Sheveed Polo (Dill Rice)
Updated April 17, 2024
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 1large bunch dill, trimmed and finely chopped
- 3tablespoons dried dill
- 2cups white basmati rice, rinsed
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
- 2teaspoons kosher salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
263 calories; 4 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 159 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Set aside ¼ cup of the chopped fresh dill. In a bowl, combine the rest of the fresh dill with the dried dill.
- Step 2
Place the rice, butter and salt in a medium pot. Add 3½ cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Give it a stir, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the water has been absorbed, about 12 minutes. (It’s OK to lift the lid to check.)
- Step 3
Fold the dill mixture into the rice. Wrap the lid in a kitchen towel to catch the condensation, ensuring that the kitchen towel is secured up top so it doesn’t catch fire. Firmly place the lid back on the pot.
- Step 4
Cook until the rice is fluffy, about 15 minutes more. Gently fluff with a spoon, then transfer to a serving platter, scattering the reserved ¼ cup fresh dill between spoonfuls of rice.
Tip
- The dill can be washed and chopped up to 1 day in advance, and stored in a container lined and covered on top with a paper towel to absorb any moisture. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge (up to 3 days) or in the freezer (up to 3 months). Add a little water when reheating to bring the rice back to life.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Diane
"Wrap the lid in a kitchen towel to catch the condensation, ensuring that the kitchen towel is secured up top so it doesn’t catch fire." There's some good advice, here's some more: New cooks-do not do this, just leave the lid on and cook the rice for a total of 20 minutes or so. Then, if you want, remove the pan from the burner and let it sit a few minutes. Do the towel thing if you like but OFF THE BURNER. We want you to become old cooks, not a statistic.
KL
Whenever I cook rice, I cook it for the required amount, generally about 15 minutes, then I take the pot off the stove and place a towel between the pot and lid and let the rice sit for another 5 minutes or so. I learned this from a sushi chef and the rice cooks up perfectly. It's certainly safer than having a towel over a low flame and I think the result is the same.
Buffalo
A little confused about the directions in Step 4. How do you cook the rice for an additional 15 minutes AFTER the water has been absorbed (per Step 2)? Do you mean to cook for an additional 3 min, in addition to the 12 min in Step 2, for a total of 15 minutes? That seems a little short to me for cooking 2 Cs of dry rice, even if the water/rice ration isn't quite 2/1, and cooking a dry pot of rice for an additional 15 min with the seems equally unsuccessful. What am I missing?
Katie
I made the rice in my rice cooker (2 to 1 ratio of water and rice) and mixed everything together when the rice was done. It was delicious- company had seconds and thirds.
Diana
This is not the Persian method of cooking rice. The Persian method would be to cook the rice in excess water, like pasta, until it is almost done - about 12 minutes is right but it will not absorb all the water. THEN drain the excess water, add a little butter and 2 Tbsp water back to the pot, put back the hot rice and dill, and do the towel-and-lid thing and steam on low heat for another 10 minutes or so. Use high quality basmati, rinsed x3 before cooking, to remove stickiness.
Mama Liz
As others have noted, 12 minutes plus 15 minutes of cooking time seems excessive. I cooked as directed in step two, then folded in the dill as directed in step 3, then stuck a paper towel between pot and lid and let rest off heat for 15 minutes. Came out perfect!
Miss Ophelia Rose
Your house will not catch fire because of the towel. Wrap a kitchen towel around the lid, securing with a rubber band, if concerned. Persian women have been doing the towel forever, so excess condensation does not ruin rice. Persian filled rices need to be made with Basmati rice to hold up to the streaming phase, but the cooking method given here has been amended for non-natives to make it easy. Look at Food of Life by Najamieh Batmanglij for the correct method. W/that, you can use brown Basmati
mellow fred
I cook Sheveed Polo whenever I can get my hands on fresh dill. I use the traditional Persian method of rinsing the rice and soaking it for several hours in salted water. The rice gets drained and rinsed and then boiled in salted water for no more than 5 minutes. It gets very well drained again, mixed with the dill and mounded in a well buttered pot. Put it on medium heat, cover the lid with the towel, and let it steam gently for half an hour. You get fluffy rice and crispy tadig in the pot.
Norman Ramsey
I'm curious to know if it can be made with brown rice, and what would need to change.
