Lubia Polo (Persian green bean rice) is a quick and easy comfort dish that is simple but tastes magical! A healthy and complete one pot meal, your next go-to recipe for a weeknight dinner or a quick fix for a party. Guaranteed you will love this nourishing meal that is packed with protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates.
Add it with other Persian favorites such as Ghormeh Sabzi and Koobideh Kabob.
What is Lubia Polo?
Persian Lubia Polo is a popular comfort dish - a mixed rice recipe layered with green beans, spiced ground meat, tomatoes, herbs, lemon and infused with saffron. The ingredients are common kitchen staples that are easily available. It is absolutely delicious and a recipe that is a keeper. Always reliable at busy times.
Traditional Lubia Polo recipes use whole tomatoes but here I have used tomato paste - a trick that I learned from my father in law.
Persian rice recipes involve the preparation of a rice crust at the bottom of the pan. If you would like to make that, check out Tahchin-e Esfenaj (Saffron Yogurt Rice).
How To Make It
- Cook Ground Meat with Green Beans: Heat oil at medium high and sauté onions. Add garlic and sauté until the onions are light golden brown. Then add ground lamb and sauté, followed by spices, dried herbs, dried lemon powder and stir. Add the green beans and cook.
- Next add the tomato paste and mix it well. If the mixture is too thick, add some water, cover and let it simmer until the beans are ¾th done. The mixture should be moist but not too wet.
- Cook Rice: Rinse rice in water several times until it is clear. Cook rice using stove top method (boil rice in lots of salted water for 5 to 6 minutes until the rice grains are soft and drain well) or rice Cooker method (cook rice in measured amount of water, salt and some oil until all the water is absorbed).
- Assemble Rice with Meat/Green Beans: Place the cooked rice and meat/green bean mixture in several alternating layers in a heavy bottomed wide cooking pot (stove top method) or rice cooker. Sprinkle oil and saffron water all over. Steam it together at low heat until steam builds up. Turn off the heat. Gently mix the layers.
Cook's Tips
- You can make an optional potato crust or rice crust (video).
- Persian spice mix (Advieh) recipe is on the blog. Ready made advieh is available at Persian or middle eastern grocery stores or online.
- May substitute advieh with curry powder or a middle eastern or Mediterranean mixed spice.
- You can easily use frozen beans and make this recipe even more simpler.
- Cooking time and water used for white basmati rice and brown rice may vary with the age of rice.
- Rule of thumb is to try 1¼ to 1¾ cups water per cup of white basmati rice and 2 cups of water per cup of brown basmati rice. Use trial and error with any new bag of rice to get the perfect ratio.
- Rinse the basmati rice several times, until the water is clear and not starchy. Basmati rice often has fine starchy powder on the top and you must get rid of that.
- Rice texture: The rice should be cooked to al dente stage. It should have expanded well, fluffy, soft at the tips but not too delicate, have a white dot in the center and hold its shape well.
- The amount of water added while cooking the rice is very important to the final texture of this recipe.
- It is important to keep in mind the additional moisture from the other ingredients added to this Persian green bean rice, such as the tomato paste, green beans and onions.
- If you have a rice cooker, definitely try using that for making this recipe. It will simplify it so much and give you a more reliable result regardless of your experience with cooking long grain basmati rice.
- If using both white and brown rice, then I prefer to cook both separately before layering with the meat/green beans, as I can control the cooking of the various grains optimally.
Nutrition Facts and Benefits
This is a complete meal that includes slow digesting complex carbohydrates, good amount of protein, adequate fat and fiber. In this particular recipe I tried some brown rice to add to the fiber that is already there from green beans. Plus, it also adds a good amount of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
Green beans, a pod vegetable, are a rich source of cancer fighting chlorophyll. They also have a good amount of folic acid and vitamin K. Folic acid is essential for a healthy pregnancy and combating depression. And vitamin K plays an important role in bone health.
Green beans are low in calories, high in fiber and nutrient dense - as they are a source of a variety of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
What Can You Serve With Lubia Polo?
You may serve lubia polo with salad shirazi or a green salad, mast o khiar (yogurt cucumber salad) or mast o musir (yogurt shallot dip), pickles and pickled olives.
Make Ahead And Leftovers
Cook the meat and green beans mixture and refrigerate for 4 to 5 days. You can also freeze it for 2 to 3 months. It is my go to meal when I come back from travels. Just pick it up from the freezer for quick cooking.
