Persian Rice With Fresh Fava Bean (Broad Bean)

I love fava bean (Broad bean), I would never get tired of eating it, especially when I make this dish (tagine of fava and artichoke) that tastes so delicious even a non vegetarian will devour it. All my family enjoy it so much that I make it on a regular basis. I just realize how pricey it is when you buy fresh fava in a farmer's market or supermarket, even when it's in season. This is the reason why I grow fava beans in my vegetable garden, plus it has other benefit too, it can be use as green manure. Fava bean along with other legume family are great nitrogen fixation, the nodules in their roots systems contain bacteria (rhizobia), which producing nitrogen compound that helps plants to grow. So, when this plants die, the fix nitrogen then released which fertilized and add organic nutrient to the soil. Some people grow this plants just for that reason alone. It is the easiest and cheapest way to add organic matter to my garden, and you get to enjoy the tasty bean too.

Persian Rice With Fresh fava bean

~elra~

2 cups Basmati rice
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups fresh shelled fava beans
1 tbs advieh, recipe follows
turmeric
salt and pepper
2 cups loosely chopped mix fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, mint and lemon basil)
¼ cup dried dill, or ½ cup if using fresh dill
2 tbs olive oil
1 lavash bread, optional

Wash the rice until the water is clear, then soak with clean water and 1 tablespoon of salt while you are preparing the fava beans.

Fry onion with 1 tablespoon olive oil until soft and translucent, add garlic, fava bean, advieh, turmeric, a few tablespoon of water, salt and pepper. Cook until fava bean is soft, add the fresh herb including dill, stir, taste to see if need more seasoning. Cook just until the herb are wilted, then take out from the heat.

Boil 6 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt.

Drain the rice, the add it to the boiling water, stirring gently with wooden spoon to release any grain that stuck on the bottom. Cook for 10 minutes, bite a few grains to see if rice is done, it should feel soft. Drain into a large fine-mesh colander.

Heat a large nonstick pan over low heat, add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, lay lavash bread on the bottom if using, add half of the rice, all fava bean, then top with remaining rice. Wrap a clean kitchen towel over the lid, cover the pan tightly with this lid to prevent the steam to escape. Cook the rice for about 10 to 20 minutes.

Advieh for Rice

adapted from Najmieh Batmanglij

2 tbs ground dried rose petals
2 tbs ground cinnamon
2 tbs ground cardamom
1 tbs ground cumin

mix all ingredients together, transfer to a airtight container.

cookedfava