Persian Rice with Yogurt Sauce and Caramelized Barberry Berries

Summary

Ingredients

• 250 g basmati rice
• 400 ml water (1.5 times the volume rice)
• 2 ½ tablespoon butter
• 4 tablespoon sugar
• 10 threads saffron
• 250 g yourt, Greek
• 1 cup barberries (berries)
• 0.5 ½ cucumber (s), pitted and diced
• 0.5 ½ bunch mint, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dill tips, chopped, fresh, alternatively dried
• 2 tablespoon raisins
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• some lemon zest (2 good pinches)
• Pepper from the mill
• salt

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Instructions

1. Wash the rice gently, measure with a liter measure and put in a saucepan. Now add 1.5 times the amount of water, a little salt and 1 teaspoon of butter. Boil it up once and let it steep for about 10 minutes, do not stir until the water has boiled off and the rice is soft.
2. Soak the barberries and raisins in a bowl with lukewarm water and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Grind the saffron threads in a small bowl and dissolve in 2 tablespoons of water. Quarter the cucumber lengthways, core and cut into small cubes.
3. Mix the yogurt with the cucumber, mint, raisins, lemon - juice and zest - and dill. Season with salt and pepper. Contrary to the original recipe, we still put a good amount of chilli in it, but that is a matter of taste and is not eaten like this in Iran.
4. After the rice is ready, put it aside to evaporate, clamp a kitchen towel between the lid and the pot and let it stand for 10 minutes.
5. Heat 2 tablespoon butter in the pan, add the drained barberries and heat briefly. Now add the sugar and let it caramelize. Make sure it doesn`t get too dark, it`s bitter. If you are unsure, simply add 2 - 3 tablespoons of water and it will slowly evaporate.
6. Turn the rice out onto a platter, drizzle with the saffron and spread the barberries on top. Garnish with the yogurt and a few mint leaves.