Sabzi Polo (Persian Herb Rice)

Sabzi Polo is a traditional Persian Herb Rice dish made with rice and a variety of fresh herbs which tastes and smells incredible.

Sabzi Polo is a Persian Herb Rice dish filled with a whole bunch of fresh herbs. It becomes a beautiful green colour and tastes and smells incredible!

We traditionally make Sabzi Polo for Nowruz (Persian New Year) along with ash reshteh a Persian noodle soup and kuku sabzi a herb frittata, which is at the end of March every year. However, it tastes that good and is pretty easy to make so you’ll want to eat it all year round.

In this recipe, I've also shown you how to make crispy tahdig using flatbread this time! It's the best part of the dish we all fight over.

Some other Persian dishes you can serve on the side of sabzi polo are shirazi salad and kashke bademjan.

Table of Contents

• What is Tahdig?
• What is Sabzi Polo?
• Ingredients to make Sabzi Polo (Persian Herb Rice)
• How to make Sabzi Polo (Persian Herb Rice)
• Tips to make Persian Herb Rice
• How to make the Best Tahdig! (Crispy Base)
• More Persian Rice
• More Persian Recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

What is Tahdig?

If you’re familiar with Persian food or have seen my recipe for how to make Persian rice with tahdig or makaroni (Persian spaghetti), you will see that we often make tahdig which translates to bottom of the pot.

It’s a golden crust that forms at the bottom of the pot during the cooking process and can be made with rice, potatoes, lettuce leaves, pasta or even bread as used in this recipe.

What is Sabzi Polo?

Sabzi means herbs in Farsi (Persian language) and Polo means cooked rice.

Sabzi Polo is traditionally made to celebrate Nowruz (Persian New Year) which is at the end of March and the first day of Spring in Iran.

The fresh green herbs resemble spring, life and rebirth. Its usually served with fried white fish with the full name being Sabzi Polo ba Mahi (this means, herb rice with fish).

Ingredients to make Sabzi Polo (Persian Herb Rice)

• Basmati rice is always the preferred rice to use as its light and fluffy. Its always best to use a good quality rice which has a beautiful fragrant smell and flavour
• Fresh herbs are key to making the perfect Sabzi Polo. I've used an equal combination of fresh cilantro (coriander), fresh dill and fresh parsley. You can alter the mix to your own tastebuds too. If you're not a fan of cilantro thats ok, leave it out and use more parsley and dill
• Spring onions give a lovely and subtle flavour. Chives and shallots are also great substitutes
• Garlic when cooked whole in the middle of the pot brings the most beautiful aroma to the dish! Once cooked, you can then squeeze out the garlic cloves which will be soft and full of flavour, without the harsh garlic taste
• Bloomed saffron (optional). Most Persian dishes include saffron for its beautiful flavour, taste and aroma. Saffron is quite expensive so we first grind the saffron then add a pinch of saffron with a few tablespoons of boiling water to bloom the saffron. This way, you will get much more out of it
• Advieh Persian spice mix (optional) is a combination of several spices. These include cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, rose petals and nutmeg. You can purchase this from Persian grocers or you can also make this yourself too
• Olive oil is added to the bottom of the pot with the flatbread or lavash bread to make Tahdig. You can also use vegetable oil or even butter if you prefer

How to make Sabzi Polo (Persian Herb Rice)

Learn how to make Sabzi Polo just how I was taught by my mother and grandmother. Follow my simple steps below.

1. Prepare herbs. Remove the parsley and dill leaves from the stems along with the thick coriander stems. Finely chop all the herbs and spring onions and mix together in a bowl

2. Cook rice. Place the rice in a non stick pot and rinse with water about 5 times until the water is mostly clear. Fill the pot with water, add the salt and cook on a medium-high heat for about 10-15 minutes
   
   Cook the rice until al dente (it should be half way cooked when you touch a rice grain between your fingers).  Then drain the rice through a colander and gently rinse under cold water

3. Time to layer. Start by adding olive oil to the same rice pot and place flat bread in the pot to cover the bottom
   
   Add a layer of rice, approximately ⅓ of the rice and top with ⅓ of the herb mix. Add a teaspoon of the bloomed saffron and advieh (if using)
   
   Chop the top of the garlic head off so the tops are visible but still intact.  Place in the middle of the rice and then repeat the layering of rice and herbs until all used
   
   With the handle of a spoon, make 6 holes into the rice down to the bottom of the pot. These will act as air pockets (as per picture 7)
   
   Wrap the lid with a clean kitchen towel, place on the pot and cook on low heat for 30 minute
4. Serve it up. Take off the heat, remove the lid and gently flip the pot upside down on a large platter. This can be done by placing the platter on the top of the pot and flipping it upside down. Cut out pieces of the Tahdig (crispy base) to share evenly, serve and enjoy your Sabzi Polo

Tips to make Persian Herb Rice

1. Its always best to use fresh herbs and good quality basmati rice. The better the ingredients, the better it will taste
2. Disregard the parsley and dill stems when chopping the fresh herbs. Coriander stems (cilantro) however are full of flavour so chop these with the herb leaves. I only disregard the thick brittle coriander stems
3. Wash the basmati rice well before using. Rinse it about 5 times until the water is mostly clear
4. Grind saffron then add a pinch of saffron with a few tablespoons of boiling water to bloom the saffron. Saffron is quite expensive so this way, you will get much more out of it

How to make the Best Tahdig! (Crispy Base)

1. Always use a non-stick pot! This is super important so it doesn't stick to the pot
2. Ensure to add a few tablespoons of oil to the bottom of the pot before adding the lebanese or arabic flatbread. You can also use slices of potato or even just the rice on its own
3. Make holes with a chopstick or spoon handle into the rice down to the bottom of the pot. Do this right before before closing the lid. These will act as air pockets to release any excess steam
4. Cover the lid with a clean tea towel. This will capture the excess steam 
5. Low and Slow is the most important tip! Cook on a low heat for 30 minutes which allows the tahdig to slowly develop rather than getting burnt

More Persian Rice

More Persian Recipes

I love seeing your creations and remakes, so be sure to tag @cookingwithayeh and share your Sabzi Polo (Persian Herb Rice) photo on Instagram so I can share the love.

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