Javaher polo recipe | Persian jeweled rice in 11 steps

By Fatemeh Baniali On Sep 27, 2023 Last updated Sep 27, 2023

5/5 - (1 vote)

Javaher polo, or Persian jeweled rice, is a traditional and delicious dish included in the assembly dishes.

Preparation of jeweled rice is a combination of white rice with almonds, pistachios, orange peel, and finally, blackberries and raisins along with chicken or mutton.

The history of this dish goes back to the Safavid era, and its birthplace is in the city of Qazvin. Of course, we see different instructions in the Fars and Khorasan provinces.

If you are a fan of new and combined flavors, we suggest you try the taste of this original dish with us at Cookery Magazine.

Ingredients for making Persian jeweled rice

Although the steps of cooking javaher polo are very important, some of the steps of making it go back to decorating the food. It is straightforward to make pilaf with chicken, but first of all, you need to prepare the required ingredients in the table below.

Chicken meat, muscle meat, or meatballs are sometimes used, although cooked and sliced chicken meat is more common.

Rice	4 cups
Chicken breast	400 grams
Raisins	½ cup
Barberry	½ cup
Onions	3 large pcs
Slivered almonds	¼ cup
Slivered pistachios	¼ cup
Slivered orange peel	¼ cup
Brewed saffron	2 tbsp
Cinnamon	½ tsp
Sour lemon juice	2 tbsp
Salt and black pepper	As much as needed
Turmeric and liquid oil	As much as needed

Recipe for making javaher polo

The first step

Take the orange part of the orange peel and put it in a glass full of water. Let them soak for about 1 hour. Then you have to put it on the heat until the water boils, and finally, change the water in the container and put it on the heat again.

You have to do these steps several times until the bitterness of this part of the orange is finally gone.

The second step

Pour two tablespoons of oil on the skin of the oranges and finally fry them.

Add a spoonful of sugar to the orange peel and let it dissolve well.

At this stage, the skin color of the oranges will be almost glassy.

The third step

Cut the chicken breast into cubes. Put one onion as a ring in the chicken breast container and add lemon juice and salt to it. Stir these ingredients until the ingredients are completely mixed. Then, cover them with cellophane and put them in the refrigerator.

The fourth step

Put the rice in a bowl and pour water until it gets wet. Cut the other onion into slices on the kitchen board and put it in a pan containing oil on low heat until it softens.

Fifth step

Take the chickens out of the fridge and fry them in the onions. Then add a little turmeric and pepper to it. Allow the chickens to be cooked entirely in the onion over low heat for approximately 20 minutes.

The sixth step

Add the brewed saffron and salt to the food at this stage and fry. Then pour lemon juice and cinnamon on it and stir.

Now, Remove the ingredients from the heat and set aside.

The seventh step

Pour six glasses of water into the pot and add salt until it boils.

Then, pour the rice into it, and after 7 minutes, if it is soft around the grains, drain it.

The eighth step

Put another pot on the heat and pour oil on the bottom of it. Then, pour the rice into a spatula and make a hole in the middle. Put the lid on the pot and put a flame spreader under it.

The ninth steps

First, increase the flame and reduce it after steaming. Pour a little water on the almond slices, rose water, barberry, and raisins to wet them completely. After 10 minutes, put them in a colander.

The tenth steps

Slowly pour oil into the pan and Roast almonds, blackberries, sugar, and raisins. Then, turn some of your rice yellow with a little saffron.

The eleventh steps

Put some rice in a dish, put the cooked chicken pieces on it, and then pour the rest. Finally, add the saffron rice.

Pour blackberries, raisins, almond slices, and roasted orange peel on the rice and pour the pistachio slices on it. Your food is ready; Enjoy eating!

Making Persian jeweled rice with meat

Persian jeweled rice with meat can be as attractive as chicken. Usually, combining this food with meat is better for parties.

In the following, we have taught you the required ingredients and how to prepare this model of javaher polo:

Rice	4 cups
Lamb and mutton	500 grams
Large grated onion	½ cup
Raisins	100 grams
Barberry	100 grams
Slivered almonds	100 grams
Slivered pistachios	100 grams
Slivered orange peel	100 grams
Brewed saffron	2 tbsp
Slivered carrots, shredded carrots, or julienne carrots	100 grams
Butter	100 grams
Cinnamon, Salt and black pepper	As much as needed
Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), Turmeric, and liquid oil	As much as needed

Recipe for making javaher polo with meat

First step

Put the meat, onion, cinnamon, and Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) in the pot and let it cook completely.

