Bagani Pulao - rice with broad beans and dill

The other day I saw some fresh broad beans at my green grocer. I have only ever used them to make a persian rice dish with dill called 'Bagani Pulao', and since I have a abundance of dill in my garden right now, I decided to buy some. While I was taking the beans out of the pods, I realised that I had not bought enough. In the past I have only used frozen broad beans so my calculations regarding the yield of fresh broad beans were a bit off :) but I decided to go ahead and make the dish anyway. I just reduced the amount of rice I used and as always it turned out delicious so I decided to share the recipe here, but I have adjusted the quantities to serve four.

You will need:

2 cups of long grain rice rinsed and soaked for 20 minutes (I have used aged basmati rice)
1 pack of frozen broad beans or 1 kilo of fresh broad beans in the pods
8-10 spring onions
Large bunch of dill -  about 1.5 cup chopped
A good pinch of saffron
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil.

I start with preparing the broad beans. If using fresh, you need to take the beans out of the pods and place them in boiling water for two minutes and then refresh them by placing them in a bowl of cold water. This helps soften the outer membrane of the beans, which I also remove to reveal little plumb, green beauties. However, If buying frozen you just need to place the beans in room temperature water (as they are already blanched). This allows the beans to thaw and also allows for easy removal of the outer light green membrane. Set the beans aside for now.

In a large sauce pan, boil about 1.5 litres of water. While I wait for the water to boil, I chop the spring onions and dill and soak the saffron in 1 tablespoon of hot water. Once the water is boiling add the the rinsed and soaked rice. Cook the rice on a high heat and rapid boil until it is nearly done. Remove from heat, and drain the rice in a colander. Rinse well with cold water. This removes the excess starch and also stops the rice from overcooking.

Place the empty saucepan back on the heat and add the olive oil, followed by the finely chopped spring onions. Cook for a minute and then add the broad beans. Cook for a further two minutes and add the dill and saffron infused water (along with the saffron strands), followed by the pre cooked rice. Stir gently to combine. Cover with a tight fitting lit. To absorb the excess steam, I wrap a tea towel around the lid. I also place a diffuser or large frying pan under the saucepan to stop the rice from overcooking and catching at the bottom.  Cook the rice for 20-30 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat, fluff up the rice gently and serve in a large platter to be enjoyed family style in the middle of the table.

I often reserve some fresh dill to garnish the dish in the end. Serve warm and enjoy it with vegetarian or meat curries or lentils.