Loobia Polo — Green Bean Rice with Ground Beef

Ingredients

• 10 oz Ground Beef
• 3 cups Green Beans, cut in 1-inch lengths
• 1½ cups basmati rice, rinsed and soaked 30 minutes
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• Pinch saffron in 2 tbsp hot water
• 4 tbsp oil or butter, divided
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Cook the onion in 2 tbsp oil until soft, add the turmeric and Ground Beef, and brown well. Stir in the tomato paste and cinnamon and fry 3 minutes until the paste deepens to brick.
2. Add the Green Beans and ½ cup water, cover, and cook 12 minutes until the beans are tender but not olive-drab. Season firmly — this mixture seasons the whole pot of rice.
3. Parboil the drained rice in heavily salted water 5 minutes, until the grains bend but resist at the core. Drain.
4. Layer rice and the bean mixture alternately in a nonstick pot slicked with the remaining oil and 2 tbsp water, starting and ending with rice. Poke steam holes down to the base.
5. Wrap the lid in a towel and steam on the lowest heat 35–40 minutes. Drizzle the saffron water over before serving, and fight fairly over the crisp tahdig at the bottom.