Advieh

It is two different blends, and the one for rice goes on after the rice is cooked.

Vegan.

Ingredients

for rice

• 3 tablespoons dried rose petals or rosebuds
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

for stews

• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried rosebuds, ground
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Method

1. IT IS TWO DIFFERENT BLENDS, AND THE ONE FOR RICE GOES ON AFTER THE RICE IS COOKED. Its article sets out both. Advieh-e polo is for rice dishes and is usually sprinkled over the rice once it has been cooked; advieh-e khoresh is for stews, or as a rub for grilled and roasted meat. They are not interchangeable and the difference is not only the ingredients: a blend led by rose and cardamom, scattered on at the end, is a perfume, and most of it would be lost if it were simmered for two hours. The stew blend is built to survive that, with turmeric, clove and pepper in it.
2. ROSE IS THE ONE THAT MAKES IT RECOGNISABLE. Dried rose petals or rosebuds, which its article names in both blends. It is the ingredient that stops the mixture being a generic warm spice blend, and in the rice version it is the largest component by volume.
3. THE SPICES ARE GROUND FRESH FROM WHOLE WHERE YOU CAN. Cardamom pods, cumin and coriander seed and cloves toasted briefly in a dry pan until they smell, cooled, then ground. Pre-ground spice has lost most of its oil and the blend tastes dusty instead of aromatic.
4. THE ROSEBUDS ARE GROUND SEPARATELY AND SIEVED. They are papery rather than hard and they will not break down alongside seeds. Grind them alone, then push them through a sieve to leave the fibrous bits behind.
5. NOTHING IS TOASTED TWICE. Turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper go in already ground and untoasted -- turmeric in particular turns bitter in a hot dry pan.
6. THE COMPOSITION VARIES AND ITS ARTICLE SAYS SO. It lists turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, rose, cumin and ginger as common, with golpar, saffron, nutmeg, black pepper, mace, coriander or sesame also appearing, and notes the mixture differs from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian. So the two lists above are a working pair rather than a canonical recipe.
7. IT IS KEPT IN THE DARK AND MADE IN SMALL BATCHES. A sealed jar away from the light, and six weeks is about as long as it is worth keeping. Ground spice fades, and a blend whose whole job is aroma fades noticeably.
8. THE STEW BLEND ALSO WORKS AS A RUB. Its article says so -- for grilled or roasted meats. Mixed with a little oil and salt it goes onto lamb an hour before it is cooked.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Iran · All recipes