Lubia polo is a one-pot Persian dish with rice, ground beef, green beans, tomato sauce, and curry spices. You will need a nonstick pan so you can invert the dish onto a serving platter and preserve its crisp rice crust.
Ingredients
- ground beef: 1 pound
- onion: 1 piece (chopped)
- jalapeño pepper: 1 piece (chopped)
- curry powder: 2 Tbsp
- chicken broth: 5 cups
- tomato sauce: 1 cup
- green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces: 1 pound (fresh)
- uncooked basmati rice: 3 cups (drained)
- vegetable oil: 3 Tbsp
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Heat a large nonstick pan (one that has a lid) over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease. Stir in onion and jalapeño, and cook until tender. Season with curry powder; stir in chicken broth and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, and stir in green beans. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until beans are tender, about 15 minutes.
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Stir in rice, and cover the pan. Cook on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until much of the liquid is absorbed. Be careful not to overcook rice at this point, or the dish will be mushy; the rice should be firm. Transfer everything in the pan to a bowl or heatproof container, and return the pot to the stove.
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Heat oil in the nonstick pan over medium heat. Carefully dump cooked rice mixture back into the pan. Wrap a clean dish towel around the inside of the pot's lid. (The ends of the dish towel will be folded over the edges on top of the lid.) Put the lid on the pot. Cook over medium-low heat for 35 minutes without uncovering or stirring. Remove the lid and place a tray on top of the pot, then carefully flip it over. The rice will hold the shape of the pot and have a nice crust on top called "tah digh."
