Rice with Sugar, Rose Water, Saffron + Tangerine

Name: Rice with Sugar, Rose Water, Saffron + Tangerine (Shekar Polow-ye Shirazi)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: Serves: 6
Cuisine: Iranian
Ingredients: ½ cup/120 ml oil, melted butter, or ghee; 2 cups/200 g tangerine peels, slivered (from about 7 to 10 tangerines); 3 cups/600 g basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes, drained, and rinsed; 1 cup/120 g slivered pistachios; ½ teaspoon ground saffron threads dissolved in 2 cups/480 ml rose water; ½ cup/120 ml oil; 3 lb/1.3 kg skinless and boneless chicken thighs cut into 3 in/7.5 cm strips; 2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons oil; 2 teaspoons fine sea salt; 2 tablespoons plain yogurt; 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; ¼ teaspoon ground saffron threads dissolved in 1 tablespoon rose water; ¼ teaspoon ground saffron threads dissolved in 2 tablespoons rose water; 1 cup/200 g sugar; 1 teaspoon turmeric; ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Shekar Polow-ye Shirazi

Preparation info

Serves:
6

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
2 hr

Appears in

Cooking in Iran

By Najmieh Batmanglij

Published 2020

About

This dish is often served at weddings together with Saffroned Lamb Braise/khoresh-e qeymeh (without the fries—recipe). I adapted the recipes here from ones by Laila Jafari, who is a good Shirazi cook.

Ingredients

chicken

2 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 lb

Asia
Iran
Shiraz
Main course
Gluten-free

Method

For the chicken: Place the oil in a medium-sized sauté pan over low heat. Add the onions, chicken, salt, pepper, turmeric, saffron, and lime juice. Cover and simmer for 1½ hours until the chicken is tender. Adjust the seasoning to taste and keep covered until ready to serve.
For the tangerine peels: Remove any bitterness by placing the tangerine peel