Vegan lubia polo (Persian green bean rice) is one of my favorite Persian dishes, I would say it is in the top five for me. I had this recipe on my mind for a while and I wanted to share and show how easy, quick and delicious the vegan version can be.
Before I get into more details, let me give you bit of background on this amazing dish which is very popular in Iran. Lubia’ means green bean and polo is a classic style of Persian rice preparation that is usually cooked with long grain basmati rice.
Vegan lubia polo (Persian green bean rice) is a classic comfort food, that is served as main dish, and you will often see it in family gatherings and events because of its popularity. It is typically cooked with red meat but this will be the vegan version and I will be replacing the meat with textured vegetable protein (TVP).
For this recipe we will need some of the most popular Persian ingredients such as saffron, rose water and cinnamon. If you use good quality ingredients this dish will taste like heaven. There is something about this combination that creates this absolutely magnificent taste.
Some side note, I usually use less rice and more protein and vegetables purely because I’m watching my carb intake, so if you like to do that, just half the rice measurement in the recipe. By the way TVP is a very rich source of plant based protein, and it provides almost 52 grams of protein, which is absolutely amazing !!
Also, one other tip, please try to use fresh green beans if possible, some use frozen or canned beans. If you absolutely have to, do it, but I personally wouldn’t do it or recommend doing it.
So let’s get into the exciting ingredients part ..
What we will need:
– 2 cups long grain basmati rice
– 500- 600 grams fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into small pieces
-2 cups of TVP (textured vegetable protein)
– 1 large onion, diced
-3 tbsp tomato paste
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– Turmeric 2 tsp
– Ground cinnamon 2 tsp
– Salt 2 tsp
– Black pepper 1 tsp
– Cinnamon 3 tsp
-1/2 tsp saffron
– Rose water 2 tbsp
Instruction to make Vegan lubia polo (Persian green bean rice)
RICE: Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes, then drain it.
TVP: Soak the TVP for 20 minutes then drain
GREEN BEANS: thoroughly wash the beans and cut them into 3 cm pieces
1. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and add the chopped onion and sauté for few minutes until translucent.
2. As mentioned before, we are going to use TVP instead of meat. Add the drained TVP to the pan and let it cook with the onions for few minutes. Add the green beans, stir with the onions and TVP and let them cook for another 6-7 minutes.
3. Now its time for the spices! add the salt, turmeric, cinnamon, and pepper. Cook for 3-4 more minutes to toast the spices. Mix the tomato paste with 2 cups of water and add in and let everything cook together for at least 15 minutes. After 15 minutes check the beans, they need to be soft but not too soft.
Blooming the saffron: Place 1 ice cube in a small bowl and sprinkle ground saffron on top of the ice cubes and let it sit in room temperature until the ice is fully melted.
RICE:
1. In a large pot, bring 2 cups of water and some salt to a boil. Add the drained rice and parboil for 5-7 minutes until they become softer, we want them parboiled.
2- In a large pot add olive oil on medium heat and pour some of that bloomed saffron on the bottom of the pot (you can add either bread or potato tahdig if you desire) and add a layer of plain rice and on top of that the green bean mixture, we will have to repeat the layers until it is all finished.
Pro tip:
Cook over low heat for 30-35 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked through. If you have tahdig, flip the pot and serve it like that.
By the way, this dish is served with Persian Shirazi salad, fresh herbs and masto khiar (which is cucumber with yogurt, I would obviously use vegan yogurt and will add some mint and sea salt on it)
I love that by making small changes in our favorite recipes, we can easily make them vegan and and cruelty free and enjoy it with your loved ones x