Zereshk Polo ba Morgh | Persian Barberry Rice with Chicken

Zereshk Polo ba Morgh is one of the fanciest Persian recipes ever like Baghali Polo Ba Mahiche.

If you are invited to a party, there is a high chance of seeing this dish on the table.

The barberry rice is very desirable and the chicken is amazingly cooked. These to pieces of food are served together. The barberry pilaf is usually garnished with saffron.

Saffron and red barberries give the rice awesome fragrance and mouthwatering appearance.

You would not be able to resist the dish if you see it. Be with us and make this perfect Persian food for yourself and enjoy!

Persian Zereshk Polo ba Morgh

Zereshk Polo, like many other Iranian dishes, is quite tasty and mouthwatering.

As understood from the name, this dish is served with rice.

The Iranian always serve this dish at parties and ceremonies, because it has a magnificent taste and huge popularity among people who have eaten it.

Make sure that by trying it you will change to one of its fans.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine persian

Servings 4 people

Calories 500 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 4 cups rice
• 4 pieces chicken
• 1 diced onion
• 1 soupspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 tablespoons thick brewed saffron
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon rosewater
• 1 cup barberries
• 2 or 3 tablespoons sugar
• 100 grams pistachio slices
• 50 grams butter

Instructions

 

• Add the pieces of chicken, diced onion, some oil, salt and turmeric to a pot. Stir fry them and let them cook for 20 minutes.
• After the onions are completely cooked, add 4 glasses water to the pot (the water is used for making the sauce, so the less you use, the thicker the sauce will be).
• Let the water boil, after some time the amount of water will be reduced. Wait for it to be half in amount.

Making the chicken more flavorful

Before you go on, taste the chicken in order to find out it’s cooked.

In a separate pan, add some oil and stir fry the tomato paste for about a minute. After that, it must taste and look different. Then add the rosewater, lemon juice, and a tablespoon thick brewed saffron.

Stir fry them for a short while and add them to the chicken. The combination needs to be heated for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, stir fry the barberries. To do this, heat tablespoon butter and one tablespoon oil. Stir fry the barberries and add a tablespoon thick brewed saffron and a tablespoon rosewater.

Once the barberries are ready, add some rice, brewed saffron and pistachio slices and mix them.

Topping and Serving Zereshk Polo ba Morq

Add some rice to a plate and then, add some saffron-rice (to have this, mix a suitable amount of brewed saffron with some cooked rice). Then, top it with some barberries and pistachio slices.

This dish is served with rice, Doogh and Sabzi Khordan.

Sometimes, the syrup of this dish is served separately in a different dish for people who might want more of it!

Tips for cooking Zereshk Polo ba Morgh

When you are preparing the barberries, do not over fry them. When the pieces of sugar are dissolved, put out the flame of the gas burner. Remember to fry them over a low flame. If not they could be dry and hard to eat.

Also, do not cook the pistachio slices, if you do so, they will lose their color.

Frying the pieces of chicken (first step of the recipe) before cooking them (second step of the recipe) can make the dish more delicious.

When the pieces of chicken are being cooked in boiling water, it’s a good idea to add two or three small onions and remove them when the chicken is cooked.

You can remove the skin of the chicken, but it’s not much recommended because its skin makes the dish more delicious.

The water (syrup) of this stew is better to be thick.

If you are a fan of sour dishes, adding one or two sour plums to the chicken when cooking it, can make it more pleasant for you. If you do so, do not forget to remove the seeds.