Why it works: Rice and saffron work together. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 629 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Baghala Polo
Ingredients
Directions
Brown the onions and lamb
In a heavy 3-4 quart casserole, with a tightly fitting lid, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over a medium heat.
Add the onions and cook for about 10 minutes or until the slices are browned, stirring them often.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions from the pan and onto a plate. Set aside.
Working in batches, brown the lamb cubes in the remaining fat in the dish, taking them out and putting them on the plate with the onions as they brown.
Pour the 3 cups of water into the casserole and bring it to a boil, scraping to loosen any brown particles clinging to the dish.
Return the lamb and onion to the dish, add the salt and reduce the heat to low.
Cover tightly and simmer for about an hour or until the lamb is tender and doesn't show any resistance when pierced.
Transfer the onions, lamb and all the cooking liquid to a large bowl. Set the casserole aside.
Cook the rice and assemble
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a 5-6 quart saucepan.
Pour in the rice in a slow, thin stream so the water does not stop boiling. Stir a couple times and boil for 5 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the dill and lima beans and drain in a fine sieve.
Ladle about half of the rice mixture into the smaller casserole and moisten it with 1/2 cup of the lamb cooking liquid, then use a spatula or spoon to spread the rice mixture to the edges of the pan.
Use a slotted spoon to return the lamb and onions to the casserole and smooth them over the rice.
Spread the remaining rice mixture on top.
Combine 2 tablespoons of the melted butter with 6 tablespoons of the lamb broth and pour it over the rice.
Bring the casserole to a boil over high heat.
Bake and serve
Cover tightly and bake on a middle oven shelf for 30-40 minutes or until the beans are tender and rice has absorbed the liquid.
To serve, spoon about a cup of the rice mixture into a small bowl and add the dissolved saffron, stirring until the rice is bright yellow.
Spread about half the remaining rice on a heated platter and arrange the lamb over it.
Cover the lamb with the rest of the plain rice and garnish with the saffron rice.
Pour the remaining 6 tablespoons butter over the top.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Lamb | 100g cooked | 294 |
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Lima Bean | 1/2 cup (85g) cooked | 108 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Dill | 5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried | 4 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Saffron | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Rice + saffrontop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together629 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Dill + saffrontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together22 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Onion + ricetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Lamb + ricetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together439 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
-
Rice + lima beanstop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together47 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lamb shoulder
- Becomes tender through long simmering, giving the dish its main protein and savory body.
- Long-grain white rice
- Forms the bulk of the dish, absorbing the liquid and steaming into separate, fluffy grains.
- Fresh dill
- Provides a bright, herbal aroma that defines the flavor of the rice.
- Baby lima beans
- Add a tender, buttery texture and mild sweetness throughout the rice.
- Butter
- Adds richness and browning to the onions and fat for flavor in the rice.
- Onion
- Browns to add sweetness and depth to the lamb and broth.
The step that matters
Browning the onions. Cooking the onions until deeply browned builds sweetness and savory depth through the Maillard reaction and caramelization. Pale onions leave the finished dish tasting flat.
Swap the lima beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, onion, lamb, rice, dill, saffron):
- Almondfits better
- Beansfits better
- Chickpeafits better
- Lima beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, onion, lamb, rice, dill, saffron. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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