Adas polo is a gorgeous layered saffron rice dish with rice, lentils, and sweet currants. It’s a simple yet scrumptious dish that pairs well with meats like beef and lamb or is enjoyed on its own with a dollop of yogurt.
You will find some families preparing this dish with lamb or meat layered into the rice. However, I grew up with this dish being vegan and enjoyed it as a meal or side dish.
How to make this recipe
Prepare the lentils
Start by bringing 3 cups of water to a boil. Add in the lentils, and simmer them for 15 minutes until tender.
Lentils in advance: Instead of cooking them, my grandmother soaks them in cold water for 2 days. Then, she keeps them portioned out in the freezer so she can skip having to cook them and makes this dish with ease.
Fry the onions
While the lentils are simmering, dice or thinly slice the onion and cook it in 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat.
You should cook them beyond the point where they turn translucent, you want to see them turn brown. This usually takes a good 10-20 minutes. Turn the heat off, and add the cooked onions to the bowl with the washed currants.
If you want to mix it up a little, my grandma always adds about 1/4 teaspoon of cumin to the cooked onion and my mom leaves it out. Try it both ways and see which you prefer!
⭐️ Why Brown the Onions ⭐️
When onions are cooked until brown, it’s called caramelizing them. The natural sugars in the onions thicken to a caramel consistency, giving the onions a richer and deeper flavor.
Par boil the rice
Next, bring about 2/3 a pot of water to boil. Add in 3 tablespoons of salt.
In the meantime, wash your rice 3-5 times with cold water until the water runs clear, meaning you’ve washed the starchiness off the rice.
Add the rice to the now-boiling water and gently stir. Bring the water back up to a boil without the lid. When the rice is al dente, strain it out. You ideally want the rice to still have a little bite, as Persian rice is never served with a mushy texture.
If the rice tastes salty, rinse the rice with cold water. Shake the colander to remove as much water as possible from the cooked rice.
⭐️ Wash the Rice ⭐️
Washing rice is a key step to remove excess starch from the rice, giving you more separated grains and a fluffier final result. I find it helps reduce a mushy final dish.
Bring the Adas Polo together
Adas polo is all about those gorgeous layers! First, add 3 tablespoons of oil to the bottom of a medium to a medium-large pot. Then gently add a third of the drained rice, half of the lentils, half of the currants, and half of the onions.
Next, add another third of the rice, the rest of the lentils, currants, and onions, then the rest of the rice.
Using the back side of a kitchen utensil, make 6 deep holes in the rice. Top the rice with the steeped saffron, then put the lid back on.
Cook over medium heat, watching the dish carefully. When the lid gets foggy (this takes about 3-5 minutes), pour a little oil over the rice – about 2 tablespoons.
Note: If your pot does not have a glass lid that is easy to monitor check for condensation on the top of the lid by lifting it.
Then put the lid back on and turn the heat to the lowest possible setting.
Pro Tip: When steaming rice, I tie a kitchen towel around the lid to help absorb the excess moisture. However, this can be very unsafe because the towel can come undone and catch fire. Please only use the kitchen towel method if you will be keeping a close eye on the pot.
Cook the Adas Polo for 30-45 min from when the oil is poured on top. Fluff the entire rice mixture with a fork to mix it all together. Noushijan!
Related Recipes
Enjoy the incredible variety of Persian recipes with these special Persian rice dishes.
Adas Polo (Persian Lentil Rice)
Print Recipe SaveIngredients
- 1 ½ cups basmati rice
- 1 cup green lentils picked through to remove any rocks
- 1 cup dried currants washed in warm water, or sub. raisins, barberries, or chopped dates
- 1 yellow onion
- 3 tbsp sea salt
- 7 tbsp flavorless oil canola, sunflower seed, vegetable, etc.
- 1 pinch saffron optional, bloomed in 3 tablespoons of hot water*
- water
Instructions
- Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add the lentils, and simmer for 15 minutes until tender***.
- In the meantime, dice or thinly slice the onion, and cook in 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat, beyond the point where they turn translucent. You want them to brown, and this usually takes 10-20 minutes. Turn the heat off and add them to the bowl with the washed currants.
- Bring about 2/3 a pot water of water to boil. Add 3 tablespoons of salt.
- In the meantime, wash rice 5 times with cold to lukewarm water until the water runs clear.
- Add the rice to the boiling water and gently stir. Bring it back to a boil, then remove the lid to keep from overflowing.
- When al dente, strain. Do not overcook! If salty, rinse with cold water. Shake colander to remove as much water as possible.
- Add 3 tbsp of oil in a pot. Then gently add a third of the drained rice, half of the lentils, half of the currants, and half the onions. Then add another third of the rice, the rest of the lentils, currants, and onions, then the rest of the rice.
- Using the back side of a kitchen utensil, make 6 deep holes in the rice, top with the steeped saffron, then put the lid back on. Cook on medium heat, watching it carefully.
- When the lid gets foggy (this takes 3-5 minutes), pour a little oil over the rice – about 2 tbsp. Then put the lid back on** and turn the heat to the lowest possible setting.
- Cook for 30-45 min from when the oil is poured on top.
- Fluff the entire rice mixture with a fork to mix it all together and serve.
Hi Candice, how are you? Thank you for the recipe! I was wondering if you could tell me how to make the rice and addass altogether in one pan !? And how much Rice plus water plus addass am I supposed to put in without sieving it ! To keep the vitamins in?
Thanks!?
Hi Catherine, great question! You can cook them in a way that doesn’t strain the water, but the texture of the rice will not be the same. Instead, it will be mushier and stick together a bit more. If you’re OK with that…
You can add the rice to the lentils after the 15 minutes cooking them. Please make sure the rice is washed really well… it is even more important if using this method. Pour out any water over a 3/4″ over the rice an lentils, and add a tablespoon of oil. Do not add the onions, you will add those at the end if you’re using this method. Bring the water to a boil with the lid on, then remove the lid (before it boils over), stir, reduce heat to the lowest temperature, cover, and cook ~30 minutes. Fluff with a fork, mix in the onions, and serve.
Made this dish for the 1st time. Had some issue with the final stage. My rice didn’t get hot enough to crisp the bottom of the pan. However it didn’t dry out either and stayed hot. Some recipes seemed to cook the rice in the final stage and use a cloth rapped around the lid to absorb excess moisture. Maybe I will try that next time.
Hi Clare, you can use the cooking steps in this recipe for tahdig if you want the crispy bottom… this recipe is meant to be made without the tahdig 🙂
Hi! When cooking adas polo with the soaked and then frozen lentils, you mention they do not need to be cooked for the dish. How do you prepare the dish with the frozen soaked lentils?
Hi Carilyn, Let the lentils defrost, then layer them into the rice starting in step 7. Great question!
I’d never thought about adding currants to rice before, but it was fantastic! Loved this rice and definitely would make again.
I loved making it but I was looking for more of a defined taste, but the end result was sadly bland. Your Grandmother had a good idea in adding the 1/4 tsp of cumin and I want to add an added onion as it would enhance the taste. Served as a side dish to the Gondi I made