Can You Freeze It?
Lubia polo freezes perfectly. You can even pack it in smaller servings for lunch boxes. Just thaw and microwave or reheat on stove top after sprinkling some water.
More Rice Recipes:
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Persian Lubia Polo (Green Bean Rice)
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice white, (recommend 1 ⅓ cup white rice + ⅔ cup brown basmati rice)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion medium, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 1 pound lamb ground, 90% lean
- 1 teaspoon advieh Persian spice mix or curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or dried savory
- 1¼ teaspoon salt adjust as needed
- 1 teaspoon dried lime powder or 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 pound green beans cut into ½ inch or frozen
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- ⅓ teaspoon saffron powdered and dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
Instructions
Cook Ground Meat with Green Beans
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil at medium setting in a cooking pot. Add the chopped onions and sauté few minutes. Then add the grated garlic and continue to sauté until the onions are light golden brown.
- Add the ground lamb and sauté. Then add all the spices, dried herbs, ½ teaspoon salt (advieh/curry powder through lemon powder) and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the green beans.
- Next add the tomato paste and mix it well. If the mixture is too thick, may add a some water, cover and let it simmer until the beans are ¾th done. It will continue to cook in the steaming process in the next steps. The mixture should be moist but not too wet.
Cook Rice
- Rinse the white basmati rice in water several times until the water is clear and not starchy. Then drain the rice very well in a colander. (Tip: Basmati rice often has fine starchy powder on the top and you must get rid of that.)
- Stove Top Method: Bring 6 cups of water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add the rice and allow it to boil at medium high heat for about 5 to 6 minutes until the rice grains are soft. Stir the rice in between. Drain the rice and set aside. (Tip: The rice should be cooked to al dente stage. It should have expanded well, soft at the tips, see a white dot in the center and holds its shape well).
- Rice Cooker Method: Bring 3 cups water, ¾ teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil to a rolling boil. Add the rice and cook it just until all the water is absorbed, which should take about 15 to 20 minutes in a rice cooker. Do not let the rice steam after the water is absorbed. Or it will clump together.
Assemble Rice with Meat/Green Beans
- Stove Top Method: Place the cooked rice with the sautéed meat/green bean mixture in several alternating layers in a heavy bottomed wide cooking pot. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon olive oil and saffron water all over. (Tip: You can make an optional potato crust or rice crust - video).
- Turn up the heat to medium high for about 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to the low setting and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes or more until the steam builds up well.
- Rice Cooker Method: Alternatively, you could also layer the rice with meat/green beans and steam it together in a rice cooker. (Tip: You can make an optional potato crust or rice crust - video).
- Once the rice is ready, turn off the heat. Gently mix the layers of the Persian Green bean rice.
- Serve this Persian lubia polo with salad shirazi or Persian yogurt dip with shallots or a green salad, pickles and/or pickled olives.
If Using White And Brown Rice
Easier Method
- Bring 3½ cups water to a boil. Add ¾ teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the brown rice first. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Then add the white basmati rice to the same pot. Let it all simmer till the grains are well done.
Perfect Method
- Bring 1 ⅓* cups of water to a rolling boil in a sauce pan. Add ⅛ teaspoon salt and ¾ tablespoon olive oil. Then add ⅔ cup brown basmati rice, stir and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and allow it to cook until all the water is absorbed for about 30 to 40 minutes.
- In a cooking pot, bring 4 cups of water and ¾ tablespoon salt to a boil. Add the white basmati rice and let it boil at medium high heat for 5-6 minutes until the rice grains are soft. Make sure to stir the rice while it is cooking. Drain the rice well in a colander and set aside.
- Proceed with the remaining assembly steps above in section "Assemble Rice with Meat/Green Beans".
Notes
- Persian spice mix (Advieh) recipe is on the blog. Ready made advieh is available at Persian or middle eastern grocery stores or online.
- You may substitute advieh with curry powder or a middle eastern or Mediterranean mixed spice.
- You can easily use frozen beans and make this recipe even more simpler.
- Cooking time and water used for white basmati rice and brown rice may vary with the age of rice.
- Rule of thumb is to test 1¼ to 1¾ cups water per cup for white basmati rice and 2 cups of water per cup of brown basmati rice to get the perfect ratio.
- The amount of water added while cooking the rice is very important to the final texture of this recipe.
