Sour little red berries called barberries (zereshk in Persian) and yogurt give this chicken-and-rice dish an exciting flavor and texture. The woman who wrote out this recipe for me more than thirty years ago added a comment that it was the most famous and traditional of Iranian dishes.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　2 cups basmati rice

　　2 whole chicken breasts, boned and skinned

　　6 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil

　　Salt and pepper

　　1 1/2 cups yogurt

　　1 egg, lightly beaten

　　1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron or crushed saffron threads

　　1/3 cup dried barberries

　　

Step 1

Wash the rice in warm water and rinse in a colander under the cold water tap.

　　

Step 2

Sauté the chicken pieces in 2 tablespoons of the butter or oil until tender, adding salt and pepper and turning them over once. Then cut each piece into 6 slices.

　　

Step 3

Mix the yogurt and the egg in a large bowl. The egg prevents the yogurt from curdling. Add salt and pepper and the saffron mixed with 2 tablespoons boiling water. Beat well. Put the pieces of chicken in, and turn them so that they are well coated with the mixture. Then lift them out onto a plate.

　　

Step 4

In a large (9–10-inch), heavy-bottomed, preferably nonstick pan, boil the rice in plenty of salted water for about 10 minutes, until it is still a little underdone, then drain quickly. Mix half the rice with the yogurt mixture.

　　

Step 5

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter or oil in the bottom of the pan. Cover the bottom and sides with the rice-and-yogurt mixture to form a kind of inner mold. Put a layer of chicken pieces in this mold, sprinkle with a few barberries, and cover with a layer of plain rice. Repeat, making sure that there is always the wall of yogurt-and-rice mixture on the sides, until the ingredients are finished. Using a piece of plastic wrap, press gently down all over. Put the lid on and cook for about 30 minutes on very low heat.

　　

Step 6

To serve, turn out onto a serving platter. If the sides are not detached from the pan, cut around them with a pointed knife. The outside should be a crisp brown crust, and the beautiful yellow and white layered inside crumbly. If you are not using a nonstick pan, dipping the bottom into cold water will help you to turn out the rice.

　　

Variation:

Step 7

You can use a nonstick oven dish or pot and bake the layered rice, covered, in a preheated 350°F oven for 1–1 1/2 hours.

　　The New Book of Middle Eastern Food Copyright © 2000Knopf