We chose to have Qabili Palao as our main dish, accompanied by Borani Bademjan, a tomato and cucumber salad, yogurt, and soft lavash (though I cheated a bit and bought rather than making the bread).
Qabili Palao is a dish of spiced meat and rice, with fried carrots and raisins, and is similar to a biryani with different spicing. This was glorious, and definitely something that I will make again - I combined elements of several different recipes for this.
Borani Bademjan is a garlicky, roasted aubergine and yogurt dip. Once again, I combined several recipes for this. I will make this again in the future too, but with a fraction of the amount of garlic. I used two cloves, which seemed to be the proportion recommended by most recipes, and it was SO GARLICKY! I love garlic, and it was too much even for me, yet alone the kids. I can still taste garlic the following morning. Other than that, the texture was good, and the other flavours (what I could taste of them) were nice.
Qabili Palao
Serves 4350g basmati rice
pinch saffron
700g lamb neck fillet (or cubed lamb leg)
6 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1.5 tsp ground cardamom seeds (I used a mixture of black and green cardamom)
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cloves
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 chicken stock cube
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 tsp sugar
100g raisins
Rinse the rice, and set aside in a bowl with 350ml water to soak.
Mix the saffron with 2 tbsp boiling water and leave to infuse.
Cut the lamb into bite-sized pieces, and brown in batches in 2 tbsp of the oil, transferring each batch into a bowl once the outsides have been browned. Add the onion and cook until caramelised. Add the spices and fry briefly, then return the meat and any juices to the pan, and add 400ml boiling water, the stock cube, and the salt. Cover and simmer for 1.5 hours or until the meat is tender.
Meanwhile, fry the carrots and sugar in the remaining 4 tbsp olive oil until the carrots are lightly browned. Two notes: this will take much longer than you expect, and the "lightly browned" carrots are actually lighter in colour than the raw ones. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and place on paper towel to drain. Fry the raisins briefly in the same oil. They will puff up and turn pale. Don't burn them! Set to drain on paper towels.
Once the meat is tender, use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a bowl. Add the rice and its soaking water to the stock remaining from cooking the meat, cover, and simmer until the water has been absorbed (approximately 8 minutes).
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
Butter a large casserole dish. Place half of the meat into the dish, then cover with half the rice. Sprinkle half of the carrots and raisins on top. Repeat these layers. Drizzle the saffron water over the top. Cover tightly, and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.
Serve.
Borani Bademjan
(serves 4)3 large aubergines
250ml plain yogurt
garlic to taste (see my caution above!)
1 lemon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried mint
2 tbsp olive oil
Preheat the oven to 400F/220C.
Stab each aubergine a few times, then place in a baking dish and roast for about 40 minutes, or until soft and partially collapsed. Set aside to cool until they can be easily handled.
Pull the skin off the aubergines, then chop the flesh. Place into a sieve for a while to drain (or squeeze in a clean tea towel). Mix the chopped flesh with the remaining ingredients, then chill for at least two hours to allow the flavours to meld.
