhile, in another large skillet, sauté the onions and then brown the ground beef with added spices. Add tomato paste and the simmering mixture. Parboiling and layering the rice first with the meat mixture, saffron, and steam with a tahdig of crispy potato. Best served with Salad Shirazi and Yogurt.