Second step

Add saffron, salt, and pepper in the final stages of cooking Javaher polo with meat.

Third step

Fry the slices with butter, add blackberries and raisins after soaking for 10 minutes.

Jeweled Rice with onion on top morasa polo

Fourth step

Cook the sliced carrots with sugar and water until they become soft.

Fifth step

Boil the orange slices three times, change the water, and finally fry with sugar and butter.

Sixth step

After you have rinsed the rice in a colander, cook it (⛔️NOT IN THE FORM OF KATEH RICE⛔️), and finally pour the ingredients on it for decoration.

Your pilaf is ready… Enjoy your meal!

Golden tips for having the best Persian jeweled rice

Use sufficient quality and thick saffron to prepare a luxurious and sumptuous javaher polo.

In preparing this dish, use a lot of fresh and not frozen sliced hot onions to decorate the rice and its layers.

If you cook the chickens separately from the pilaf, you can use bell peppers and separate the peppers in the last step.

Fry the barberries and raisins with butter on low heat. Using high heat may darken and spoil the color of barberry and raisins.

It is better to put the desired nuts in sugar water the night before, which are generally almond and pistachio slices (slivered almond and pistachio).

In general, using high-quality and fresh food has a very influential role in making this dish delicious, so prioritize using high-quality and fragrant Iranian broth.

If you use small chicken fillets in the rice or on top of it, fry the pieces in advance with salt, butter, or, as desired, with other flavored butter to create a unique taste and aroma in the chicken.

The preparation time of the raw materials and their necessities is about 2 hours, and the cooking and waiting time is about 2 hours.

You can serve javaher polo for lunch and dinner and be eaten as Suhur and iftar during Ramadan.

Remove the bitterness of the orange peel before using it. For this, soak the slices in lukewarm water the day before and change the water 3-4 times during this interval. To completely remove its bitterness, you can boil the slices twice and then put them in cold water.

How to serve and decorate Persian jeweled rice

First, add some saffron to the rice.
then, put the rice in a dish
put the chicken on the rice along with the sauce
then, pour the rest of the rice on the chicken
then decorate the rice with slivered nuts as you like

As we said, it is a portion of dry food, so pour the slices + barberry and raisins with their nectar (syrup) on the rice to make it tastier and remove the rice’s dryness.

Having a journey in the history of Persian jeweled rice

Javaher Polo, or Morasa Polo, is a delicious and colorful Iranian dish. The history of cooking this dish goes back to the Safavid era.

During this period, Iranian cuisine made tremendous progress, and many Iranian court dishes, such as Morasa Polo and Javaher Polo, were born.

Javaher Polo is considered one of the aristocratic dishes of that period. There has been significant development and transformation in Iranian cooking in this historical period.

One of these developments was covering or combining high-quality rice with nuts and colored fruits since the decoration of this food is as important as the quality of its components.

The rice is covered with nuts and colorful fruits; it can be compared to the beauty of the Iranian carpet or the seasons of the year. Today, the two provinces of Khorasan and Fars tend to cook this delicious food more than other regions of Iran.

Because of barberry and orange slices, it is one of the foods that the people of Fars and Khorasan provinces cook and like more than other provinces of Iran.

This dish is very similar to Qazvin’s Gheymeh Nesar, and people sometimes confuse this food. Of course, in Khorasan province, this dish is called ranginak polo, so if you ever have a guest from these two provinces, it is better to choose Javaher polo as one of the main dishes you choose for your reception.

Of course, this dish also has similarities with Shirin Polo, and sometimes, it is confused with this dish, and small details are missed when cooking it.

What is the difference between Javaher Polo (Marasa Polo) and Shirin Polo?

Shirin polo is usually served with Khoresh Gheymeh on spiritual occasions such as Muharram, and some aroma and flavor of rosewater are also evident in it.

In addition to that, sweetened carrot is also part of the side dish of this dish; that is, in Shirin Polo, the slices are added to the rice, and sliced carrot is one of the main components of Shirin Polo, while in Morasa Polo or Javaher Polo, The ingredients are placed on top of the rice and cover its surface, and they don’t mix.

As it was said, Javaher Polo contains blackberries and raisins, which are not usually added to Shirin Polo or Sugar Plou.

Frequently Asked Questions about Persian Jeweled Rice

How do you get the bitterness of orange peels?

To remove the bitterness of the orange peel, boil the water, then add the orange slices and after two minutes, pour it into a colander, then pour it into a container full of ice, and after two minutes, pour it into the colander, do this three times until the bitterness of the orange peel is wholly removed.
Also, make sure to take the time to slice the white orange peel because it makes the food bitter.

