The Spiced Life

Musings & Recipes From My Kitchen

  • Home
  • About Me
  • FAQ
  • Dishes By Region
  • Archive and Index
  • Creative Cookie Exchange
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / beans / Persian Rice and Beans with Pickled Red Onions and Fried Eggs, Sunny Side Up

Persian Rice and Beans with Pickled Red Onions and Fried Eggs, Sunny Side Up

October 14, 2012 By Laura 8 Comments

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Yummly
  • Twitter
  • Email
Jump to Recipe  ↓ Print Recipe  ❒

Persian Rice and Beans with pickled red onions and fried eggs

I am becoming more and more obsessed with eggs. Which is weird, because in my previous, not obsessed with eggs life, I did not really even like eggs. Except after a night of too much drinking–then for some reason I craved scrambled eggs. Go figure. But I digress. The point being I never used to care about eggs and now I seem to want them with everything. 

First there was my discovery of all of the amazing ways one can enjoy scrambled eggs in Mexican cuisine, starting with the huevos con chorizo we ate at our favorite Mexican taqueria in Cleveland and leading eventually to scrambled eggs with chilaquiles. Then I had hard boiled eggs with haroset at a traditional Passover dinner. Then came fried eggs, on chilaquiles, on stir fried Balinese noodles, on Thai fried rice… But was frying them enough? Oh no, my friends, then I had to try cooking the egg into the dish, as in this Middle Eastern dish and this Moroccan Kefta Tagine.

Folks, I’ve become obsessed. The single most consumed lunch at my house over the last year is an entire onion, caramelized in extra virgin olive oil, with eggs fried on top of it. Always with a runny yolk. Just today at lunch I tried adding even more veggies (zucchini, garlic, tomatoes and kale) and sprinkling it with chaat masala. I’m sighing just thinking of it. Sammy ate the whole dish and never even noticed the kale (Alex did of course, although she just ate around it). I don’t know how or why, considering I never ate fried eggs as a kid, but suddenly eggs, especially fried eggs, are comfort food to me. And as a bonus? They are fantastic for you and even more fantastic for your growing kids. Forget about that crazy cholesterol paranoia from the 80s. There is more nutrition packed into that egg than any other source of protein you could choose. And as an extra bonus, when you mix that runny yolk into your dish it makes the whole thing pure magic.

Persian Rice and Beans with pickled red onions

This dish was no exception. It would never have occurred to me to add fried eggs to the dish except for the fact that the actual recipe required it. The dish without the eggs, pictured above, was good. But it was just good. Adding that egg turned this into comfort food magic. The other magic ingredient? The dates. I wrote the recipe below with the amount of dried fruit the traditional recipe calls for, but I won’t tell if you add more dates.  (Full disclosure: both my kids disliked this dish and I never could figure out why. John and I loved it and so did my friend Donna and her family, who took home half the dish after Donna and I made it together one afternoon.)

Caramelizing onions for Persian dish

At its heart and soul this is a traditional dish. But I did make 2 major adaptations. The first, and more simple adaptation, is that I cut the fat in half. Just call me a brainwashed American, but I could not make myself use 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of ghee (and you guys thought I was totally hedonistic, didn’t you?). So I cut them in half and was perfectly happy, but double them if you want.

Persian Rice and Beans in Le Creuset French oven

My second adaptation was more significant. It is not often that I give up at mastering a (cooking/baking) technique, but cooking rice with protein and vegetables is one of them. In my experience different batches of legumes and rice need different amount of water, and different vegetables and aromatics release different quantities of liquid, and I am tired of my traditional rice dishes coming out either crunchy or mushy. I don’t know what magic these other cooks have, but without fail it always fails for me. Now my favorite way of cooking basmati rice is to boil it anyway, boil it and then steam it, so I have a developed a method of cooking the rice and beans separately and then mixing it all together before the steaming stage for the rice. Less flavor? Probably yes. Perfectly fluffy and cooked through? Every time.

