Baghali is Farsi for Fava Beans and in Azeri it is Pakhla. When you mix the amazing Persian steamed rice with baghali and shevid (dill), it is called Baghali Polo. If you have ever tasted green fava beans you know how delicate and buttery they are. The taste is like no other bean and when it is matched with the subtle and pleasant flavors of dill and Basmati rice this ever popular delicious rice is created. Baghali Polo is fluffy and full of flavor and it complements a variety of meats such as chicken, turkey, lamb or beef. Today I’m pairing my favorite rice with tender, delicious chicken cooked in saffron tomato sauce, or Baghali Polo ba Morgh, or chicken with fava bean and rice.
[[Photo Credit: Shared according to CC licensing from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpck/]]
Fresh green fava beans are available for a short few weeks in mid to late spring. This time of year in Iran the produce bazaars have fresh fava beans in pods and most stores give you the option of buying and cleaning the fava beans yourself or for a minimal fee (by Western standards) the store owner will have them cleaned and delivered to your house within a couple of days. The process of cleaning the fresh fava beans is a time consuming task which involves first removing the pod to expose the beans, then removing the outer skin of the beans (the beans above have the skin) before cooking them. This is one of those time saving and fairly inexpensive services that is available in Iran, among many other, that I find most intriguing when I visit there.
Please follow the instructions for making the Persian Steamed Rice up to the point where rice grains are soft on the edges and firm in the center. Add the fava beans to the boiling water with rice and bring it to another boil and then drain in the colander and rinse under cold water. Heat the oil and butter in the pot and cover the bottom of the pot with lavash pieces, then layer the rice and fava bean mixture with fresh chopped dill or dried dill. Sprinkle the top with optional saffron. Cover the pot with Damkesh or a kitchen towel and steam for 45 minutes to one hour, or until the steam rises, the rice grains are tender and the Tahdig is crispy and golden.
Cook the chicken pieces with turmeric, salt, pepper, onion halves and water until tender. Discard the onion halves.
Sprinkle the optional saffron over the chicken pieces and use the bottom of a spoon to spread it all over the top. This gives the chicken a very rich color using very little saffron, but you may add more if you wish so.
Fry the sliced onions, add the tomato paste and saute until aromatic and add it to the cooked chicken.
Cook the chicken pieces in tomato sauce for 30 minutes, then turn and let the other side cook in the sauce for 30 minutes.
To serve Baghali Polo ba Morgh use a spatula to transfer the steamed rice to a serving dish and arrange the chicken pieces around the rice. The Tahdig should release very easily, break it up to pieces so everyone can help themselves to this delicious treat.
and see for yourself why the Tahdig (bottom of the pot) is the best part of any pot of Persian rice. Enjoy Baghali Polo ba Morgh with a piece of Tahdig on the side.
UPDATE: For a nice variation to this recipe: Sometimes substitute peeled Edamame Beans (green soybeans) for Fava Beans in this recipe for a delicious way to add nutritious Edamame Beans to your diet and see what you think! (Pictured below)
- 3 pounds skinless chicken drumsticks or thighs (about 6 large)
- 1 ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 medium yellow onion, cut in half
- 2 ½ cups cold water
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced thin and fried to golden brown (4 ounces fried onions)
- 3 TBSP vegetable oil for frying the onion
- 2 TBSP tomato paste
- 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
- ⅛ tsp optional saffron powder
- Extra water, as needed
- FOR THE RICE- (PLEASE FOLLOW THE COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS FOR PERSIAN STEAMED RICE)
- 2 ½ cups Basmati rice
- Salted water for boiling the rice
- 14-16 ounces frozen or fresh green fava beans
- 1 cup chopped fresh dill or ⅓ cup dried dill
- 4 TBSP vegetable oil
- 1 TBSP butter
- Lavash pieces for Tahdig
- Dash of saffron, sprinkled on top of the rice before steaming (optional)
- Add the chicken pieces, water, onion halves, turmeric, salt and pepper to a 12-inch nonstick skillet (the chicken pieces will be in a single layer). Bring the water to a boil over medium heat, skim off any foam from the top. Reduce heat to medium low, cover the skillet and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the chicken is no longer pink inside and fork tender. Discard the onion halves
- Meanwhile in another skillet fry the sliced onions in 3 TBSP of vegetable oil until golden brown. Add tomato paste and saute for another 3-5 minutes over medium low heat until aromatic. Set aside.
