How to Make Loobia Polo: Persian Green Bean & Meat Rice

What is loobia polo?

Loobia polo (Persian: لوبیا پلو) is one of Iran's most-loved weeknight rice dishes: chopped green beans and spiced minced lamb or beef cooked down with tomato and warm cinnamon, then folded through fluffy basmati rice and steamed together until the flavours marry. The name simply means green bean rice — loobia sabz is the green bean, polo is the pilaf. It is comfort food in the truest sense: a single fragrant pot that feeds a family, finished with a golden, crunchy tahdig at the bottom. Unlike a dish that simmers for hours, such as kalle pache, loobia polo is a home cook's everyday standby, and this guide walks you through it from the pan to the plate.

How long does loobia polo take, and is it hard?

Honesty first: loobia polo is not difficult, but it is not a fifteen-minute meal either. The meat-and-bean filling takes about 35 to 40 minutes on the stove, the rice needs a short soak and a parboil, and the final steam — the step that makes Persian rice special — is another 45 minutes or so. Budget around 1 hour 45 minutes from start to finish, most of it hands-off. The only real skill is judging the rice: parboiling it to the right point and steaming it gently so the grains stay separate and a crust forms underneath. Get that rhythm once and you will make it again and again. You need a heavy non-stick pot with a well-fitting lid, and a clean tea towel to wrap the lid during steaming.

What ingredients do you need for loobia polo?

This serves four to five people generously.

• 2 cups (about 400 g) basmati rice
• 400 g green beans, topped, tailed and cut into 2 cm pieces
• 400 g minced lamb or beef (halal)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 ripe tomatoes, grated (or 200 g chopped tinned tomatoes)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus a knob of butter
• A generous pinch of saffron, ground and steeped in 2 tablespoons hot water
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the tahdig: 1 medium potato, thinly sliced (or 1 sheet of lavash bread, or plain reserved rice)

How do you make loobia polo step by step?

1. Rinse the rice in cool water until it runs clear, then soak it in plenty of water with 1 tablespoon of salt for at least 30 minutes (an hour is better).
2. Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wide pan and fry the onion over medium heat until soft and golden, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and turmeric and stir for 30 seconds.
3. Turn the heat up, add the minced meat and brown it well, breaking up any lumps. Season with salt, pepper and the cinnamon.
4. Add the green beans and stir for 3 to 4 minutes so they take on colour. Stir in the tomato paste and fry for 2 minutes until it darkens, then add the grated tomatoes.
5. Pour in about half a cup of water, cover, and simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, until the beans are tender and the mixture is thick and almost dry. Taste, adjust the seasoning, then set aside.
6. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Drain the rice and tip it in. Boil, uncovered, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the grains are soft on the outside but still firm in the centre. Drain in a sieve and rinse briefly with lukewarm water.
7. Gently fold about two-thirds of the parboiled rice through the bean-and-meat filling in a bowl, keeping the rest of the rice plain.
8. Wipe the pot dry, add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat it. For the tahdig, lay the potato slices in a single layer over the base, or spread a thin layer of the plain rice.
9. Spoon the mixed rice on top, mounding it into a loose pyramid so steam can circulate. Poke four or five holes down to the base with the handle of a wooden spoon.
10. Drizzle over the saffron water, dot with butter, and pour 2 tablespoons of water down the sides. Wrap the lid in a clean tea towel, cover tightly, and cook on medium for 8 to 10 minutes to build the crust.
11. Turn the heat to low and steam for a further 35 to 40 minutes. Do not lift the lid.
12. Rest the pot off the heat for 5 minutes, then either scoop the rice onto a platter and lift out the tahdig, or invert the whole pot onto a large plate for a dramatic golden crust on top.

How do you get a crispy tahdig every time?

Tahdig — literally bottom of the pot — is the crisp, golden layer everyone fights over. The rules are simple but strict. Start with enough oil so the base is properly coated, and give the pot a burst of higher heat at the start to set the crust before dropping to low. Wrapping the lid in a towel is not optional: it traps the steam that cooks the rice through while the base crisps. Choose your tahdig base to suit your mood.

What can go wrong, and how do you fix it?

If your rice turns out mushy, you almost certainly over-boiled it at the parboil stage — pull it a minute earlier next time, while the centre still has bite. If the tahdig sticks or burns, your heat was too high for too long, or there was not enough oil; a splash more oil and a steadier low flame solve it. If the beans are still squeaky, they needed longer in the filling before you combined everything, so let them simmer until properly tender. And if the whole dish tastes flat, it is usually under-salted — Persian rice needs confident seasoning at both the boiling and the filling stages.

What do you serve with loobia polo?

Loobia polo is a complete meal on its own, but it loves a few classic partners. A bowl of cold, salty doogh cuts the richness, a spoonful of mixed torshi adds a sharp pickled edge, and a simple shirazi salad of diced cucumber, tomato and onion brings freshness. Many families serve it with a little plain yogurt on the side. It also reheats beautifully, so leftovers make an excellent lunch the next day.

Prefer a slow-cooked Tehran meal without the cooking?

Loobia polo is a wonderful dish to master at home, and we hope this recipe earns a place in your kitchen. But some Persian dishes are all about the long, patient simmer — and those are the ones you might rather leave to us. At Shaun the Sheep, our one kitchen at 64 Jumeira Street in Jumeirah 1 specialises in Tehran-style kalle pache and a proper abgoosht (dizi), slow-cooked around the clock and delivered across Dubai, free over AED 300. When you want that deep, all-night-simmered comfort without minding a pot yourself, browse the menu and order page, or reserve a table to eat in. Cook the loobia polo; let us handle the long simmer.