Try our Vegan Persian Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh (Persian barberry rice with chicken). It is healthy, hearty and full of tradition. This classic Persian dish was one of my favorite recipes growing up, so we were thrilled to come up with our own delicious vegan version of my mom’s recipe!
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🌱 WHAT IS ZERESHK?
Zereshk, or dried barberries, are typical in Persian cuisine. They resemble goji berries in size and appearance and are very tart. My grand aunt in Iran grows barberries in her yard and sends them to us periodically. You can find zereshk in a Middle Eastern grocery store or online.
🇮🇷 WHAT IS ZERESHK POLO BA MORGH?
Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh is essentially a rice pilaf. The dish is traditionally composed of dried barberries (zereshk), chicken (morgh), and basmati rice (polo). The chicken sits on top of a bed of saffron rice studded with the tiny dried barberries.
If there is one thing you should know about Persians, it’s that we’re very serious about our rice. So serious that we have different names for the contrasting preparations of the same long-grain white basmati. One is Kateh—the run-of-the-mill, dump-the-water-rice-and-simmer method you’re probably already familiar with. The other, more sumptuous technique, is called Polo. In this preparation, the rice is cooked in such a way that the individual grains do not adhere to one another, and a crispy crust is formed on the bottom of the pot—the much coveted tahdig. For our tahdig, we use thinly sliced potatoes.
Our vegan version of the dish has all the comforting flavors of the Persian classic, and you’d never be able to tell it’s vegan! We use vegan chicken in place of the real thing. We’ve also used jackfruit as a chicken substitute, which also works very well, because it is a sponge for flavor and emulates the meatiness and texture of chicken. And rest assured, our recipe has the stamp of approval from my omnivore parents.
The ingredients for Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh are very simple. You probably have most of them in your kitchen as we speak!
💛 PREPARING SAFFRON
Saffron comes in many forms. You can get it in thread form, pre-ground, or liquid form. Believe it or not, it even comes in a spray bottle!
You can use any form of saffron for this recipe, but if you use saffron threads or ground saffron, it needs to be bloomed. And if you’re using saffron threads, you’ll need to grind it in a mortar & pestle. If you don’t have one of those on hand, finely crush the threads between your fingers.
“Blooming” means exposing the saffron to a combination of heat and hydration. Essentially, you steep lightly crushed saffron in hot water to create a saffron tea. This process draws out the saffron’s aromatics, flavor, and rich golden color. Obviously, you can skip the blooming step if you’re using liquid saffron. Liquid saffron is exactly what the name suggests: liquid infused with dried saffron.
📝 INGREDIENTS
- Basmati rice: You can’t make a rice dish without rice.
- Water: To soak/cook our rice, make our sauce, and bloom our saffron.
- Vegan butter: To cook the potatoes for our tahdig, as well our zereshk for our zereshk rice topping.
- Russet potato: To form our tahdig.
- Salt & freshly cracked black pepper: Seasoning for our dish.
- Vegan chicken or young green jackfruit: Our chicken substitutes. Both options are equally as tasty. Our favorite vegan chicken substitute brands are Sweet Earth, Tofurky, and Ozo. If using jackfruit, you’ll also need to season it with poultry seasoning and coat it with olive oil before it goes in the oven.
- Olive oil: To cook our vegan chicken.
- Turmeric: Adds earthy flavor and a beautiful yellow hue to our sauce.
- Carrots: The classic vegetable addition to zereshk polo.
- White vinegar: Adds much needed acidity to our sauce.
- Vegan chicken bouillon cube: Adds umami to our sauce. We used the Edward & Sons brand, but you also use 1 teaspoon of the Better Than Bouillon brand.
- Zereshk (i.e. dried barberries): The “zereshk” in Zereshk Polo. You can find zereshk substitute finely chopped cranberries)
- 1 teaspoon of saffron threads ground in a mortar & pestle (or substitute ¼ teaspoon pre-ground saffron) bloomed in 3 tablespoon hot water. Alternatively, you could use 1 tablespoon liquid saffron.
🔪 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
***Make sure to check out our recipe video below!***
- 1. Prepare the rice: Rinse the rice until it’s clear. Then soak it in water combined with salt for 20 minutes.
- 2. Parboil the rice: Parboil the rice for 3 minutes. Then drain and set aside.
- 3. Cook the rice: In a separate pot, heat butter and arrange potato slices over the bottom of the pot in a single layer. Pour ⅓ cup of water over the potatoes. Then layer the rice over the potatoes. Place paper towels over the pot and secure the lid over them. Cook on low or medium-low for 1 at least 1 hour.
- If using jackfruit, continue to step 4.
- If using vegan chicken, skip to step 5.
- 4. Cook the jackfruit (not pictured): **SKIP THIS STEP IF USING VEGAN CHICKEN*** Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Whisk 1 tablespoon olive oil with poultry seasoning and a pinch of salt & pepper. Remove seeds from and slice jackfruit. Toss jackfruit evenly in the seasoning mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Set aside.
