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As we love to travel to Iran we got to know and love the Iranian Cuisine, so we want to bring you one of our favorite recipes.
The Iranian way of cooking is pretty simple in its ingredients yet amazingly complex in its taste and so is Lubia Polo, which simply translates to „Bean Rice“. Seeing the Ingredients maybe you would think to yourself „How could this turn into something special?“ But then you take the time and passion for the process as the Iranians do and in the end you’ll be stunned of how little things you need to create an amazing tasty meal.
1 Onion
500g Green Beans (best fresh ones, but frozen ones work as well)
2 1/2 cups of rice (Persian rice is perfect for this dish if you can get hold of it, or any other good medium to long grain white rice)
1 tea spoon of tumeric powder at least 1/2 a tea spoon of bloomed saffron
500g pure tomato sauce
Potatoes (optional)
If you’re lucky enough to find a Persian market close by you can easily get your Iranian ingredients there – a couple minutes of intense Persian experience inclusive. 😉
You begin by frying the diced onions in oil until they get some color and add the turmeric powder and the green beans. The tumeric powder is important for the final taste of the Lubia Polo so don’t be shy on using it. The beans should start to get a glassy bright green color when you add the tomato sauce, usually you will use tomato sauce from a can or glass. If its a really thick sauce, pour some water in the can or glass to get the rest of the sauce out and make the sauce more liquid. You don’t wanna make a soup, but it shouldn’t be too thick in order to not burn in your pan. You let that cook for some ten to fifteen minutes if you’re using fresh beans, if its frozen beans that reduces the cooking time to around 5 minutes. Add some salt and let the sauce sit in the pan.
Meanwhile bring some water (about 1 1/2 to double the amount of rice) to boil, add the rinsed rice and let that simmer until the rice is al dente, which means that if you take one grain of rice between your fingernails the middle of the grain should still be a little hard. The Iranians are true masters in cooking rice and one of the many secrets is simply to rinse the rice before cooking to get rid of the starch around the grains. Pour the rice and water through a sieve. After around ten minutes, depending on which rice you use pour the rice and water into a sieve.
Now the stacking of the rice and the bean/tomato sauce starts, which is probably the crux in the whole process. For that you use a deep pot, pour some oil in and put it on low to medium heat. Cause now another speciality of the Iranian rice cooking magic can be achived, the so called „Tahdig“ It means that in the bottom of the pot you get a amazingly tasty crust of rice, that if you got it right once you ask yourself why you would ever cook rice without Tahdig again. Optionally before you put the rice in the oil you can put thin sliced potatos, which would make for an Potato Tahdig, but to get that right its even more difficult than a plain Rice Tahdig, we ourselves still struggle with that, so probably start with rice only. Put a layer of around 2 to 3 thumbs thick of rice into the pot, take the bean and tomato sauce and stack that on top of the rice, also 2 to 3 thumbs thick. Continue with layering until the sauce and rice is finished, the rice should be the last layer. With every layer of rice you put in pour some blossomed saffron over the rice. „Blossomed“ here means that you put the saffron in some water and let it simmer on low heat for some minutes. Saffron can be amazingly expensive in some countries, so how much you’ll use will be depending on where you live or your budget. Generally we would say the more the better. It’ll give the typical taste of Persia, as Iranians use literally tons of it.
When you ́re finished with the stacking put a cotton kitchen towel around the lid of the pot, which will help to keep the steam inside the pot, so the before „al dente“ rice will be steamed to finish. Leave the pot on a small to medium heat for some 30 minutes while not letting the steam escape by opening the lid many times, which is another secret to a perfect rice. The crux here is to get the rice finished without the Tahdig at the bottom getting burned, you’ll probably need some tries to get it right, but if you do you’ll know that it was worth it. After around 30 minutes you can open the lid and check if the rice is finished and if it is you can stir and mix the rice with the bean/tomato sauce, The rice will get a beautiful yellow and red color and the aromas of sauce, rice and saffron will have merged.
