Adas Polo ba Khorma (Persian Lentil Rice With Dates) Recipe (2024)

We discard the water from the lentils because it darkens the rice and starch from the legume makes the basmati rice turn into mush. We can add a mixture of equal ratios pinch of clove + cardamom + cinnamon on top of the rice while it cooks by steaming. Also, in my mother’s traditional Persian cooking, we didn’t use tumeric but rather saffron for its aroma is more pleasant and color is much red/orange. The difference between tumeric and saffron is quite noticeable.

Curious as to why one throws away the water used to boil the lentils which has the spices in it. Can't imagine much spice flavor then gets into the rice. In making Palestinian mjedra you add the rice to the water with the lentils in it and then cook them together, adding additional water if needed.

Not a note but a question. When...and why...are recipes now calling for Kosher salt instead of the more readily available and inexpensive table salt? The salt home cooks managed to successfully cook with for years.

Wow, two tablespoons of salt and two tablespoons of cinnamon? I made this and used no where near those amounts. I also cooked the lentils and rice TOGETHER. Easier and no problems with the result. Very tasty dish that I will make again.

NYT does this primarily to avoid issues with differences in density among salt brands. This can have serious consequences when measuring salt amounts by volume (I know from experience). Here's a link to a Melissa Clark article about it: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/02/dining/salt.html

Out here in the country, where there's no DoorDash, we do SlapDash. So, as usual, I'm going to tweak this to my supply: leftover brown basmati rice, canned lentils, the stemmy remainders of bunches of cilantro and parsley, plus all the spices. Oddly, I do have ghee and about six medjool dates...

You're wrapping the *lid* (not the pan itself). Putting a thinnish layer of towel between the lid and the rice/lentils in the pot blocks off the moisture from the lid, keeping it from dripping into the mixture (& resulting in soggy/gloppy sadness). I do this towel/lid trick for many grains (like quinoa) in the final low heat "steam" stage - it makes a big difference.

Followed recipe as is except added cardamom, saffron, and a dash of to both lentil cooking water AND a dash of cardamom, clove and nutmeg and a few strands of saffron to rice water. Also added a few apricots and barberries to dates, and an extra shallot to onions. Topped with toasted pistachios and almond slices. Used dill, mint and cilantro. Result was outstanding and a big hit with guests.

Kosher salt is easier to hold/sprinkle into recipes. You can use table salt, but halve the amount.

This is my favorite type of NYT recipe, with hints for varying the recipe substantially. As ever, I look forward to reading reader comments on successful riffs I wouldn’t have thought of.

I recommend an alternative recipe in "New Food for Life" - you par-boil the rice as you always do in making this kind of Persian rice, but then, after adding a mixture of yogurt/oil at the bottom of the pot, you combine all the ingredients in the pot, layering them with the rice, cover with towel and lid and steam for about 1 hour - fantastic - I serve this at parties all the time and it disappears.

Really great recipe! The spice was just right, if you make it as written it'll turn out very well!

re: kosher salt question. kosher salt does not contain iodine so it has a bit of a different taste profile. and since it is larger grained than conventional table salt, a larger amount by volume is needed for the equivalent amount of sodium chloride that is in table salt. p.s. kosher salt and table salt typically cost about the same, and both are quite inexpensive unless you are buying a "gourmet" product.

FYI:The recipe calls for Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, 2 TBS of which is the equivalent of 1 TBS of table salt.

The lentils are drained in the first step, so I suppose a lot of the salt is discarded.

Used dried dates because I don't think I've ever seen a fresh date in the market in my life, and substituted saffron for tumeric, otherwise followed recipe. It was good. Next time I would like to serve with something lemony/astringent or spicy hot. Any suggestions?

We served this with feta stuffed lamb meatballs and a lemon Greek yoghurt. It's very delicious. Next time I think I would like to add something like pepitas to add a crunch element to the rice. I have a nut allergy so pepitas are kind of my answer to everything, but I'm sure there's an acceptable nut that would provide that crunch and pair well with the sweetness also.

Fantastic! I used all the salt and following the recipe, drained the lentils - finished dish not at all salty tasting. Agree with person who notes that with 2.5 cups rice, this feeds an army. Will make again and likely lower the rice amount keeping date/onion the same; love the suggestion adding orange zest to date mix. I added chopped almonds, cilantro & basil as well.

I removed the pot from the heat when I saw that there is no water left between the grains, covered it tight with a tea towel and a lid and let it sit there for like 10+ mins. It came out perfect! The addition of the Medjool dates was a big hit. Next time I'll try to thinly slice the onion instead of dicing (more of my favorite texture), and my son wants a dash of rose water for sure. I will definitely make this for dinner parties.

Even after many years of living at altitude, I forget that it takes four-times as long to cook lentils than most recipes suggest…and sometimes they just never seem to cook all the way through. Is part of this the salt in the water?

Delicious! But IMHO, 2.5 cups of uncooked rice was way too much. Next time I will use 1 cup of uncooked rice.

Fresh Medjool dates? Aren't they all dried? am I missing something?

To my dismay no Kosher salt on hand So I decided to soldier on with Pink Himalayan. Wish I had known that 1:2 salt ratio shared above. My lentils were salty, so I decided to prepare Basmati/lentil step without salt. Perfect outcome! Thoroughly enjoyed. Wife who is a chef couldn’t be prouder. Plan to take some of these other tips on my next attempt .

I followed the recipe pretty explicitly, this is a great dish!!

This is a 5 star for me. I could only find plain Greek yogurt. I added water, a pinch of salt and some parsley It worked great!

I just made mujadara and am excited to try this recipe spiced differently. This would make an excellent base for a breakfast bowl with roasted sweet potatoes, fresh greens, toasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, or pine nuts), sliced avocado, and a fried egg.

The recipe turned out dry. I had a lot of leftovers, What can I do to juice it when I reheat it?

Did 2 cups basmati and still a lot of rice. Lots of spice comes from drained lentils

I haven't found the box with cinnamon (I've just moved), but I did find my cinnamon sticks - two in the lentil water worked well.I also added pomegranate - yum!

LOVE SOFREH!This is an excellent version, appropriate for quick cooking.I increase the lentils, because I like that even if not tradtional.