Exploring Zereshk Polo: A Delicious Persian Rice Dish with Barberries

Iranian cuisine, or Persian cuisine if you prefer, is one of the richest in the world, having more than 2,500 types of food. Some of its aspects have been adopted by both Pakistani and Indian cuisine and also made contact with other cuisines such as Greek, Russian, Turkish, and Mesopotamian cuisine. Iranian food has been popular outside the country thanks to the immigration of Iranian people to cities such as Washington, Los Angeles, Houston, Vancouver, and San Francisco.

Persian philosophers influenced Iranian cuisine, which follows the rules of strengthening based on Iranian traditional medicine. Typical dishes feature rice, vegetables, meat, and nuts. One of those dishes is Zereshk Polo. Let’s talk about this dish.

Zereshk Polo means “Rice with Barberry”; “Zereshk” means barberry, and “Polo” means rice. This dish contains basmati rice with saffron flavored with barberry. The small red berries, the zereshk, add a delicious tart flavor to the dish. This dish is usually cooked on special occasions, but it is simple enough to make for any family dinner; that is why this rice is also known as “holiday rice.”

Zereshk Polo: A Persian Rice Dish with Barberries

This dish is a mainstay of Iranian banquets and festivals. Think of simple celebrations, weddings, religious ceremonies, or birthdays; the Zereshk Polo is always present and always eaten. Zereshk Polo is usually served with fried chicken, but in some cases, it is eaten without it.

Zereshk Polo Ingredients: What is Zereshk Polo made of?

This dish has a lot of interesting ingredients and can lead to a very creative approach to cooking it. Furthermore, this degree of variety can give the person doing the dish more room for experimentation and trying different things in general. Let’s talk about the ingredients:

• As we said before, zereshk are the barberries. These are mild, sweet, and widely known in Middle Eastern cuisine. They are perfect for chicken recipes or rice dishes. Also, they are rich in Vitamin C and have been used by medics for centuries because they are high in nutrients, protect against metabolic syndrome, and help control diabetes.

• Everybody has eaten rice, and everybody knows its benefits. Rice is a source of carbohydrates; it will keep you both satisfied and energized. Basmati rice, which is long and slender and grown in the Indian subcontinent, is the type Iranians use to prepare Zereshk Polo. This type of rice has a beautiful smell and is even healthier than normal rice.

• Earlier, we said that you can eat Zereshk Polo without chicken, right? But let’s talk about the chicken too. You can use the whole chicken or cut it into pieces. Chicken is very healthy and will give even more flavor to the dish. If you have the opportunity to use chicken, do it.

• Iranians usually use advieh with their rice dishes. Advieh is an Iranian spice perfect for this dish and very healthy. Additionally, if you can't find advieh, you can mix cinnamon, black pepper, turmeric, and coriander, which is a great substitute.

How to Make Zereshk Polo

There are different ways to make Zereshk Polo. But let’s look at all the ingredients and how to prepare it in the traditional way, step by step.

The ingredients are:

For the chicken:

• 4 pieces of chicken

• 1 onion

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil

• ½ teaspoon of pepper

• ½ teaspoon of turmeric

• 1 cup of water

• ½ tablespoon of salt

• 2 spoons of tomato paste
  

Now, the ingredients for the barberries:

• ½ cup of barberries

• 2 spoons of butter

• 2 – 4 spoons of sugar

• 1 saffron water

And finally, the ingredients for the rice:

• 2 cups of white basmati rice

• ¼ spoons of ground saffron

• 2 cups of hot water

• 8 ¼ cups of water

• 2 spoons of salt

Traditional Zereshk Polo Recipe

Let’s start with the chicken preparation:

1. In a frying pan, fry the onions for 10 minutes over medium heat, then add pepper and turmeric and fry it for another 2 minutes and then remove it from the pan.

2. In the same pan, add 1 spoon of oil and fry the chicken for 5 minutes on each side.

3. Add water to the chicken and return the onions to the pan. Cover the chicken and cook it for 1 hour over low heat.

4. Add tomato paste and mix it with the chicken. Cover it again and cook it for another 30 minutes.

Now, let’s continue with the barberries:

1. Gently melt the butter in a saucepan and add the rinsed barberries alongside saffron water and sugar.

2. Stir over until the barberries are brightened and the sugar has dissolved. This will take no more than 4 minutes over low heat.
   

Finally, let’ see how the rice is prepared:

1. Carefully wash the rice and let it soak for at least 1 hour.

2. Bring salt and 8 cups of water to a boil in a covered pot. Later, add the already dry rice and boil it uncovered for about 7 minutes.

3. Drain the rice in a colander and set it aside. Then, add 2 spoons of oil to a pot.

4. In a smaller bowl, mix 1 spoon of saffron water with 1 cup of the slightly cooked rice.

5. Gently mix them and spread them in the pot’s bottom.

6. Pour the rest of the rinsed rice into the pot and fluff with a spoon or a fork, and drizzle the remaining 2 spoons of oil over the rice

7. The remaining ¼ of water will be poured over the rice. Then, place a towel on top of the pot so the rice can steam, and leave it like this for 45 minutes.

8. The last spoon of saffron water will be poured over the rice too. Then just turn off the heat and let it rest for 5 – 7 minutes before serving it.

On some occasions, you can find some Zereshk Polo variations where instead of using chicken, they use beef or even lamb. Other people and families add dried fruits and/or nuts to the rice, giving it more flavor. Also, if you want a more vegetarian alternative, you can serve it with Nimroo or roasted tofu.

The best way to serve the Zereshk Polo is by using a large serving platter and inverting the rice onto the platter from the pan. You can decorate the rice by putting the barberries around the edges and on top of the rice. The same thing with the chicken pieces; put them around the rice and you are ready to go.

It’s always best to enjoy Zereshk Polo with friends

Iranian cuisine might be difficult to find in most places where you live, but the best thing is that you can make your own dishes! That way, you can make your own version of a Zereshk Polo while adhering to the different recipes you can find online. All in all that makes the entire experience all the more enjoyable and gives people an opportunity to develop their abilities in the kitchen, which is always good.