Anne
Wowie! Made this with the roasted dill salmon, easy and so delicious! Only cooked the rice for 15 minutes then turned off the stove and left it with the towel-wrapped lid. It was perfect! 🌟
Ferne
I was confused by the directions too. It seemed impossible to cook for another 15 minutes after the first 12 because the rice was already fluffy and dry. I used a heavy, cast iron post and cooked for perhaps another three minutes. At that point the rice was sticking to the bottom of the pot and I wished I had added more oil to make Persian crusty rice. It was delicious in the end but the timings were way off.
Beverly Kaye
I’m pretty sure she means to cook for 12 minutes, add dill and continue cooking to reach 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
Jane Rice
The recipe calls for basmati rice, not jasmine. They are really different.
Diane
The sweeter and more mild-tasting the rice, the better the flavor of the dill will come across. The flavor of the brown rice may obscure some of the delicate dill flavor.
Paula
Basmati would ensure a non-sticky result and, as others have pointed out, complement rather than obscure the dill.
Katherine
Has anyone tried to double this recipe? I’m making it for a crowd and I’m wondering if I should make two batches or one single big batch
Steve
OK, I’ll (ahem) bite. What is the logic behind specifying unsalted butter in a recipe that then also calls for the addition of a considerable of salt? Wouldn’t you get to the same place by just backing off a bit on the salt you add? Unsalted olive oil - I get that. It’s the only kind I buy. But unsalted butter usually dies of old age in the back of my fridge after my having bought way more than I actually needed.
Ellen
Eek, I want to make this but I hate dill! I guess it could work with other tender herbs? Cilantro, Italian parsley, even a little bit of basil?
Elisabeth
We love dill. We raise it and dehydrate gobs of it. But the amount of dill in this recipe was overwhelming. Had to throw it out. Three tablespoon dried dill equals 6 tablespoons fresh. Add to that the bunch of chopped fresh dill equals an inedible failure. Definitely had my part in this by following recipe instead of using good sense, but I trust NYT recipes. Some are better than others, but this is the first time the outcome was inedible.
Lori
Too much dill for me. Would make with only fresh dill next time, not the dried.
Karen L
I cut the recipe in half and it turned out well. I also added some petite peas towards the end.
Lauren
I cooked the rice as specified for 12 minutes, folded in the dill, wrapped the lid in a towel and cooked covered, for 3 more mins (for a total of 15 mins). Then I removed the rice from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 15 minutes. PERFECT rice.
Ian
Yes you can use a rice cooker. You will need to open the rice cooker to do this at about the 3/4 done point but at this stage almost all the water is gone and it only takes about a minute or two to mix in the first batch of dill. Close the rice cooker and let it finish and then at the end put all the rice in a serving bowl and add the remainder of the chopped dill.
stubborndreamer
rinse rice in a sieve until water runs clear add rice to cold water, bring to a boil, put a lid on it, lower to a simmer after 10 minutes, remove from heat keep lid on let rest for 10 minutes remove lid, fluff with fork, gently fold in dill 1 c. jasmine or basmati rice + 1 1/4 c. water works like a charm
g
Do.
mimi
I love this. My cheat version is to cook rice in the instant pot as however I cook the rice usually (brown or short grain works too) and just add dry dill (I used 4 tbsp for 2 cups of rice as I had no fresh dill) and salt per the recipe. Mix in butter after rice is cooked. Voilà, quick dill rice in less than 20 mins!
MDelia
Gooey rice. Followed recipe to a "t." Thought water/rice ratios looked off, but followed recipe anyhow. Used Trader Joe's white Basmanti. Fancy new stove with a simmer hob, so temperature controlled well. Rinsed rice until water was clear. But, the rice was gloppy.
Hurricane
Thank you for all that recommended cooking for less time. I brought the rice to a boil, simmered with the lid on for 12 minutes and turned off heat. I added all of my dill as I fluffed with a fork, covered the lid securely with a kitchen towel and let it sit for another 10 minutes. It was perfect!!
Robyn K
This rice was practically life-changing. The recipe calls for a simplified version of the persian cooking method. You won't get the crisp tahdig on the bottom, but you will get effortlessly perfect, fluffy rice, enhanced with the delicate flavor of dill. Everyone at the table adored it and I will make it again and again. I served it with Eric Kim's gochugaru glazed salmon. Eclectic, but delightful.
Jean-marc
Why not using a rice cooker, you will get the same result with less non sense, I eat rice everyday I have never heard of this towel business, my mum show me how to cook rice since I was 9 and she never used that towel idea and her rice was perfect and fluffy.
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