Marilyn's persian rice

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

1 tb Butter
2 tb Olive oil
1 Onion; chopped
3 Cloves garlic; minced
1 Dried red chile; seeded and -finely minced
1/2 ts Cumin seeds; crushed
2 Cardamom pods; seeds removed -and finely crushed
1/2 ts Ground ginger
1/2 ts Saffron
4 1/2 c Chicken stock; warmed
2 c Long-grain rice
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Bay leaf
1/4 c Dried currants
12 sm Whole dried apricots; cut -in quarters
3/4 ts ;salt (optional)
1/2 c Unblanched almonds
3 tb Pine nuts
1/2 c Unsalted pistachio nuts; -shelled Black pepper to taste
3 tb Fresh coriander leaves; torn

Instructions:

In a large saucepan melt the butter and olive oil over low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened about 4 minutes stirring frequently. Increase the heat a little and add the chile cumin seeds cardamom and ginger. Cook stirring about 2 minutes until it is fragrant. Add the saffron and chicken stock mix well and remove from the heat. Cover and let the saffron flavor the stock for 5 minutes or so. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring the stock to a simmer over moderate heat. Stir in the rice cinnamon bay leaf currants apricots and the salt. Return to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for another 15 to 16 minutes. If the rice is too wet cook a little longer. Meanwhile place the almonds and pine nuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly golden. Add the pistachios and toast for another minute. Remove from oven and put on a plate to cool. Uncover the rice and using a fork stir to fluff. Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste. Add the nuts and toss it together. Sprinkle the coriander on top and serve. Judi's Notes: I made this dish using 1 cup of orange juice for one cup of the chicken broth. My friend Marilyn would scold me if she only knew but it did give it a very good flavor. I also included 1/4 tsp. of turmeric with the other spices which enhanced the dish nicely and gave it a lovely color too. This is great with lamb kebabs warmed pita bread a nice middle eastern cucumber salad and a Persian pastry for dessert. Shared and MM by Judi M. Phelps. jphelps@shell.portal.com or jphelps@best.com