kalam polo Shirazi

herby and aromatic kohlrabi rice with meatballs and Persian style tahdig

The combination of Kohrabi and rice belongs only to Iran and the beautiful city of Shiraz. The herbaceous rice and the little cubes of kohlrabi with tiny meatballs, combined with the crispy potato tahdig are absolutely to die for. Kolhrabi is not the most loved vegetable but if you try this dish you will totally change your mind about this humble and rather stinky vegetable. The herbs and spices that are wisely selected for this dish do not leave any room for the smelliness of kohlrabi to be there. This is my tribute to the beautiful city of Shiraz.

ingredients for kohlrabi

• 2 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into cubes
• salt, turmeric, and cinnamon to cook kohlrabi

ingredients for herbs

• dill 50 g, chopped
• chives 50g, chopped
• coriander 50g, chopped
• basil 50g, chopped
• sunflower oil for the herb mixture 4tbsps
• salt, turmeric, and cinnamon for the herb mixture

ingredients for meatballs

• ground beef 200g
• salt, turmeric, and cinnamon for the meatballs 1/2 tsp of each
• one medium onion, coarsely grated

ingredients for rice

• rice 400g or 2 cups
• salt 3 tbsp to soak the rice
• potatoes peeled and thinly sliced for the bottom of the pan (tahdig)
• sunflower oil for the bottom of the pan 4 tbsps

preparation rice

• soak the rice in boiling water and salt
• set it aside for 30 minutes, this will soften the rice grain
• the water should cover the rice entirely

preparation kohlrabi

• bring some water to a boil
• add the chopped kohlrabi, salt and turmeric
• cook it until softened
• rinse and set aside

preparation herb mix

• add the oil into a pan
• add all the chopped herbs
• season with the spices
• stirfry for 5 min and set aside

preparation meatballs

• add the grated onion and the spices to the ground beef
• combine well using your hand
• make little meatballs

to assemble

• add the meatballs to the herb mix and cook them for 5 minutes
• make sure you do not mix too much because the meatballs will open and lose their round shape
• add the cooked kohlrabi and mix entirely
• bring some water to a boil and add the soaked rice
• cook the rice until the rice grains are half-cooked
• you can test the rice grains between your fingers by pressing the grains in between two fingers and when the outside is cooked and the inside leaves 3 raw dots, the rice is ready to be rinsed (this only takes 5-7 minutes)
• if you overcook the rice the rice will be sticky and smooshed when mixed with the herbs
• heat the oil in the same pan and layer the slices of potatoes
• add some salt to season
• layer the rice and the kohrabi and herb mix and add some cinnamon if you wish
• put the pan on medium heat and steam the rice for 20-30 min
• to help the rice cook faster you may pour some water around the edges of the pan

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