Qaubuli Palau (Yellow Rice With Carrots and Ground Beef)

UmmBinat's Note:

ZWT6 Asia. Afghanistan's national dish

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb basmati rice
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions , chopped
• 1 ½ lbs ground beef
• salt
• pepper
• 2 large carrots
• ¼ cup raisins
• 2 teaspoons garam masala (Baharat Spice Blend) or 2 teaspoons bahrat mixed spice (Baharat Spice Blend)
• ¼ teaspoon saffron

Directions:

1. Rinse the rice several times in cold water until the water runs clear. Add fresh water and leave the rice to soak for at least half an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 325.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan and add the onions; stir and cook until brown. Remove the onions and set them aside.
4. Add ground beef to the hot oil. Brown the meat. Add one cup of water and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer until the meat is tender. After the meat is cooked, remove it from the broth and set it on a plate.
5. Grind the onions to a pulp and add them to the meat broth.
6. Wash and peel the carrots and cut into pieces the size of matchsticks. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small pan and add the carrots. Cook gently until the carrots are lightly browned and tender (adding a little water, which will evaporate during cooking). Add the raisins and cook gently until they begin to swell. Remove the raisins and carrots from oil.
7. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a pot and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the rinsed rice to the boiling water. Parboil for 2 to 3 minutes, then drain in a large sieve.
8. Pour the rice into a large casserole and sprinkle with garam masala and saffron.
9. Measure ¾ cup of the reserved meat juices and pour over the rice, stirring once. Place the cooked meat on one side of the pan and the carrots and raisins on the other adding the reserved oil cook for 25 minutes in the preheated oven.
10. To serve, remove the carrots and raisins and set aside. Place the rice on a serving platter. Top the rice with the meat, then garnish with the carrots and raisins.

Reviews

[swissms]

Nice, flavorful dish. Loved the rice and the carrots. The ground beef needed a little flavor. Next time I may add some additional browned onions directly in with the meat. I had a little trouble as I was preparing the dish because step 2 stated to preheat the oven to 325 F but nowhere in the remaining directions did it state to put anything into the oven. However, I quickly did a search online and found the same recipe with baking instructions at http://www.embassyofafghanistan.org/recipes.html . So, in step 9, I poured the reserved juice over the rice; then for ease I just spread the ground beef evenly over the top of the rice and then sprinkled the shredded carrots over the top of the ground beef; I then covered my baking dish with foil and baked for 40 minutes. Thank you for posting! We enjoyed the meal. Made for Every Day is a Holiday tag.

[Annacia]

Delicious, love the seasonings. Is the onion supposed to vanish? Mine did but it left the flavor behind. I grated it with the fine blade since the recipe wanted pulp, I got pulp alright, lol. The flavors come out mild so the whole family should enjoy this. It's not difficult to put together and is a treat that you don't have every day in North America :D

[Leah's Kitchen]

I thought this dish was pretty good. It definitely has a lot of flavor and yet is simple at the same time. The onion flavor especially if you brown them well is excellent. The only thing I wished I would've done was add raisins, that would've made it especially delicious, but unfortunately I couldn't find any in our cupboards. I wasn't able to add saffron which I am sure would have added a lot to the dish that I am unaware of. I can't wait to make this again with raisins and if I can afford it saffron. :) Other than that though it was a great lunch that we all enjoyed. Thanks for posting! Made for Ramadan Tag 2010