- It is important to keep in mind the additional moisture from the other ingredients added to this Persian green bean rice, such as the tomato paste, green beans and onions. So, in the first step, the rice should be cooked to yield a fluffy rice that holds its shape well and is not too wet and delicate.
- If you have a rice cooker, definitely try using that for making this recipe. It will simplify the recipe and give you a reliable result each time.
- Make in Oven: Layer rice and meat-green beans mixture in a well sealed dish and bake at 350 degrees F for about 45 to 60 minutes until steams builds up.
Nutrition
This post was first published on August 25th 2016 and has been updated with improvements in recipe, formatting, tips, and additional enhancements.
Leslie says
This was such a delicious dish! I made with veggie burger, my family loved it. They went for 3rds! Thank you.
Nathan says
In the recipe it calls for advieh with a link to recipes for several versions of advieh. Which one do you use with this recipe? the rice pilaf (Berenj) or the stew (Khoresh)??
Roxana Begum says
More often I tend to use the one for stew as it's bit more intense and since this rice recipe has meat and vegetables.
Shannon says
This looks a great way to use some more of the advieh I made tonight for the kuku kadoo - as a vegetarian I'll either try the lentil version recommended above, or use a ground veggie "beef" like Gimme Lean. I was just wondering if the 6 oz of tomato paste is by weight or by volume? (I'm more accustomed to seeing it measured in tablespoons). Thanks!
Roxana Begum says
That is 170g.
Monique says
Was so good thank you for posting this!! I’ve tried to cook Persian food unsuccessfully prior to this for my Iranian spouse. So I’m SO pleased to find something he likes and tastes great..will be trying your other recipes :)
Kristi says
After eyeballing my Persian co-worker eating this for lunch and trying to follow her instructions I found this recipe and use it often. My kids love “green bean rice” and I have to use more green beans and less rice since they can down it quickly.
Katie-Sccarlet Koch says
So very good! I can't wait to try other recipes. Baghali Polo is the next one on the list.
Roxana Begum says
So happy you like it :)
Margaret-Anne Green says
Loved this recipe. I used lentils instead of mince meat and it turned out great :)
Marg
Roxana Begum says
Great idea :)
Tina says
Thanks a lot!
I made it with white rice and cooking pot (no rice cooker). This was the best I ever made!
I also put potatoes at the bottom of the pot while steaming. The time recommended worked perfectly to give me awesome Tadigs!
Andrea says
I used ground lamb for this dish , it was divine , my husband is Iranian and he LOVED it . Thank you
Roxana Begum says
Thank you Andrea. It makes me so happy that you both liked it. Lubia polo is our favorite too and my go-to dish when I want to make something quick.
Sadaf says
If using a rice cooker, do you cook the rice first then add the meat and beans and steam? Or do you put it all in together with the water
Roxana Begum says
I cook the rice first but making sure to not overcook the rice. See the directions for water to rice ratio above. Just when all the water is absorbed, I layer it with the cooked meat, beans etc. and then steam. No I don't cook it all together in water.
Mag says
This is one of my favourite persian dishes
Roxana says
Thank you Mag :) I am going to make it again today!
Liz says
I have a bunch of green beans in the fridge so I've been looking for new ways to use them! This is perfect!
Roxana says
Thanks Liz. That's awesome. Enjoy!
Thanh says
Looks like a very flavourful dish! Love the spices in this recipe.
Roxana says
Thanks so much. It is indeed easy and flavor rich.
Natalia says
This recipe looks so delicious! Never tried it but it's surely on my list now. Thanks for sharing it!
Roxana says
Thanks Natalia. Enjoy!!
Monica says
This looks fantastic - not mundane in the slightest! Now I am really wondering where I might be able to track down a Persian spice mix. Can't wait to look for it or something similar!
Roxana says
Thanks Monica. The Persian spice blend (advieh) is ground from cumin, coriander, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, lime powder, dried rose petals etc... with an overall savory flavor note that is subtle and not as intense like Indian spice blends. A possible (but not exact) substitute would be a 'mild' middle eastern or eastern/southern Mediterranean mixed spice blend. It would be easy to make at home. But I have a lot of store bought version given to me. It's available online on Amazon.
Emma says
I LOVE the flavours in Persian food. so fragrant and aromatic. This looks delicious.
Roxana says
Thanks Emma.
Shahzadi says
wow, looks fab! Look forward to trying it out :)
Roxana says
Thanks Shahzadi. Enjoy!!