Rice cooker style rice in pan

Ingredients:

1. Rice 3 cups
2. Salt 2 tsp
3. Oil 3 Tbsp

Directions:

You will need a very good and possibly new nonstick pan
Wash the rice thoroughly and drain the water.
Add 5 cups of water and salt.
Bring to boil and let it boil until almost all water is gone.
You should have a flat surface on top of rice (do not gather the rice in a middle like steamed rice that I taught before)
Make some hole and pour oil all around the parts that rice is touching the pan.
Cover lid on a piece of cloth or kitchen towel keep it tight, turn heat to low and let it steam for about 40 minutes or until a rice crust is surrounding between rice and pan.
Remove the lid put a platter upside down on the pan and turn the pan upside down in the platter.

You can serve it with any stew or even plain.
Enjoy!

Green bean meal

Ingredients:

1. Beef (chopped into cube) 1 pound
2. Green beans (cut into 2 cm pieces) 1 pound
3. Carrots (cut into pieces) ½ pound
4. Potatoes (cut into small cubes) ½ pound
5. Onion (chopped in small pieces) 1 medium
6. Tomato paste ½ Tbsp
7. Turmeric 1 tsp
8. Oil 2 Tbsp
9. Salt to taste

Directions:

Choose an appropriate pot and fry onion in 2 Tbsp of oil to turn golden brown.
Add meat stir to fry about 5-10 minutes.
Add tomato paste and turmeric and stir for another 5 minutes, add 2 cups water, bring to boil, let cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes.
Add green beans and carrots and 2 more cups of water, let cook for about an hour or until meat is cooked and tender.
Add potatoes and salt. (you may fry the potatoes and add at the end)
When potatoes are cooked your dish is done!
Enjoy!

Rice soup

Ingredients:

1. Rice 1 cup
2. Black eye pea ½ cup
3. Lentil ½ cup
4. Parsley 1 bunch (clean, wash and chop)
5. Cilantro 1 bunch (clean, wash and chop)
6. Beef broth 4 cups
7. Ground meat 8 oz (optional)
8. Turmeric 1 tsp
9. Salt to taste
10. Carrot (cut into small cubes) 1 cup (it is optional and you can add carrot half an hour before greens)

Directions:

Wash rice, black eye pea and lentil.
Add broth to them bring to boil on high heat then turn heat to medium-low.
Let them cook for a couple of hours.
Check time to time if it needs ad more broth or water.
At the end they should be fully cooked and rice grains should be almost broken and soft.
Combine ground meat with a small shredded onion and 1 tsp of salt and make some meat balls in smaller sizes and add to the boiling soup they will be cooked quickly (about 10 minutes).
In this point you add parsley and cilantro let cook only for 10 minutes.

It is a very good meal if you have a cold.
Enjoy!

Rice flour Halva

Ingredients:

Rice flour 1 cup
Sugar 1 and ½ cup
Butter (unsalted) ½ cup melted
Saffron powder ½ tsp
Rose water 2 tbsp

Directions:

Put a dry nonstick pan on heat, adds rice flour and let it fry, stir frequently until color change to golden brown.
Add butter and stir to mix.
In a bowl mix sugar, saffron and rose water with one and half cup of water and add the mixture to the pan included rice flour and butter.
Bring to boil then turn heat to medium-low let it cook for about 10 minutes or until halva turn to a paste consistency. Spread in platter and you can design on it using pistachio or almond powder or even sesame seeds.

Barberry rice with chicken (Zereshk polo morgh)

Ingredients:

Rice needs:
Rice 4 cups
Oil
Salt
Flat bread or potato slices

Barberry needs:
Barberry 1 cup
Sugar 1 Tbsp
Saffron powder ¼ tsp (soak in ¼ cup hot water for a couple of hours)
Butter or margarine ¼ stick

Chicken needs:
Chicken 8 pieces (you may cut a whole medium size chicken into 8 pieces or use 8 drum sticks)
Onion 1 small
Garlic 4 cloves
Tomato paste ½ Tbsp
Saffron powder 1/8 tsp
Salt

Directions:

Prepare rice as directed before.

Wash chicken pieces and remove their skin. Put in appropriate pot add onion, garlic and salt. Let chicken cook with 1 cup of water. (You may sauté the onion after chopping in 1 Tbsp of oil and also stir the chicken on it for a few minutes then add water and cook it)
While chicken is cooking add tomato paste and saffron.

Wash barberries and drain it. You may sauté the barberries in butter or margarine for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat add sugar mix and set aside.

In a bowl combine about 2 spatula of cooked rice with saffron and barberries.
In a serving dish put some rice in a layer. Put chicken pieces over it again some rice,
Spread the mixture of rice, saffron and barberry over them.
Enjoy!

Potato Salad (Salad Oliviyeh)

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes 8 medium (cooked, peeled and mashed)
2. Eggs 4 medium (boiled and shredded)
3. Chicken boneless, skinless 2 cups (cooked and chopped into small cubes) 2 cups
4. Green pea (canned or cooked by yourself) 2 cups
5. Dill pickles (cucumbers pickles) finely chopped 2 cups
6. Mayonnaise (light) 1 cup
7. Yogurt 1 cup
8. Olive oil 2 Tbsp
9. Lemon or lime (juiced) 1 large
10. Salt to taste
11. Black pepper (optional)

*You may replace chicken with 1-2 cups chopped any kind of cooked ham or turkey breast (deli)

Directions:

Mix mayonnaise, yogurt, juice, olive oil and 2 tsp salt in a large bowl (add pepper if you like too)
Add other ingredients one by one and mix until are well blended.
Put in salad dish smooth the surface using a spoon you can cover the surface with a Tbsp of mayonnaise.
For garnishing you can use carrot, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peas, olives and etc.
Serve with bread and lettuce.
Enjoy!

