Zereshk Polow ba Morgh (Persian Barberry Rice with Saffron Chicken)

Steamed basmati layered with tart barberries and golden onions, served beside chicken braised with turmeric, tomato and lemon until its sauce settles.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Rice section’s regional pages and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 8 skinless chicken thighs or drumsticks (about 3 pounds)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large onion, cut in half
• 3 cups water
• ⅛ teaspoon ground saffron (optional)
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced, and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to fry it (or 3 ounces ready-fried onions)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon barberries (zereshk), picked over and rinsed

For the rice

• 2½ cups basmati rice
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon salt, for the rice water
• 10 cups water, about (enough for the rice to boil freely)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter, for the bottom of the pot
• 1 large onion, diced medium, and 3 tablespoons ghee or butter to fry it
• ⅓ cup barberries (zereshk), picked over and rinsed
• 1 pinch ground saffron (optional)
• Sliced almonds or pistachios, to garnish (optional)

Directions

Key ingredients

Black Pepper · Turmeric

The chicken

1. Put the chicken bone side down in a 12-inch lidded skillet with the turmeric, salt, pepper, onion halves and 3 cups cold water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, uncovered, skimming the foam. Cover and cook on medium-low for 30 minutes, turn the chicken and cook 30 minutes more.
2. Meanwhile fry the sliced onion in the 2 tablespoons oil until golden brown, add the tomato paste and sauté until fragrant.
3. When the chicken is fork-tender, discard the onion halves, turn the pieces meaty side up and rub them with the saffron if using.
4. Stir the onion and tomato paste into the broth with the lemon juice and the 1 tablespoon barberries. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on medium-low for 15 to 20 minutes, turn the chicken and cook 15 to 20 minutes more. The sauce is done when it has reduced and the oil rises to the top; reduce it uncovered if needed.

The rice

5. Start the rice once the chicken has had its first 30 minutes. Wash the rice twice. Bring the 10 cups water and the salt to the boil in a large pot, add the rice and boil 7 to 10 minutes, until the grains are soft at the edges but still firm in the middle. Drain and rinse with cold water.
6. Heat the oil or butter in the bottom of the pot, mound the rice back in as a pyramid, wrap the lid in a clean towel and steam on medium-low for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the grains are tender and a crust has formed on the bottom.
7. While the rice steams, fry the diced onion in the ghee or butter until golden brown. Turn the heat to very low, add the ⅓ cup barberries and the pinch of saffron, and stir a couple of minutes until the berries plump; they burn quickly, so keep the heat low.
8. To serve, layer a third of the rice on a platter, then a third of the barberry onions, and repeat, finishing with barberries on top. Scatter with nuts. Serve the chicken and its sauce on a separate platter, with the crust broken into pieces alongside.

Notes

Source Adapted from “Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh” by Homa on Persian Mama (persianmama.com, 2016), with the rice from the same site’s “Persian Steamed Rice” page, which her recipe links for the method. No version by a better-known author could be reached; the source was read through a summariser, so its exact wording was not checked.

Three changes from the source, all to fill its gaps (1) The linked rice method is written for 3 cups of rice with ¼ cup salt in about 12 cups of water; here it is scaled to the dish’s 2½ cups (3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon salt, about 10 cups water). (2) The source lists “1½ teaspoons rice spice, divided” but no step uses it, so it is left out; a pinch of ground cardamom or a Persian advieh blend could go on the rice layers. (3) The source fries the barberries “in the same skillet that you’ve fried the diced onion” but never gives the onion-frying step; it is written in here. The source makes the bottom crust with oil and lavash or a tortilla, or with yogurt and saffron; plain oil or butter is given here.

The dish The name is zereshk (barberries) + polow (steamed rice) + ba morgh (with chicken). It is a party and wedding dish. Barberries are sold at Persian grocers and online. The Rice section’s Persia and Central Asia page (/rice/persia-and-central-asia/) covers chelow, polow and tahdig.

The photo The photograph shows zereshk polow served with chicken kebab (joojeh), not the braised chicken of this recipe.