Polo Loobia Ghermez (پلو لوبیا قرمز) — Persian Red Bean and Lamb Rice

• 250 gdried red kidney beans (soaked in water 12 hours, then drained)
• 1500 mlwater (for simmering beans)
• 450 gbasmati rice (rinsed until water runs mostly clear)
• 18 gfine salt (about 3 tsp, divided)
• 45 mlolive oil (3 tbsp)
• 200 gyellow onion (finely diced)
• 12 ggarlic (about 4 cloves, minced)
• 500 glamb shoulder (cut into 3 cm cubes)
• 200 gsmoked sausage (halal beef or lamb sausage, sliced 1 cm thick)
• 150 gred bell pepper (cut into 2 cm pieces)
• 30 gtomato paste (2 tbsp)
• 2 tspground turmeric (about 4 g)
• 1 tspground black pepper (about 2.3 g)
• 2 tspdried thyme (about 2 g)
• 0.5 tspground cinnamon (optional but traditional with beans and lamb)
• 0.25 tspsaffron threads (ground and bloomed in 30 ml hot water)
• 1lavash bread (optional, to line the pot for bread tahdig)

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the dried red beans in plenty of water for 12 hours, changing the water once if you can. Drain, then add the beans and 1500 ml fresh water to a pot and simmer gently until tender but intact, 60–90 minutes. Drain and set aside; you want cooked beans, not a soupy broth, so the rice steams properly later.

2. 2

   While the beans cook, prepare the meat base. Heat 45 ml olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat, then add the diced onion and cook for 8–10 minutes until golden at the edges. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds so it turns fragrant without browning.

3. 3

   Add the lamb cubes and raise heat to medium-high, stirring until the surface loses its raw color and lightly browns in spots, about 6–8 minutes. Sprinkle in turmeric, black pepper, thyme, and cinnamon, and cook for 60 seconds to toast the spices. This brief toasting deepens the aroma and prevents the dish from tasting flat.

4. 4

   Stir in the tomato paste and cook it for 2 minutes until it darkens slightly and smells sweet rather than raw. Add 600 ml water, bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook on low for 45–60 minutes until the lamb is tender. Keep the simmer calm; a hard boil can tighten lamb and reduce the sauce too quickly.

5. 5

   Add the sliced smoked sausage and red bell pepper to the lamb pot and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Then fold in the cooked beans and simmer 10 more minutes so the flavors marry. The final mixture should be saucy but not watery; if it looks thin, simmer 5–10 minutes longer uncovered.

6. 6

   Parboil the rice for classic Persian polo texture. Bring 2500 ml water to a rolling boil in a large pot and add 12 g of the salt (about 2 tsp), then add the rinsed basmati rice. Boil 6–8 minutes until the grains are softened on the outside but still firm in the center, then drain and rinse briefly with 250 ml cool water to stop cooking.

7. 7

   Bloom the saffron by grinding 0.25 tsp saffron threads and mixing with 30 ml hot water; let it stand 5 minutes. Set a nonstick or well-seasoned pot over medium heat and add 30 ml olive oil. If using lavash for tahdig, lay it flat in the pot and press gently so it contacts the oil evenly.

8. 8

   Layer the dish for steaming: add a thin layer of rice, then spoon on a layer of the lamb-bean mixture, repeating until finished and ending with rice on top. Drizzle the bloomed saffron over the top rice, and sprinkle the remaining 6 g salt (about 1 tsp) evenly across the surface. Use the handle of a spoon to poke 5–6 steam holes down to the bottom so moisture circulates.

9. 9

   Cover the lid with a clean kitchen towel and place it tightly on the pot to catch condensation. Steam on medium for 10 minutes until you see strong steam, then reduce to low and steam 45 minutes to fully cook and perfume the rice. Rest the pot off heat for 10 minutes before serving so the layers set and the tahdig releases more cleanly.

10. 10

    To serve, gently mix the top layers in a platter so rice and beans distribute without crushing the grains. Invert or lift out the tahdig and break it into pieces for the table. Serve immediately while the rice is fluffy and the sausage aroma is at its peak.