Estamboli rice (Estamboli polo)

Ingredients:

1. Rice 4 cups
2. Beef 1 pound (chopped into cubes)
3. Onion 1 large (chopped)
4. Potatoes 4 medium (chopped into cubes)
5. Tomato paste 2 Tbsp
6. Oil ½ cup
7. Salt 1 Tbsp
8. Saffron powder ¼ tsp
9. Green peas (optional) 2 cups

Directions:

Fry onion in a nonstick pot using 3 Tbsp of oil.
Add beef chops and let them fry for a few minutes.
Add paste and fry it as well.
Add 3 cups of water and let it cook for about 45 minutes.
Wash rice and combine it with meat, after adding rice you should add water until almost ½ inch of water is over the rice.
Add salt, rest of oil and saffron, bring to boil and let it boil but before all liquid is gone add potatoes and green peas (if applicable) and stir a little bit to mix.
Try to gather the rice in the middle of pot and make some hole on it.
Cover the pot lid and keep it tight. Turn heat to low let steam 40 minutes.
This is one of my mom very special recipe and it is delicious you have to try this.
Enjoy!

Bulgur Soup or Tuesday lady soup (ashe bibi seshanbeh)

Ingredients:

1. Wheat Bulgur 2 cups
2. Combination of all beans (pinto, white, kidney, bird eye etc) and chickpea ones are available (you can also use the mix beans that you can see on grocery stores under the name of soup mix) 1 cup
3. Combination of lentil of spilt pea (yellow and/or orange) 1 cup
4. Lamb or beef cooked and finely chopped (optional) 1 cup
5. Onion 1
6. Oil 2 Tbsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Turmeric 1tsp
9. Cinnamon

Directions:

Soak bulgur in tab water for a couple of hours. Soak beans as well.
Chopped onion and fry it in 2Tbsp of oil (set aside)
With four cups of water let bulgur boil on high heat stove, when come to boil, turn temperature to low.
After half an hour add beans (no. 2 of ingredients) add water if needs again bring to boil and let cook in lower temperature.
After another 30 minutes add No. 3 of ingredients.
Add Turmeric, salt and fried onion as well.
It needs to be cooked for about 2 hours from now. Check it if needs water and stir it time to time.
You can serve it as a vegetarian soup but if you like meat taste you can add meat as you see in ingredients. It would be fine to add cooked meat anytime after adding no. 2 and
no. 3 ingredients
Serve in a bowl and use some cinnamon powder as a garnish over it. You can also pour a couple of Tbsp of oil or warm butter over the cinnamon.
It can be served with bread and can be a good lunch or even breakfast.
Enjoy!

Ground meat meal (Tataali)

Ingredients:

1. Ground lamb or beef or turkey (lamb is preferred) 1 pound
2. Potatoes 4 medium (peeled and cut into 8 pieces)
3. Tomatoes 4 medium (cut into 8 pieces)
4. Onion 1 large (grated)
5. Turmeric 1tsp
6. Oil 2 Tbsp
7. Salt 2tsp

Directions:

In an appropriate bowl combine meat, onion and 1 tsp of salt mix until well blended.
Put mixture in an appropriate pan (non stick pan is preferred) and make it flat in bottom of the pan until it cover all surface of the pan bottom (should be about half of inch thick)
Make a hole in the middle using your finger and put on medium heat.
When the pan is getting warm some meat juice will appear when all the juice is evaporated add 2 Tbsp oil cut the now formed meat in four same size pieces (or quarter). When meats got fried turn down the pieces and fry the other sides too.
Add potatoes and tomatoes and 3 cups of water. Bring to boil add turmeric and rest of salt
Turn heat to medium-low and let cook for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are done.
In the end you should have about 2 cups of the soup in your meal.
Serve with bread and pickles. It will be a good meal for winter.
Enjoy!

Okra stew

Ingredients:

1. Beef 1 pound chopped into cubs
2. Okra 2 pounds
3. Onion 1 medium chopped
4. Garlic 8 cloves chopped
5. Cumin 1 tsp
6. Cinnamon 1 tsp
7. Turmeric 1 tsp
8. Salt 2 tsp + 1 tbsp
9. Tomato paste ½ tbsp
10. Oil ½ cup

Directions:

Wash okra, soak it in water and 1tbsp salt for about 2-3 hours, and drain it.
In a nonstick pan fry the okras in 4 tbsp of oil and set aside.
In a pot sauté chopped onion and garlic in 3 tbsp of oil you may add cumin, cinnamon and turmeric in this stage or if you forget you can add them later.
When onion and garlic turned golden add beef stir occasionally for about ten minutes (add tomato paste).
Add 2 cup water replaces the lid and let cook until beef is almost done (add some salt).
Add pre fried okra and let cook for about 30 minutes.
Okra stew originally is prepared with beef but you can also make it with chicken or turkey chop.
(I made it with chicken today but honestly, I prefer beefy ones more!) you can also add some hot pepper if you like chilly foods. Serve it with rice.

Enjoy!