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Dampokhtak
Turmeric rice with lima beans
دمپختک (dampokhtak): Tehran's turmeric rice with dried lima beans and dill, under fried eggs
Dampokhtak is the humble yellow rice of old Tehran households, cooked on weeknights and loved by students for its cheapness. Rice steams with dried baghali beans (lima or broad beans), turmeric and a little dill, and is topped with fried eggs whose runny yolks become the sauce, with a crisp tahdig underneath. Serve it with torshi, yogurt and salad shirazi. Many cooks soak the rice too long and stir it as it cooks, which turns it gluey; rinse it well and leave it alone once the lid is on. Contains egg. Chef's tip: wrap the lid in a tea towel so the steam can't drip back, which is how Persian rice gets its fluffy grains and crisp base.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz basmati ricerinsed until the water runs clear
- 5 ½ oz dried lima or skinned broad beanssoaked overnight
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 4 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp dried dill
- 2 ¼ cups hot water
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ⅔ oz butter
- 4 eggs
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Drain 5 ½ oz dried lima or skinned broad beans, cover with fresh water and simmer until just tender but not breaking. Drain.
25 minStep 2: Heat 3 tablespoons of 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a non-stick pot over a medium heat and fry 1 onion until golden. Stir in 1 ½ tsp ground turmeric for 30 seconds.
8 minStep 3: Add 10 ½ oz basmati rice, the beans and 2 tbsp dried dill and stir gently for 2 minutes to coat every grain in the yellow oil.
2 minStep 4: Pour in 2 ¼ cups hot water and 1 ½ tsp salt, bring to the boil and cook uncovered over a medium heat until the water has sunk below the surface of the rice and small holes appear.
8 minStep 5: Dot with ⅔ oz butter, wrap the lid in a clean tea towel, cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat until the grains are fluffy and the base has a golden crust.
35 minStep 6: Shortly before serving, fry 4 eggs in the rest of 1 tbsp sunflower oil until the whites are set and the yolks still soft.
4 minStep 7: Spoon the rice onto plates with pieces of tahdig and top each with an egg.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 17 g
- Carbs
- 72 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does dampokhtak take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of basmati rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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