Dilled Rice with Fava (or Lima) Beans (Baghali Polo)
– Recipe reprinted, with permission, from The Jewish Cookbook, by Leah Koenig (Phaidon, 2019)
This fragrant, vibrantly green rice dish gets folded with a heap of fresh dill and fava beans. Persian Jews traditionally serve the dish, called baghali polo, for Passover. But if it is not your tradition to eat rice or beans on Passover, it is equally delicious any time of year.
INGREDIENTS
Dilled Rice with Fava (or Lima) Beans (Baghali Polo)
Serves 6
- 3 cups (710 ml) vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 cups (400 g) basmati rice, rinsed well and drained
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups (280 g) thawed frozen fava beans or lima beans
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (50g) finely chopped fresh dill
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper
PREP TIME: 10 min
COOK TIME: 30 min
TOTAL TIME: 40 min
DIRECTIONS
Dilled Rice with Fava (or Lima) Beans (Baghali Polo)
- In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in the rice, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook until the rice is tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, still covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the fava beans and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and cinnamon.
- Remove from the heat and add the fava bean mixture to the rice along with the dill, salt, a generous amount of pepper, and a drizzle of additional oil. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust the salt and pepper, if desired. Serve hot or warm.