- Sprinkle the top of cooked chicken pieces with the optional ⅛ tsp saffron and use the back of a spoon to smear it on the surface. This will give chicken a rich saffron color as it cooks without using too much saffron; mix a few drops of the broth with saffron if needed.
- There should be about 1½ inches of broth in the skillet at this point. Add extra water if needed.
- Add the fried onion mixture to the skillet and stir to mix it with the broth. Add fresh lemon juice and bring it to a boil.
- Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces and continue to simmer covered for another 30 minutes until very tender. Serve over Baghali Polo.
- To make the Baghali Polo (Fava Bean and Dill Rice):
- Please follow the instructions for cooking the Persian Steamed Rice.
- After about 7 minutes of boiling in salt water, when the rice is firm in the center and tender on the two ends, add the fava beans to the pot. Bring the water to another boil and then immediately drain in a colander and rinse with cold water.
- Heat the oil and butter in the nonstick pot, cover the bottom of the pot with lavash or tortilla pieces.
- Add ⅓ of the cooked rice and fava bean mixture over the lavash. Sprinkle with ⅓ of the fresh or dried dill. Repeat 2 more times until you have used up all the rice mixture and dill. Sprinkle the top with the optional saffron. Cover with a kitchen towel or Damkesh and steam over medium low heat for 45 minutes to one hour, or until steam rises, the rice grains are tender, and the Tahdig is crispy and golden.
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Look deliciousness
Beautifull dish
Varic thank you so much for visiting and commenting. It really is quite delicious!
A Persian favorite beautifully presented! Both very aromatic, you have described fava bean and dill weed so perfectly, two ingredients which go well together, mixed in Persian style rice. Tahdig, of course is to die for. Chicken braised in seasoned tomato sauce is awesome too.
Dear Fae, very nice of you to visit my blog and thanks for the lovely comment!
your tahdig leaves me speechless. one day i hope to see the same from my own cooks. i must say that the amount of information and instruction you provide in your posts is 5star amazing 🙂 thank you thank you thank you for teaching us with so much care and detail.
Hello FoodGeekGraze, it is truly wonderful to hear nice comments like this; it makes all the work worthwhile. Thank you very much and you’re so welcome 🙂
hi i’m naghmeh i was searching and suddenly i found your brilliant page.by the way i wanna say i have a magazine which teaches persian language and shows iran i have a part in it about recipe of iranian food can i use your recipe and photo for my magazine?
your an incredible writer as well as chef. I have to ask do you have a published recipe book? I would buy it in a heart beat!! Thank you for these amazing recpices, I have been looking for an authentic Persian food blog. So happy I found yours!
Dear Parisa thanks so much for your uplifting words! I’m very happy you like my recipes. I have not published a recipe book, but the future of my blog may very well lead me on that path 😉 Please keep in touch and share your thoughts and comments when you try my recipes. Have a great weekend!
Dear Naghmeh, thank you for your kind words and I really appreciate you asking! I am happy that you want to post my recipe and photo in your magazine; however, I request that you give credit to persianmama.com with any photo and/or recipe with a link back to my blog post, for example: https://persianmama.com/baghali-polo-ba-morgh-chicken-fava-bean-rice/
I welcome you to my blog and good luck with your magazine.
mamnonam hatman:*
e mail tono bedin ta baraton magalaro befrestam mersi azizam
Khahesh mikonam Naghmeh jan 🙂
Merci azizam, khosh hal misham majalatuno bebinam! E-mail man: homa@persianmama.com
homa jon ferestadam baraton khosh hal misham nazareto bedonam mersi
Growing up, my mother made baghali polo with dried dill and baby lima beans which are easily found in the freezer section of the regular grocery store, and require no prep other than defrosting. So I have followed this, but recently my mother-in-law pointed out that this is not traditional, and that fava beans should be used instead. For readers who cannot access fava beans like the Sadaf brand shown in this post, I’d like to suggest that the baby lima beans, while not very traditional, are an acceptable substitute. Thank you again for wonderful recipes and instruction!
