Kalam Polo Shirazi

Ingredients

• 500g basmati rice
• 600g green cabbage
• 400g minced beef or lamb
• 1 small onion, grated
• 50g fresh dill, finely chopped
• 30g fresh tarragon leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp dried summer savory
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp fine salt for the rice water, plus 2 tsp for the meat
• 4 tbsp sour orange juice, or 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp ground saffron
• 60g butter
• 6 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 medium potatoes

Before you cook

• Rinse the rice until the water runs clear and soak it in salted cold water for 45 minutes.
• Quarter and core the cabbage, then shred it into ribbons about 1cm wide.
• Squeeze the liquid from the grated onion and mix it into the mince with 2 teaspoons of salt, half the cinnamon and the black pepper.
• Roll the meat into marble-sized balls, about 30 of them, and chill them.
• Peel the potatoes and slice them into 5mm rounds.
• Bloom the saffron in 4 tablespoons of just-boiled water.

Steps

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat.
2. Fry the meatballs for 6 minutes, rolling them around, until browned all over, then lift them out.
3. Add the shredded cabbage to the same pan with the turmeric.
4. Fry the cabbage for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until it has shrunk right down and taken on golden brown edges.
5. Stir the dill, tarragon, savory and remaining cinnamon into the cabbage and cook for 3 minutes more.
6. Pour the sour orange juice over the cabbage, turn off the heat and taste for salt.
7. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil with 1 tablespoon of salt.
8. Drain the soaked rice and boil it for 5 to 7 minutes, until the grains bend but still resist at the centre, then drain.
9. Wipe the pot, add the remaining oil and set it over medium heat.
10. Lay the potato slices across the base in a single overlapping layer and spoon a little saffron water over them.
11. Add a third of the rice, then half the cabbage mixture and half the meatballs.
12. Repeat with another third of the rice and the rest of the cabbage and meatballs, then finish with the last of the rice in a mound.
13. Poke four steam holes down to the potatoes with a wooden spoon handle.
14. Dot the butter over the surface and spoon the remaining saffron water across it.
15. Wrap the lid in a tea towel, clamp it on and steam over low heat for 50 minutes.
16. Rest the pot on a damp cloth for 5 minutes, then invert it onto a platter so the potato tahdig sits on top.