Persian-style tofu and rice
This recipe is up by request after last year’s Christmas party. The spices in the “meatballs” really have their own flavor, and tofu’s amazing ability to absorb flavors makes this a worthwhile dish.
Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup bulgur wheat
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 pound tofu, mashed or ground
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 5 tblsp olive oil
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 3 tblsp lemon juice
- 3 tblsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tblsp fresh mint, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Rice
- -
- 1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- Sauce
- -
- 2 tblsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 points yogurt
- 4 tblsp corn starch
- 2 tblsp cold water
- salt to taste
Steps
- In a small bowl, allow the bulgur wheat to soak in the boiling water 1/2 hour. Drain well.
- In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients with the bulgur wheat. Mix well.
- Make 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake 20 minutes in 375 degree oven (just until cooked through).
- Bring rice, water, and salt to a boil. Simmer until tender, about 30 minutes.
- Sauté the onion with the olive oil until tender but not brown.
- Heat yogurt in a small saucepan, to a gentle simmer, stirring regularly.
- Whisk the cornstarch into the heated yogurt and stir until smooth and thickened.
- Add the onion and salt to the yogurt. Set the sauce aside; keep warm.
- Spread the rice flat on a platter or in a serving dish. Arrange the ‘meatballs’ over the rice, pour the sauce over the meatballs, and garnish with additional dill and/or mint.
This is based on Jeff Smith’s “Lamb Meatballs, Persian Style” from The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas. Frankly, I prefer the meatballs version, but this is still a good and an interesting dish.
- The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas
- “What should we prepare for Joseph? Something that a simple man would understand, such as unleavened brown bread cakes.” I picked this book up on the discount table at the Borders in San Francisco.
More rice
- Jerry’s Jambalaya
- This fresh-vegetable jambalaya is a wonderful stew-like mix of spicy vegetables, pork, and chicken. It will definitely brighten up a rainy evening!
- Green rice with corn and tomato
- Except for skinning the peppers, this is an easy rice dish and can be as spicy or mild as you wish.
- Doi bhat: ginger-scented rice
- This is a very lightly-spiced rice dish, very delicate and flavorful, and very easy to make. The most time-consuming part is making the rice.
- Jamaican rice
- Jalapeño, fennel, rosemary, and allspice are among the flavors in this simple rice dish.
More Middle-Eastern
- Persian eggplant stew
- This recipe convinced me not to skin eggplants. I almost never take the skin off of eggplants now; it adds a tangy flavor to the eggplant that it otherwise loses.
- Eggplant hummus
- The smooth, smoky flavor of roasted eggplant mixed with the nutty flavor of chickpeas, it combines baba ghanouj with hummus.
- Rose-water kodafa with pistachio
- Rose-water, saffron, and honey give this oddly light dessert its main flavoring, and the whole thing can be whipped up in under an hour. The use of couscous for the cake portion makes this a surprisingly light dessert.