Zereshk Polo bâ Morgh (Rice with chicken & barberries)

Instructions

1. Wash the rice and soak in water for half an hour, then drain through a sieve.
2. Wash the chicken legs, then add salt and pepper and put in the refrigerator.
3. Boil the rice in salted water for a few minutes until it is al dente (the inside must still be hard), then drain through a sieve.
4. Peel the onion and cut into eighths. Heat some oil in a large, deep skillet and sauté onions until golden brown. Sprinkle with turmeric and place chicken legs on top. Add saffron, pepper and bay leaves and fry hot for 5 minutes with lid closed.
5. Deglaze with 500 ml boiling water, then cover and simmer on low heat for 1 hour.
6. Peel and wash the potatoes and cut them into thin slices (0.2 cm) with a vegetable slicer.
7. Cover the bottom of a large saucepan with oil. Spread out the potato slices close together in the bottom of the pot, making sure that the entire surface is covered with potatoes. Heat to the hottest setting and pile the rice on top like a pyramid. (The rice should not touch the rim
   of the pot.)
8. Poke holes vertically into the rice with the handle of the wooden spoon, so that the steam circulates better in the pot. Add butter flakes on top of the rice. Once the rice begins to steam, wrap the pot lid in a clean cloth and cover pot (this keeps moisture in the cloth). When the pot lid is hot, reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer for 1 hour.
9. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons oil and 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the washed barberries to the hot fat and toss. Sprinkle brown sugar on top and stir until it caramelises slightly.
10. Add the cinnamon and 3 tablespoons chicken broth from the large pan and heat briefly on high. Remove barberries from heat and cover.
11. After 1 hour, scoop the rice out of the pot onto a large plate, making sure not to damage the crust
    at the bottom!
12. Once all the rice is out of the pot, invert pot onto a flat plate, salt the potato crust (tahdig), cut into pieces and serve separately.
13. Spread barberry mixture and chicken sauce from the pan on the rice and serve with the chicken.

Recipe: Pierre Massehian