afoona
Pasta & Rice

Reihan – Green Herb Rice

Reihan is a fresh green Iraqi rice with plenty of herbs – the perfect side dish for fish and chicken.

⏱ 45 min🍽 4 servings 🌍 Middle Eastern👩‍🍳 Afoona🧩 2 parts

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

  1. 1
    Rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs clear, soak 20 minutes and drain.
    Colander
    💡Rinsing removes the starch from the surface of the grains: the rice comes out fluffy and separate, not sticky.
    💡Soaking shortens the cooking, and the grains cook evenly.
  2. 2
    Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.
    ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
  3. 3
    Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.
    ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
    💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
  4. 4
    Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.
    ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
    💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

  1. 5
    Add the rice and the turmeric and stir 2 minutes, until all the grains are coated in fat.
  2. 6
    Grind the parsley, cilantro and dill with a little water into a green paste, and stir it into the rice.
  3. 7
    Add the water, season with salt and black pepper and bring to a boil.
    Stove
  4. 8
    Turn down to low, cover and simmer 18 minutes without opening the lid, until the liquid is absorbed.
    ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid
    💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
  5. 9
    Turn off the heat and leave covered 5–10 minutes.
    💡Don't open the lid during cooking: the steam is what cooks the top layer. A towel between the pot and the lid absorbs the drips, so the rice doesn't get soggy.
  6. 10
    Gently fluff with a fork and serve.
451calories
8 gprotein
77 gcarbs
11 gfat
● protein 7%● carbs 70%● fat 23%

Per serving (336 g), of 4 servings

For the Fried onion · To assemble ·

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⚖ About the ingredients

🔧 Tools needed (4) · 🍳 One cooking vessel

  • Stove · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Portable hot plate (one weaker burner) · Camping gas stove (One burner, outdoors) · Electric pressure cooker (multicooker) (One pot, no real shallow frying)
  • Lid · Also works: Aluminum foil (tight aluminum foil) · Plate (an upside-down plate)
  • Pot · Also works: Deep skillet (sauté pan) (less liquid, faster evaporation) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Wok (For quick cooking)
  • Colander · Also works: Lid (a lid held slightly open over the sink, you lose a little) · Slotted spoon (for small amounts)

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