Befarmaeed Sham @azreen's : Zereshk Polow ba Morgh (Barberry Rice with Chicken)

Chicken

Ingredients:

~ Half chicken cut into 2

~ 1 large onion diced

~ 1 tbsp tomato paste

~ 1 tsp turmeric powder

~ 1 cinnamon stick, 1 star anise, 2 clove, 2 cardamom

~ Juice of 1 lime

~ Salt and pepper to taste

~ Water

~ Oil

Methods:

1. Heat oil with cinnamon stick, star anise, clove and cardamom until fragrant smell arise. Saute onion until golden brown, add in chicken, sprinkle turmeric and pepper. Add in also tomato paste.

2. Add in water, let it boil. When boil, slow heat, close lid and simmer for about 30minutes.

3. After 30 minutes, the amount of liquid should be decrease and thicker. Add in juuice of lime.

4. Let it simmer another 15 minutes. Taste with salt. Done

Rice

Ingredients:

~ 1 half cup of rice, soak with some salt at least 20 minutes

~ A handful of barberry (zereshk), soak in water

~ 2 tbsp saffron liquid

~ 1 tbsp sugar

~ Oil

~ Bread for tahdig

Methods:

1. Cook rice according to Persian rice recipe. Can be found here.

2. In a pan with low heat, heat some oil, add in zereshk and sugar. The sugar will balance the sourish taste of zereshk. 

3. Stir for about 1 minute or until the zereshk plump up.

To serve the rice, put the cooked rice on a plate, top with some rice combined with saffron liquid and on top of that sprinkle the zereshk. Previously I put aside the zereshk because of the sour taste. But not anymore because I learned that zereshk is full of vitamins and my way to lessened the sour is by adding extra sugar. This time to balance the food, I made shalad shirazi too! And look the tahdig, it was yummy because I used thin lavash breaf.

Khoda hafez!