Shirin polou
- sweet rice

INGREDIENTS
SERVES
4
METHOD
50 g of dried orange peel
200 g of sugar
1 chicken, approximately 1 kg
1 onion
1 teaspoon of saffron
50 g of butter or rapeseed oil
50 g of whole almonds (blanched and
split sideways)
2 spoonfuls of pistachio nuts cut sideways
1 l of water
2 spoonfuls of salt
3 dl of rice
THIS DISH IS OFTEN SERVED WITH CHICKEN, BUT AT WEDDINGS IT IS SERVED WITH LAMB, BOILED AND FRIED WITH LOTS OF SAFFRON. THE LAMB STANDS ON ITS OWN FOUR LEGS ON A LARGE PLATTER GARNISHED WITH MANY SPICES AND HERBS. THE NUMBER OF LAMBS SERVED DEPENDS ON THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM.
1 Boil the dried orange peels twice and then pour off the water. Rinse in cold water twice - in order to reduce the bitterness. Let the peels stand in cold water until the following day. Boil the sugar and 1 dl of water into a syrup. Sift the peels into a sieve and mix them into the syrup. Let the mixture cool. Remove the peels and place them in a bowl.
2 Cut the chicken into four to six pieces. Boil it with onion in a little water. Dissolve the saffron in four spoonfuls of hot water. When the chicken is finished, no more than 1/4 dl of the stock should remain in the saucepan. Add 1/2 dl of orange peel syrup to the chicken and let it simmer. The chicken is now glazed.
3 Heat 50 g of butter or rapeseed oil in another saucepan and add almonds and pistachio nuts. Crush the saffron in a mortar and dissolve it in two to four spoonfuls of hot water. Add two spoonfuls of the saffron water and 1/2 dl of orange peel syrup to the saucepan and let it simmer for a while. Then remove the saucepan from the hotplate.
4 Boil water with salt. Add the rice to the water. The water should cover the rice by at least one cm . When the rice has expanded and risen above the water surface, transfer it to a sieve. Rinse in lukewarm water to remove some of the salt. The rice should be a little less cooked than usual. Heat 50 g of oil in a saucepan and add half the rice.
5 Mix the chicken glazing with the remains of the syrup, and add half to the rice.
6 Wrap a clean tea towel around the lid of the saucepan and reduce the temperature to simmering. After 40 minutes, add the rest of the glazing to the rice and let it steam for a while. A Teflon coated saucepan is preferable.
7 Pour the rice onto a platter and sprinkle it with almonds and pistachio nuts.
Place the chicken in the centre of the platter.