- 5. Cook the vegan chicken (pictured): Heat olive oil in a pan, add vegan chicken, and season it with salt and pepper. Add turmeric, carrots, vinegar, 1 cup of water and vegan chicken bouillon cube (if using jackfruit, add it to this mixture). Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from heat.
- Make the zereshk topping: Grind the saffron threads, if using, in a mortar and pestle. Then bloom the saffron by combining it with 3 tablespoon of hot water. Heat butter in a sauce pan over medium-low heat and add barberries. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently to prevent them from burning. Add 1 cup of cooked rice and bloomed saffron and cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
- Plate the zereshk polo: Plate the basmati rice on a platter. Top it down the center with a strip of the zereshk topping. Arrange the vegan chicken and potato tahdig over the platter and enjoy!
💡RECIPE TIPS
- If using jackfruit, remove the large seeds: To improve the texture of the jackfruit, remove the large large seeds prior to baking.
- Substitutions for dried barberries: If you are unable to track down dried barberries, you can substitute dried cranberries. Dried cranberries are a tad sweeter than barberries, but will do in a pinch.
Love,
Mani
Did you make our Vegan Persian Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh?
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💕 MORE PERSIAN RECIPES:
👩🏽🍳 RECIPE
Vegan Persian Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh
Ingredients
- 3 cups basmati rice
- 1 ⅓ cup water divided (plus more to soak rice)
- 3 tablespoon salt plus more to taste
- 3 tablespoon vegan butter divided
- 1 small Russet potato peeled and sliced into ⅓-inch discs
- 2 8-oz packages of vegan chicken (our favorite brands are Sweet Earth, Tofurky, and Ozo) or substitute 14-oz cans of young green jackfruit, drained. If using jackfruit, you'll also need 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 carrots peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 vegan chicken bouillon cube we used the Edward & Sons brand, but you could substitute 1 teaspoon of the Better Than Bouillon jarred bouillon.
- ⅓ cup zereshk, aka dried barberries thoroughly rinsed. (Or you can substitute finely chopped cranberries).
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads ground in a mortar & pestle or substitute ¼ teaspoon pre-ground saffron bloomed in 3 tablespoon hot water. Alternatively, you could use 1 tablespoon liquid saffron.
Instructions
- Prepare the rice: Rinse rice until water is clear. Add rice to a large bowl and add enough water to cover the rice by 2 inches. Mix in 3 tablespoon of salt. Cover and soak rice for at least 20 minutes (The longer the better).
- Parboil the rice: Bring a pot of water to boil. Then drain the rice, add to boiling water, and parboil for 3 minutes. You want the rice to be al dente (but not fully cooked). Drain the rice and set aside.
- Cook the rice: Heat 2 tablespoon butter over medium heat in the same pot. Arrange sliced potatoes in one layer over the bottom of the pot. Add ⅓ cup water to the pot. Layer the rice over the potatoes, making sure it’s evenly distributed. Tear off enough paper towel sheets to create a double layer of coverage over the pot. Place the paper towels over the pot, and secure the lid tightly over the paper towels. Depending on the strength of your burner, reduce heat to low or medium-low (our burner is weak, so we reduce to medium-low). Cook at least 1 hour. The potatoes at the bottom of the pot will form a crispy bottom called a tahdigIf using jackfruit, continue to Step 4. If using vegan chicken, skip to Step 5.
- Cook the jackfruit: Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Whisk 1 tablespoon olive oil with poultry seasoning and a pinch of salt & pepper. Remove seeds from and slice jackfruit. Toss jackfruit evenly in the seasoning mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Set aside.
- Cook the vegan chicken: Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add vegan chicken, season with a pinch each of salt and black pepper, and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add turmeric, carrots, vinegar, vegan chicken bouillon cube, and 1 cup water. (If using jackfruit, add it to this mixture). Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. Remove from heat.
- Make the zereshk topping: In a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon butter on medium-low heat. If using saffron threads, finely grind in a mortal and pestle. If you don't have one, finely grind the threads between your fingers. Then bloom the saffron: Combine ground saffron in a bowl with 3 tablespoon hot water. Add barberries to the saucepan, and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently to prevent them from burning. The barberries with rehydrate and plump up. Then add 1 cup of cooked rice and bloomed saffron, and cook until the rice has absorbed the liquids (about 1 minute). Then remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Plate the zereshk polo: Plate the basmati rice on a platter. Top it down the center with a strip of the zereshk topping. Arrange the vegan chicken or jackfruit and potato tahdig over the platter and enjoy!
Notes
- If using jackfruit, remove the large seeds: To improve the texture of the jackfruit, remove the large large seeds prior to baking.
- Substitutions for dried barberries: If you are unable to track down dried barberries, you can substitute dried cranberries. Dried cranberries are a tad sweeter than barberries, but will do in a pinch.
Mom’s recipes are always the best recipes. Totally making this.
Just like maman used to make. Thanks for sharing.
This was perfection. I loved the Tofurky chick’n in this.