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.

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...

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

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.

We loved this fragrant dish, though we cut quantities in half ( it is just the two of us), and modified it for an instant pot: Used brown basmati so the cooking times would be the same. Used equal parts water and rice. Added the spices and cooked on high7 minutes . The color contrast between rice and lentils was not as pretty, but simpler. And the fruit on top made up for the darker color.The fried onions and fruit (I added apricots and dates and walnuts) and fresh herbs were so good.

I would like a more specific amount of water stated for cooking the rice. My rice turned out mushy. Overall, though, I really liked the flavor of the dish.

Cooking the rice with two cups of water after draining the lentils and combining made the rice stick to the pot. Would recommend adding more water for rice cooking

Absolutely delicious. Got even better after sitting in the fridge for a couple of days. Made a good amount that could be for a crowd, especially if on the side of other things as part of a mezze

Disappointingly bland…2 Tbsp of cinnamon get basically dumped down the drain.

So good and easy. The flavors are dynamic and add to any protein. Keeps well. Will make Again!!

I agree with Kelly about the rice. It kept sticking to the bottom of the pan so I also had to keep adding water which resulted in mushy rice. Otherwise, the flavoring and the layering technique for serving was spot on. Also agree that it was way too much rice and would recommend half the amount unless you’re cooking for an army. If you are, then I think I would double or triple the onion and date mix for optimal layering ratio.

This recipe has potential but the instructions were not very good. It really seems like a waste to throw away 2+ tablespoons of cinnamon when draining the lentils after just 7 minutes of cooking. Why not specify the volume of water to be added to the rice rather than "enough to cover by 1 inch"? The pan diameter would have a drastic effect on the amount of water needed. Wrapping the pot lid with a clean kitchen towel (?) while continuing to heat the rice seems like a fire hazard.

Love this recipe! To round it out as a vegetarian main, we love adding the cauliflower (and even the halloumi) from NYT Cooking’s “Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Halloumi and Lemon” by Alexa Weibel. Other great additions include roasted red pepper and avocado.

Winner! Made for a community iftar pot luck dinner for Muslims and non-Muslims. Compliment from a Muslim man: "YOU made that?! It was really good. I thought some Turkish lady brought it!" Thank you NYT Cooking. Watch the dates, they burn easily. I scooped most of them out and the flavor was even better. Can do ahead by leaving the green herbs off the top layer until the last minute. Recommend the 50:50 rice to lentils as suggested by another cook. 1 recipe = 15 to 20 generous servings.

definitely should have used saffron; I'd seriously consider cardamon. Next time I would consider adding chopped dried apricots as well. I might consider cooking the rice separately and then adding the lentils after it is cooked. Unfortunately, this initial round my rice didn't turned out fluffy.

The rice & lentils cooked perfectly. The flavors were good, but we will increase the amount of onion/ date mixture next time. Added chopped pistachios on top just because!

If presentation doesn't matter and you're tempted to just stir in the onions/dates and the herbs: don't. It's difficult to mix them in evenly and the process ends up squashing the nicely fluffy rice and lentils. I'll layer them next time, and also double the herbs.I used parboiled brown rice (the NYT Bittman instructions) to make the timing work.

I made this with Brown Basmati Rice, so cooked the rice in 4.5 cups of broth for 35 minutes, then added the lentils for another 30 minutes of cooking until the broth was gone. turned out lovely.

Oh this was so good! I loved the technique for cooking the rice/lentils, and at first I thought I messed it up, but also checked out the cookbook from the library and the author mentions how this technique makes the rice a bit more sticky. I can’t get enough of the date-onion mixture, and it all tastes even better the next day. I used all 3 of the herbs mentioned and loved the layers of flavor there. Just be forewarned: it makes a TON. Which I am not mad about.