Dear Brisa, thanks for mentioning using baby lima beans in this recipe; that is what I used for all those years that I was not able to buy the fava beans that I buy from my Persian store now! They are as good a substitute as the edamame beans that I have mentioned in this post. Keeping up with our culinary traditions, though very noble, should not keep us from recreating the recipes that are so near and dear to our heart, even if it means using a different ingredient!
Dear Homa,
I am so glad that I have found your blog. I like your approach to making tahdig. It is much easier for a novice Persian cook to understand (and less nailbiting!) than some of the others. Also, the pictures on your website are beautiful and your recipes are well written. I have already tried several of your recipes and they came out great. I have a new found confidence with cooking Persian rice, and, now, I will do some creative cooking of my own. Thank you so much!!!
Welcome L. Hashemzadeh, wonderful to have you here. I love reading your comment and I’m glad to hear that my recipes have been helpful and easy to follow. Congratulations on your rice and tahdig! I remember the first time that my rice and tahdig turned out just the way I liked 🙂 Please keep in touch and write back with your other kitchen adventures. Have a terrific weekend.
سلام هما خانم هنرمند و با سليقه. هر وقت بسراغ دستور غذائى شما ميام بفكر اين ميافتم كه اگر دوباره زاده بشم كتاب دستور غذائى شما مثل كتاب إنجيل ميمونه كه كلمه به كلمه دنبال ميكنم.
نامزدى / عروسى دختر خانمتون تبريك ميگم و آرزوى خوشبختى و سلامتى پيشرفت روزانه اين خانواده جوان را از پروردگار خواهانم.
سلامتى وپيروزى روزافزون شما اميد هميشگى من است.
عيد سعيد نوروز بر شما و عزيزانتان مبارك بوده و بركت سفره گرم و عمر طولاني را از خداوند براى همگى تقاضا ميكنم.
Tera
Tera jan aziz,
سلام دوست عزیز و مهربان، سپاس فراوان از لطف شما. خیلی خوشحالم که کار من مورد پسندتونه. خواندن کلمات شیرین و دلنشین شما روزم رو شاد کرد. ممنون از ارزوهای خوبتون برای دخترم. نوروز شما هم پیشاپیش مبارک، امیدوارم سال جدید سرشار از سلامتی و شادی برای شما و خانواده گرامی باشه
Looks AMAZING!! And I’m sure tastes just as good this is one of my favourite dishes that I have learnt to cook from my Persian father.
We cook it pretty much the same except add the chicken to the rice also.
I’m really glad I have found your website so I can learn some other dishes that my dad hasn’t tought me so I can surprise him!!
Thank you Persianmama!!
Hello Victoria, welcome! I’m happy to be found 😉 You will find many delicious recipes here and please keep in touch and write me back when you try any of them. Your dad is going to love your cooking, and I will be happy to answer any questions that you might have!
Hi Homa,
I’ve been wanting to make this, but I couldn’t find frozen fava beans anywhere in Pittsburgh. Brisa’s comment about lima beans was very funny, and that’s what I used (we grow dill on our porch so that was not a problem). My mother-in-law has not yet critiqued my cooking, but I guess I should prepare myself for the inevitable. 😃
Hi Allison; Oh yes, lima beans were also my go to substitute for fava beans all those years back! I’m glad you did give the recipe a try; my family always loved it, and I never heard any complaints 😉