Javaher polo recipe | Persian jeweled rice in 11 steps

Recipe by Fatemeh BanialiCourse: Main CourseCuisine: Persian foodDifficulty: So/So

Servings

servings

Prep time

hours

Cooking time

hours

Calories

0/523

kcal

Javaher polo or morasa polo is a fantastic Persian dish that comes from the Safavid era to our lives.

Ingredients

Rice, 4 cups
Chicken breast, 400 grams
Raisins, ½ cup
Barberry, ½ cup
Onions, 3 large pcs
Slivered almonds, ¼ cup
Slivered pistachios, ¼ cup
Slivered orange peel, ¼ cup
Brewed saffron, 2 tbsp
Cinnamon, ½ tsp
Sour lemon juice, 2 tbsp
Salt and black pepper, As much as needed
Turmeric and liquid oil, As much as needed

Directions

The first step
Take the orange part of the orange peel and put it in a glass full of water. Let them soak for about 1 hour. Then you have to put it on the heat until the water boils, and finally, change the water in the container and put it on the heat again.
You have to do these steps several times until the bitterness of this part of the orange is finally gone.
The second step
Pour two tablespoons of oil on the skin of the oranges and finally fry them. Add a spoonful of sugar to the orange peel and let it dissolve well. At this stage, the skin color of the oranges will be almost glassy.
The third step
Cut the chicken breast into cubes. Put one onion as a ring in the chicken breast container and add lemon juice and salt to it. Stir these ingredients until the ingredients are completely mixed. Then, cover them with cellophane and put them in the refrigerator.
The fourth step
Put the rice in a bowl and pour water until it gets wet. Cut the other onion into slices on the kitchen board and put it in a pan containing oil on low heat until it softens.
Fifth step
Take the chickens out of the fridge and fry them in the onions. Then add a little turmeric and pepper to it. Allow the chickens to be cooked entirely in the onion over low heat for approximately 20 minutes.
The sixth step
Add the brewed saffron and salt to the food at this stage and fry. Then pour lemon juice and cinnamon on it and stir. Now, Remove the ingredients from the heat and set aside.
The seventh step
Pour six glasses of water into the pot and add salt until it boils. Then, pour the rice into it, and after 7 minutes, if it is soft around the grains, drain it.
The eighth step
Put another pot on the heat and pour oil on the bottom of it. Then, pour the rice into a spatula and make a hole in the middle. Put the lid on the pot and put a flame spreader under it.
The ninth steps
First, increase the flame and reduce it after steaming. Pour a little water on the almond slices, rose water, barberry, and raisins to wet them completely. After 10 minutes, put them in a colander.
The tenth steps
Slowly pour oil into the pan and Roast almonds, blackberries, sugar, and raisins. Then, turn some of your rice yellow with a little saffron.
The eleventh steps
Put some rice in a dish, put the cooked chicken pieces on it, and then pour the rest. Finally, add the saffron rice.
Pour blackberries, raisins, almond slices, and roasted orange peel on the rice and pour the pistachio slices on it. Your food is ready; Enjoy eating!

Notes

Use sufficient quality and thick saffron to prepare a luxurious and sumptuous javaher polo.
In preparing this dish, use a lot of fresh and not frozen sliced hot onions to decorate the rice and its layers.
If you cook the chickens separately from the pilaf, you can use bell peppers and separate the peppers in the last step.
Fry the barberries and raisins with butter on low heat. Using high heat may darken and spoil the color of barberry and raisins.
It is better to put the desired nuts in sugar water the night before, which are generally almond and pistachio slices (slivered almond and pistachio).
In general, using high-quality and fresh food has a very influential role in making this dish delicious, so prioritize using high-quality and fragrant Iranian broth.
If you use small chicken fillets in the rice or on top of it, fry the pieces in advance with salt, butter, or, as desired, with other flavored butter to create a unique taste and aroma in the chicken.
The preparation time of the raw materials and their necessities is about 2 hours, and the cooking and waiting time is about 2 hours.
You can serve javaher polo for lunch and dinner and be eaten as Suhur and iftar during Ramadan.
Remove the bitterness of the orange peel before using it. For this, soak the slices in lukewarm water the day before and change the water 3-4 times during this interval. To completely remove its bitterness, you can boil the slices twice and then put them in cold water.

Conclusion

Thank you for being with us with this delicious and popular dish.

If you have any more questions about javaher polo, it’s my honor to answer. Enjoy your exploration of Persian cuisine!

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