Lubia Polo traditionally is a side dish, we recommend some white bread to go with it, best coming from a wood fire oven, maybe some salad. As there are often vegetarians under us we most of the time cook without meat, if you don’t wanna dispense on meat, you can put it in the bean/tomato sauce, traditionally Iranians use lamp for their Lubia Polo.
Enjoy! And „Nush e jahn!“ -Farsi for „enjoy your meal“, which translates to „Nourish your soul“
We’re curious on your Lubia Polo experience – you’re very welcome to send us a photo or tag @snowmads on Instagram.
Photo Credits
Florian Breitenberger
Anjuna Hartmann
Julian, how did you get in touch with the Snowmads?
Hey, Fabi contacted me a while ago, because he heard about my Project World Peace Walls where I travel to different areas around the World to paint Murals for Peace.
What is Snowmads for you?
Snowmads for me is a community of young people, who live their dream, they are curious and creative, openminded and conscious about their environment, cultures and nature.
Do you think there is a connection between art, skiing and vanlife?
Sure, van live gives you the most freedom, you live simplicity and flexibility, it brings you to every place you want to go. On the way you find new mountains or inspirations, you meet people on the road with similar interests and you can always share your stories.
You’ve built up your own camper van some time ago – inspired by the Snowmads?
Of course I am inspired by the Snowmads Truck and lifestyle and for me its the best way to travel. But my Truck is still under construction, but it will be finished soon.
The World Peace Wall is one of your projects that really impressed us – what’s the idea behind and how do you see the future of the project?
Good to hear, thanks so much!
It all began in 2007 when I traveled to Iraq and I was overcome with an idea to leave something behind. This spontaneous urge took the form of a mural on the walls of an old Hussein Palace in the North of Iraq, or my first “World Peace Wall.” Since then, I painted around 30 walls all around the globe.
The Idea is to use the local language for my murals as well as cultural symbols and elements to connect fully with the observer. If somebody thinks about peace, he will act more peacefully. I try to change perspectives, thoughts and attitudes with a silent revolution, through a painted message. Everything happening around us, originates in our minds. What we think is our reality. Our thoughts become words, our words become actions, actions become habits and habits form our outlook and personality.
Since ancient times people have been influenced by this principle. Church paintings, propaganda and advertising campaigns all require attention and channel thoughts into one direction.
The more human beings are at peace with themselves, the more they surrender fighting against themselves and the flow of life, the more they create a world of tolerance and love around them. The „World Peace Walls“ in prominent places of the world give an impulse to start a dialogue about peace – a message that, similarly to a spiritual mantra, is repeated over and over again and therefore slowly manifests itself in reality.“
Any travel plans for this summer?
Not yet, but sometimes wanderlust overwhelmes me and I go where the wind blows.
How to follow Julian
www.ju-li-an.com
Instagram
YouTube
Facebook
Check out our Home Story with Markus Ascher and spot Julian working on the Truck in the beginning of the video.
Photo Credits:
Jochen Mesle
Fabian Lentsch
Florian Breitenberger
After a long and unsuccessful search for new tracks, the urgent need for powder among the Snowmads crew gets almost unbearable, but when they arrive in Yaylalar they are rewarded for their relentless efforts. This little remote and isolated mountain village, which often is cut off from the rest of the world, is surrounded by the impressive Kaçkar Mountain Range and offers countless opportunities. Neil William, Dane Tudor and Markus Ascher are keeping Fabi company and together they enjoy the sheer endless amount of powder. Unfortunately the snow conditions appear to be very sketchy and the boys have to be careful in the choice of their lines. After they narrowly escape an avalanche they decide to stay below the tree line, which still gives them numerous options. It seems like Turkey is the place to be, when the Alps lack snow.
What happens when you take an old fire truck and refurbish it into the ultimate ski-mobile, pack it full with professional skier Fabian Lentsch and his crew of Snowmads , and hit the road on a massive road trip in search of powder? The absolute journey of a lifetime! In this episode the boys head to Iran and meet up with some of the locals to claim some fresh tracks and good times on the mountain.
