Pilau

Very delicious! A little more complicated than just boiling plain rice, but well worth the extra effort. A few minor points: I would have preferred more spices; say double the amount of spices. Also, we cooked the rice on the stove on the smallest possible flame, and with simmerplate, and yet the rice stuck to the bottom of the pan. Last, the rice was done after 20 minutes cooking time, just keep that in mind.

450g uncooked rice is quite a lot, though. The two of us probably only finished one sixth to one eighth of it tonight, not half (it should serve four). Instead of doubling the amount of spices, you could just halve the amount of rice used.

On the plate in the photo you can also see Lawang Chalau (Meat Stew with Yoghurt) and Peach Chutney from the same book and Stir-fried Carrots with Mango and Ginger from Modern Moroccan; all except for the peach chutney this was a very good combination.

Edited 15 June 2011 to add: We made the Pilau again last weekend. We used half the amount of rice with the usual amount of everything else, and replaced the ground cumin with 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric. This worked well (and turned the rice a bright yellow!), only that it was too much sugar - 1 tablespoon should be enough next time. This time, we served it with Slow-roast Persian Lamb with Pomegranate Salad, an excellent combination!

Edited 25 June 2014: I made this again, this time making the caramel in a separate pan, and then just putting everything in the rice cooker, with the amount of water I always use in the rice cooker - and it worked well! It probably wasn't as perfect as made in a pan (it's been quite a while since we last had this), but still very nice, and a lot easier!

Served with Khoreshe Alu / Beef braised in prune sauce, which combined really well.