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Title: Polo Shabati (Pilau for the Sabbath)
Categories: Beef Jewish Afghan
Yield: 6 Servings
| 5 | c | Water, WITH 1 tb salt |
| 2 | lb | Boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-in pcs |
| 3 | c | Raw rice, well rinsed |
| 2 | lg | (abt 3/4 lb) potatoes, peeled & cut into 1/4-in thick slices |
| 1/2 | ts | To 1 ts pepper, to taste |
| 1 | tb | Ground cinnamon |
| 1/2 | c | Light or dark raisins, rinsed under cold water |
| 1 | c | Water, hot |
| 1/2 | c | Corn oil |
Afghans, like families in all other Jewish communities, serve their Sabbath day lunch abt midday on their return from synagogue. The food is baked very slowly from Friday evening before sundown until Saturday. Slow baking in a light oil bath creates potatoes & rice w/ crisp bottom crust. Aromatically seasoned w/cinnamon, raisin, and pepper, entire meal is cooked in one pan. As an alternate choice to meat, eggs in shell may be added to pan & baked, resulting in brown eggs w/a delicious roasted flavor.
1. Bring 5 cups of water w/1 tb salt to a boil in pan, add meat, & cook over moderate heat for mins. Remove foam that rises during this time. Remove meat from liquid & set aside.
2. Add rice to same liquid & cook over moderate heat for 5 mins. Drain rice through a colander, rinse under cold water, & set aside.
3.Put sliced potatoes on bottom of pan, arranged in orderly fashion. Spread over this half of rice & sprinkle w/pepper & cinnamon. Spread raisins in center of rice. Add all meat over this & balance of rice over all. Pour in cup of hot water & dribble oil over surface & around edges of pan.
4.Cover pan & cook over low heat for 1/2 hr. Reduce heat to very low & cook, tightly covered, for 5 hrs to produce crisp potatoes & rice. Serve warm.
VARIATION: One hard-cooked egg for each person may be added to rice and meat pan. Cook eggs in water w/1/2 ts salt for 5 mins. Salt is added to prevent shell from breaking. Rinse eggs in cold water & place them on top of rice in pan after adding hot water & oil. Cover pan & cook as directed.
NOTE: Rice is not a prohibited food & is eaten during Passover as well as rest of year. It is Basmati rice, found in Pakistan and Afghanistan, & is cleaned by hand three times to remove broken kernels, dirt & other impurities. This, in a general way, prepares rice for the holiday.
Recipe: "Sephardic Cooking" by Copeland Mark -- 600 Recipes Created in Exotic Sephardic Kitchens from Morocco to India -- Copyright 1992 Published by Donald I. Fine, Inc., New York, N.Y. D. Pileggi
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