Delicious & Easy Recipe | Addas Polo in a rice cooker
By Kyle W
Published on February 1, 2022
EASY
One of our favourite recipes we love to share is Addas Polo, which literally translates to rice with lentils. This recipe is a great go to when hosting friends who are either vegetarian or vegan. It's also a very comfortable go to meal when you don't necessarily feel like cooking, but you can still make it look and taste fantastic!
The focal point of this post is how to make rice (polo) in a rice cooker in the correct method. Using a rice cooker makes the process so much easier and lets you focus on other aspects of your cooking, but that still does not mean you can take your eye off the rice! A great chef has their wits about all the time!
The great thing about this Addas Polo is the fact that the ingredients used in the rice can be made ahead of time. In fact, one of the shortcuts for this recipe is simply making a batch or two of the sautéed onion, lentils, and raisins ahead of time and then placing them in the freezer for later use. Once you are ready to make this rice, then simply either remove the mixture from the freezer in the morning before going to work or by simply defrost in the microwave. Yes .. we do this a lot.
Ingredients (Serves 6 to 8 People)
- 3 cups basmati rice
- 1 onion
- 1 1/2 cup lentils
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp Advieh
- 4 tbsp brewed saffron
- 12 dates
- Salt & Pepper
- Olive oil
- Sunflower Oil
Instructions
- Add a pinch of salt into a pan of boiling water and cook the lentils until they are just tender enough.
- Warm up and pan and dice a full onion and saute in olive oil until golden. Add cinnamon and advieh; mix well and allow the spices to warm through. Then add raisins and give it a stir and continue cooking until the raisins warm through.
- Completely drain the lentils in a sieve. Proceed to then add the lentils to the onion and raisins. Adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper. Mix well.
- This next step is imperative and should not be looked past! Take a generous amount of your selection of rice (4-5 cups) recommended. Wash your rice in the inner pot of the rice cooker until water runs clear. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 to 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil. Top the rice with water just enough that you can still see the rice (about 1.5cm above the rice). Use this rule of thumb, for every cup of rice use 1.5x the same amount of water. The sunflower oil is used to keep the rice from sticking together. Turn the knob clockwise till about halfway and allow the water come to a boil.
- Once the rice is cooked add the onion, raisins, and lentil mixture into the rice and mix well. Then add 4 tablespoons of brewed saffron. Cover the rice cooker using the lid and continue to cook until the water has been mostly absorbed.
- At this point gently mix the rice again if needed as some of the ingredients have a tendency to float on top of the rice. Make sure that the pot of rice does not move and that it stays in place. Sometimes if the pot moves or is removed from the rice cooker, it throws off the cooking process. Place the dates on top of the rice.
- This next step is where the magic can really happen. Wrap up the lid of your rice cooker with a medium sized hand towel or any towel of your choice big enough to cover the size of the lid at least twice. Place the lid on top of the rice cooker and allow your rice to cook until the rice cooker’s light automatically switches off. If you need to turn the knob again to about half way (medium heat) do so for the food to cook for another 35 - 45 minutes.
And there you have it! Enjoy this dish with a side of low fat greek yogurt and/or salad shirazi.
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