Loobia Polo (lubia polo) Ba Havij is a delicious mixed Persian rice. Green bean is loobia in Farsi and Carrot is havij. This is an all time favorite rice dish of mine. The stew is very flavorful with tender pieces of beef, fresh green beans, shredded carrots and aromatic spices cooked in a very light sauce. Traditionally this stew is served between layers of Aromatic Persian Rice.
With some extra stew on the side.
I was so happy to find these shredded carrots in the store, they save a lot of time
Cubed beef is sauteed with butter, diced onions, ground black pepper and turmeric
Until browned and the natural juices are thickened
Then it is cooked in some water until very tender.
Meanwhile fry the diced onions until golden brown
And steam the sliced green beans in very little water until tender
Quickly saute the green beans, carrots, fried onions, butter, and tomato paste over high heat for a bit
Add the cooked beef, broth, lemon juice, seasoning and water and simmer
Until all the ingredients are tender and the sauce is reduced and thickened. Serve it layered with cooked rice. Traditionally this stew is served with Persian Aromatic Rice.
To make the Persian Aromatic Rice with Lavash Tah Dig, follow the complete instructions on my How-To page for Persian Steamed Rice up to the point where you drain and rinse the par boiled rice in a fine mesh strainer. Then proceed with the instructions for making the Tah Dig. I have made the Lavash Tah Dig but you may choose to make the Yogurt Tah Dig if you like. Add a single layer of Lavash or flour tortilla to the bottom of the pan.
Add 1/3 of the par boiled rice to the pot and cover the bread pieces. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp Persian Rice Spice
Repeat two more times with rice and spices,sprinkle a pinch of optional saffron on top. Cover the pot with kitchen towel or Damkesh and steam until fluffy and tender with a golden Tah Dig in the bottom.
To serve, add some of the steamed rice to the serving platter. Use a slotted spoon to top the rice with some of the khoresh (leave most of the sauce in the pot). Repeat with one more layer of rice and khoresh. Serve the extra khoresh and sauce on the side so everyone can help themselves for more if they like. Enjoy the Loobia Polo Ba Havij with salad or sabzi khordan.
- FOR THE MEAT
- 1 ½ pounds cross rib roast, cubed to 1 inch pieces
- ½ large onion diced medium
- 1 TBSP butter
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 ½ cups cold water
- FOR THE STEW
- 1 ½ large onion diced medium
- 3 TBSP vegetable oil
- 1 pound fresh green beans
- ¼ cup water
- One 10-ounce bag of shredded carrots
- 2 TBSP butter
- 3 TBSP tomato paste
- 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
- 1⅛ tsp kosher salt
- 1/16 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ⅛ tsp ground cumin
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- Dash optional saffron
- 1 ½ cups water
- FOR THE AROMATIC RICE
- Enough cold water to fill a 6-Qt stockpot up to 3 inches from the top
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 ½ cups uncooked basmati rice
- 1 ½ tsp Persian Rice Spice blend
- FOR THE TAH DIG:
- Enough pieces of Lavash (Persian flat bread) to cover the bottom of the pot (or an 8-inch flour tortilla cut into 6 wedges)
- 3 TBSP vegetable oil
- 1 TBSP margarine
- Wash the fresh green beans. Cut off the tips. Slice the beans into ½ inch pieces and add with ¼ cup cold water to a medium stockpot. Bring water to a boil and simmer over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the beans are tender and all of the water is cooked off. Remove from the stockpot and set aside.
- Add the cubed meat, butter, diced onions, turmeric powder and ground black pepper to the stockpot. Saute over medium high heat for 10 minutes. Stirring frequently until the meat is browned and the juices start bubbling.
- Add 2 ½ cups cold water to the meat and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover the stockpot and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the meat is tender. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Peel and dice 1 ½ large onions. Fry the onions in 3 TBSP veg oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet. When the edges start getting golden brown, reduce the heat to medium and fry until uniformly golden brown. Set aside.
- Add the green beans, shredded carrots, 2 TBSP butter, and 3 TBSP tomato paste to the fried onions. Saute over medium high for 4-5 minutes until carrots are tender. Add 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice, 1⅛ tsp kosher salt, 1/16 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, ⅛ tsp cumin, ⅛ tsp cinnamon, dash of optional saffron, the cooked meat and broth, and 1½ cups water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over medium low heat for 1 hour, or until all the ingredients are tender and the sauce has been reduced and thickened.
- Serve over Aromatic Persian Rice.
- TO MAKE THE AROMATIC PERSIAN RICE
- Please follow the instructions for Persian Steamed Rice on my How-To page, up to the point where you pour the par boiled rice into the fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold water.
- Heat the oils in a nonstick 6-Qt stockpot over medium heat. Add the Lavash pieces or flour tortilla wedges.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer ⅓ of the rice to the pot and cover the bread pieces. Sprinkle ½ tsp rice spice evenly on the rice. Then add half of the remaining rice and sprinkle with ½ tsp rice spice. Then add the rest of the rice to the pot and sprinkle with the rest of the rice spice. Sprinkle a dash of optional saffron to the top for a touch of aroma and color. Cover the pot with a kitchen towel or a Damkesh and steam over medium low heat for 45 minutes to an hour, or until steam rises and the Tah Dig is golden brown.
- To serve, add the steamed rice to the serving platter. Use a slotted spoon to top the rice with some of the khoresh (leave most of the sauce in the pot); then repeat with one more layer of rice and khoresh. Have everyone help themselves to the extra khoresh and sauce on the side.
This is a dish I have struggled to prepare well. Mine comes out like “shole” or a thick soup. It seems that your recipe does not indicate steaming the green bean-beef mixture between layers of rice in the pot (the “dam” stage). Should I simply layer/mix the mixture with already steamed rice and serve? Thank you again for your wonderful blog and your patience in answering my 1,000 questions. PS: I made a double batch of fesenjan for a second time following your wonderful recipe. I am excited to share it with friends & family.
Dear Brisa, I’m happy to answer any question you might have 🙂 Besides, your comments help me to better my writing so that it is more clear to my readers! This post is a good example of that; I had mentioned that “this khoresh is served between layers of steamed aromatic rice” at the beginning of the post; however, I had not mentioned it later in the printable recipe and now I’ve fixed that, thanks to you!
I use a slotted spoon (that leaves most of the sauce in the pot) to layer the khoresh over the already steamed rice and then serve the extra khoresh and sauce on the side so everyone can help themselves.
I’m so glad you like the fesenjan, it is also my daughter’s favorite khoresh.
This dish is one of my favorites, and the recipe came out perfectly!!
Oh that is awesome Sarah, so glad to hear that! Thank you for your lovely comment 🙂
Hi Homa,
I made this tonight as described but I just served the khoresh and chelo separately. Very tasty. My husband says it’s his new favorite beef stew!
We are having so much fun going through your recipes. It’s so great to find such delicious food with no garlic (which makes me ill when I’m pregnant).
Hi Allison, congratulations!! So happy you and your husband are finding recipes that you like; enjoy them in good health. I like your serving method of this khoresh. I would love to hear what else you’ve made and will be making. Have a great holiday weekend.