Persian Rice and Beans with pickled red onions and fried eggs, sunny side up

Persian Rice and Beans with pickled red onions and fried eggs, sunny side up
Print
Persian Rice and Beans with Pickled Red Onions and Fried Eggs, Sunny Side Up
Adapted from New Food of Life, Najmieh Batmanglij
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Persian
Keyword: beans, eggs, red onions, rice
Author: TheSpicedLife
Ingredients
For rice:
  • 3 cups Basmati rice
For beans:
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 t ghee
  • 1/2 t turmeric
  • 2 cups large dried beans traditionally would be made with skinned fava beans, see note below*
  • 1 t salt
For dish:
  • Rice from above
  • Beans from above
  • 3 large onions thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
  • 3 medium zucchini sliced into half-rounds, optional
  • 2 1/2 t turmeric
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 t Ceylon cinnamon
  • 1 heaping t advieh
  • 1/4 cup ghee melted
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup pitted and sliced dates
For garnish:
  • fried eggs sunny side up
  • pickled red onions
  • more advieh for sprinkling onto dish, optional
Instructions
  1. Begin by soaking the beans, preferably overnight. Then cover them with water by 2 inches in a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of ghee, a small onion, chopped, and 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric. Let boil for 5 minutes and then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Make sure the beans remain covered by 2 inches of water. When the beans are barely tender, add 1 teaspoon of salt. Let cook until the beans are the desired texture (some people like softer, some like firmer, that is up to you). Drain and set aside.
  2. Place a pot of salted water on the cook top to bring to a boil for the rice. Preheat the oven to 300 F.
  3. Heat a large, heavy pot such as a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the grapeseed oil. When it is shimmering, add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelizing and browned. Add water if necessary to prevent scorching. Add the zucchini, if using, toward the end of this.
  4. While the onions are cooking, prepare the rice. Add the 3 cups of rice to boiling salted water. Cook for about 5-6 minutes, until the rice is firm, but no longer crunchy. Drain the rice.
  5. In the meantime, add the 2 1/2 teaspoons of turmeric to the caramelizing onions and stir to cook off any raw taste. Add more salt and pepper, to taste. Add the advieh and cinnamon and stir to roast the spices. Add the drained rice and drained beans and stir to completely incorporated. Mix in the raisins and sliced dates (I won't tell if you want to add more dates!).
  6. Drizzle the melted ghee over the rice mixture. Cover with a heavy lid and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 20 minutes.
  7. Serve with pickled red onions and fried eggs with a soft yolk--don't skip the eggs as they really make the dish. Sprinkle with more advieh if desired.
  8. *When fava beans are called for, I like to substitute with a "local" (i.e., domestic) large heirloom bean, such as Rancho Gordo's Christmas Limas

 

 

Filed Under: beans, dried fruit, eggs, Middle Eastern dishes, Persian, rice, vegetarian Tagged With: advieh, beans, Chestnut lima, dried Christmas Lima beans, eggs, fried eggs, Iranian, legumes, Persian, rice

« Pistachio and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Gingerbread Pancakes »

Comments

  1. Joanne says

    October 14, 2012 at 9:22 am

    I’ve never really been an egg person either but in the past year or so if I see anything topped with a fried egg…I want it. Immediately. This is no exception.

    And I saw a study that came out this week that showed that eating egg yolks actually lowers your cholesterol more than eating egg substitute (like egg beaters). So there is definitely SOMETHING in there that is super good and nutritious!

    Reply
  2. Betty Ann @Mango_Queen says

    October 15, 2012 at 9:14 am

    Oh my your persian rice and beans with fried eggs on top are definitely MORE delish than my ordinary buttered garlic rice. This is fantastic. I can eat this everyday! Thanks for the blog visit, Laura. Like minds think alike! And when you’re up to it, I make our own skinless pork sausages in large batches. My kids love the ‘sweet-salty’ flavors. Other Filipino food bloggers add sausage casings. I don’t because my sons remove it anyway. Here’s a link in case you’d like to try : http://asianinamericamag.com/2011/12/skinless-longaniza-filipino-pork-cured-sausages/

    Reply
  3. Jeanette says

    October 15, 2012 at 8:14 pm

    This combination of rice, beans and eggs sounds so good – I love all the flavorings!

    Reply
  4. Sydney @ Crepes of Wrath says

    October 16, 2012 at 10:53 am

    I want to just dig a spoon deep into that photo of the pot almost overfilled with that delicious looking rice. I agree – egg yolk is nature’s perfect sauce, perfect food, perfect everything. My husband and I eat some kind of egg dish at least 2-3 times a week, be it for breakfast or dinner. There is no savory dish that isn’t vastly improved by a fried egg!

    Reply
  5. Matt mmWine Horbund says

    October 16, 2012 at 11:56 am

    I like the twist on eggs in this recipe!

    Reply
  6. Jackie @ Domestic Fits says

    October 17, 2012 at 1:18 pm

    More people need to add fried eggs to rice! Perfect combo. Plus yolks are natures perfect sauce. It’s science.

    Reply
  7. A Couple in the Kitchen says

    October 18, 2012 at 10:33 am

    Love that combo! Bet that runny yolk packs a bunch of tastiness into the rest of the dish.

    Reply
  8. dassana says

    October 30, 2012 at 4:27 pm

    beans and rice is a lovely combo. i agree that half a cup oil and half cup ghee is too much. would be for me too.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Instagram
Enter your email here and never miss a post!

Popular Posts

  • Restaurant Style Beef Vindaloo
  • Taralli Dolci di Pasqua (Southern Italian Easter Cookies): #CreativeCookieExchange
  • Mexican Ramen Bowl
  • Grandma’s Beef and Noodles
  • New Orleans Style Pain Perdu (French Toast)
  • Saag Gosht (Beef in Fragrant Spinach Sauce)
  • Middle Eastern Scrambled Eggs with Meat and Onion: Review of An Edible Mosaic
  • Moroccan Inspired Couscous Bowl with Ground Beef, Veggies and Caramelized Onions (redux)
  • Goan Influenced Goat Stew in the Slow Cooker
  • North Indian Baked Eggs: Review of Seven Spoons

Copyright © 2008–2023 The Spiced Life