Persian Style Lavash Food

PERSIAN-STYLE LAVASH

Steps:

• Dissolve dried yeast with the sugar in 1/2 cup of the warm water.
• Place flour and salt in a bowl and mix well.
• When the yeast is foamy, make a well in the flour and stir in the yeast.
• Mix with a large spoon.
• Gradually, add as much water as needed until the dough comes together and is a little sticky.
• Cover and set aside.
• Set in a warm place if you are making this in winter.
• Once the dough doubles (1hr is a good rule of the thumb), remove the cover and punch it a few times.
• Take it out on a clean, flour covered surface and and knead lightly for 2 minutes.
• Spread part of the olive oil on the bowl and use the rest to lighly coat the dough.
• Place the dough back into the bowl for 10 minutes, then punch down again.
• Take a small ball (size of an egg) of dough and place it on flour covered surface.
• Heat a flat skillet on the stove or alternatively heat a large fry pan.
• Sprinkle a little flour over the dough and roll with a rolling pin until it is about 2mm thick.
• Make sure not to over-roll or over-knead, as this will make the bread chewier.
• Place the rolled dough on a hot skillet or fry pan.
• Once fully puffed, turn it over.
• Place cooked lavash on cake racks to cool.
• Better if eaten immediately, also makes a nice thin pizza crust.

SABZI POLO (PERSIAN HERBED RICE)

Steps:

• In a large strainer, rinse the rice until the water runs clear, mixing it with your fingers as you rinse. Put the rinsed rice in a bowl and add 2 cups cold water and a handful of kosher salt (about 1/4 cup). Let sit for at least 1 hour.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine herbs. Process, in batches if necessary, until coarsely chopped. (You should have about 6 cups; set aside 3/4 cup of the chopped herbs to use as garnish.)
• In a large pot bring 12 cups water and another handful salt (about 1/4 cup) to a boil. Drain rice and add to pot. Stir once very gently; return to a boil and cook until the grains are about halfway cooked (tender but with a firm spine), 3 to 5 minutes, skimming off any foam. Drain rice, give it a quick rinse with cold water, and spread it out on a platter or rimmed baking sheet until needed.
• In a medium bowl or pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter; reserve.
• In a large nonstick skillet with a cover, or shallow pot over low heat, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter and add grapeseed oil. Swirl the pan to make sure the melted butter covers the entire surface and sides of your skillet. If not, add more butter.
• Add a small pinch saffron and large pinch salt to the butter and swirl around. Place lavash so it covers the bottom and halfway up the sides of the skillet in a single layer, overlapping only slightly where needed. (You can tear the lavash into pieces.)
• Sprinkle a third of the rice over the lavash. If rice is clumpy, break apart with your fingers. Top with half of the chopped herbs. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon dried dill over fresh herbs. Repeat with another layer each of rice, herbs and dried dill, mounding layers in a pyramid-like shape. Top with final third of rice, and place spring garlic, if using, around the edges of the skillet.
• Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke several holes in the rice to allow the steam to escape. Pour reserved melted butter and 2 tablespoons hot water over rice. Cover and raise heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes, or until steam is visible around the edges of the lid. (Don't go anywhere! The tahdig can burn very quickly.)
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Lift lid and cover skillet with a clean kitchen towel. Return lid to skillet and cook for 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to very low. If you have a heat diffuser, place it under the skillet and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until rice is done and tahdig is golden brown. If you don't have a diffuser, watch the pot carefully so the tahdig doesn't burn. If you smell burning, turn the heat off and let the pot sit off the heat until rice is done.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine 1/4 teaspoon saffron and 1 tablespoon hot water. When rice is done, set aside spring garlic; reserve. Gently transfer 1 cup rice to the saffron mixture, toss to color the rice yellow, and set aside.
• Taste rice for doneness. If needed, gently stir in more salt.
• To serve, spoon half of the green herb rice onto a serving platter, taking care to not disturb the tahdig at the bottom of the skillet. Add half the reserved fresh herbs. Repeat the layers of rice and herbs. Top with saffron rice and garnish with spring garlic. Lift out the tahdig, break into pieces and serve on the side.

LAVASH

Steps:

• Refer to Recipe #309834 or Recipe #387518 for instructions to prepare the dough:.
• To prepare Lavash:.
• Make a paste with cornstarch and water in a small bowl (adding more water if necessary).
• Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone. Placing one shelf in the center of the oven and the other shelf below.
• Place an empty broiler pan (I use my cast iron skillet) on the lower shellf.
• Just before baking, dust a pizza peel with flour.
• With wet hands, pull up one end of the refrigerated dough (Recipe #309834 or Recipe #387518 ). Using a serrated knife, cut off a 1/2-pound, or orange-size, piece of dough.
• (Note: This should be enough to make two lavash, depending on the thickness you roll out the dough. If you prefer your lavash to be very thin then split the dough before proceeding.).
• Hold the mass of dough in your hands; if it sticks, add a little flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hand.
• Gently stretch the surface of the dough on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Most of the dusting flour will fall off.
• The dough ball should be smooth and cohesive and take no more than 30 to 60 seconds to shape.
• Place the dough on a flour-dusted pizza peel and shape into a flat round, using your hands and a rolling pin.
• Continue rolling out until you reach a uniform thickness of 1/16 to 1/8 inch.
• Brush the top surface with the cornstarch wash and sprinkle the sesame seeds.
• Prick the surface all over with a fork to allow steam to escape, this will help prevent puffing.
• Immediately slide the lavash directly on the hot stone.
• Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door.
• For a slightly chewy version, bake for about 5 minutes or until lighlly browned.
• For a crisper cracker bread, bake until deep brown and crispy, approximately 7 minutes.
• Unlike hard-crusted bread, lavash, once cooled, can be stored in a plastic bag or an airtight containeerstorage.
• For another use for The Master Recipe, see Recipe #310219.

LAVASH

Steps:

• In small bowl, stir together yeast, water and sugar.
• Let sit about 10 minutes to proof.
• Add oil.
• Combine flour and salt in food processor.
• With motor running, add yeast mixture through feed tube and process for 20 seconds.
• Stop to scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then continue processing to form stiff ball.
• Turn dough out onto work surface and knead for a few minutes until dough is smooth.
• Place dough in oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in draft-free place until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine sesame and poppy seeds in small bowl.
• Turn dough out onto work surface, flatten into rectangle and divide into 16 roughly equal pieces.
• Cover pieces you are not working with plastic wrap.
• On unfloured surface, roll each piece as thin as possible.
• Lift it up.
• Flip it over.
• And roll again until paper thin.
• You should have rectangle about 8 by 3 inches.
• Peel dough off work top and place on ungreased baking sheet.
• Prick holes in dough with fork.
• Brush lightly with water and sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon seeds.
• Repeat with remaining pieces of dough and fit as many pieces as possible on baking sheet without touching.
• Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, and cool completely on wire racks.
• Repeat until all dough is baked.