لوبیاپلو Loobia Polo (Persian Green Beans and Rice)

Category, DifficultyIntermediate
persian feast

Simple, easy to make one-dish Persian comfort dish, made from long grain rice, turmeric, lamb, and green beans.

Yields8 Servings
Prep Time20 minsCook Time1 hr 30 minsTotal Time1 hr 50 mins
 1 onions, chopped
 500 g lamb mince
 ¾ tsp turmeric
 170 g tomato paste
 500 g green beans, finely chopped
 3 cups basmati rice
 3 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
 ½ tsp cinnamon
Salad Shirazi
 3 tomatoes, diced
 1 cucumber, diced
 ¼ white onion
 1 lime, juiced
 1 tsp dried mint
Spinach and Mint Yoghurt
 500 g pot set Greek yoghurt
 1 large bunch of English spinach
 2 tsp dried mint
1

Dry fry the onions, then add the broken up lamb mince.

2

Cook until dry, if meat isn’t terribly fatty add a dash of oil (but lamb is usually sufficiently fatty on its own). Add turmeric and cook over a low heat until cooked through. Make a well in the middle and add the tin of tomato paste, cook without stirring until the tomato paste has browned a little on the bottom.

3

Then mix through the mince. Add green beans and about 1 cup of water, stir. Cover with a lid and cook meat for 1 hour until well cooked through and beans are very soft. Stir every 5-10 minutes and top up water if it dries out to prevent it burning.

4

Cook 3 cups of rice until par cooked – the grains should be soft but still with a little crunch on the inside.

5

In a cast iron pot, put in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Heat and layer the potato slices on the bottom, and fry in the oil for 1 minute. On top, scoop on 1/3rd of the rice, then layer with 1/3rd of the meat and repeat until all used.

6

Pull the rice away from the sides of the pot so that the meat and rice is sitting in a mound, not touching the sides at all.

7

Wrap a tea towel tightly around the lid and place the lid on (this allows the rice to steam) and cook over a low heat for about half an hour, until the meat and rice have combined through and the rice is completely cooked.

Salad Shirazi
8

Mix all together and serve as a side.

Spinach and Mint Yoghurt
9

Chop the spinach, removing the stems, and steam until well wilted. Mix through the yoghurt with the dried mint.

Ingredients

 1 onions, chopped
 500 g lamb mince
 ¾ tsp turmeric
 170 g tomato paste
 500 g green beans, finely chopped
 3 cups basmati rice
 3 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
 ½ tsp cinnamon
Salad Shirazi
 3 tomatoes, diced
 1 cucumber, diced
 ¼ white onion
 1 lime, juiced
 1 tsp dried mint
Spinach and Mint Yoghurt
 500 g pot set Greek yoghurt
 1 large bunch of English spinach
 2 tsp dried mint

Directions

1

Dry fry the onions, then add the broken up lamb mince.

2

Cook until dry, if meat isn’t terribly fatty add a dash of oil (but lamb is usually sufficiently fatty on its own). Add turmeric and cook over a low heat until cooked through. Make a well in the middle and add the tin of tomato paste, cook without stirring until the tomato paste has browned a little on the bottom.

3

Then mix through the mince. Add green beans and about 1 cup of water, stir. Cover with a lid and cook meat for 1 hour until well cooked through and beans are very soft. Stir every 5-10 minutes and top up water if it dries out to prevent it burning.

4

Cook 3 cups of rice until par cooked – the grains should be soft but still with a little crunch on the inside.

5

In a cast iron pot, put in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Heat and layer the potato slices on the bottom, and fry in the oil for 1 minute. On top, scoop on 1/3rd of the rice, then layer with 1/3rd of the meat and repeat until all used.

6

Pull the rice away from the sides of the pot so that the meat and rice is sitting in a mound, not touching the sides at all.

7

Wrap a tea towel tightly around the lid and place the lid on (this allows the rice to steam) and cook over a low heat for about half an hour, until the meat and rice have combined through and the rice is completely cooked.

Salad Shirazi
8

Mix all together and serve as a side.

Spinach and Mint Yoghurt
9

Chop the spinach, removing the stems, and steam until well wilted. Mix through the yoghurt with the dried mint.

Notes

لوبیاپلو Loobia Polo (Persian Green Beans and Rice)