
Kalam Polo – Persian Cabbage Rice
Kalam Polo is a tasty Persian rice dish. Like Loobia Polo the rice is steamed in a sauce that’s packed with flavour, allowing it to soak up all the goodness.
I used beef in this recipe but you could also use lamb, a mix of beef and lamb, or vegan “mince meat”. I hadn’t made this dish in ages and I really regret that! I won’t let much time pass until I make it again, because it’s such a good Persian comfort food!

Ingredients for Kalam Polo (serving 4)
3 cups / 525g basmati rice
0.55 lbs / 250g ground/mince beef
1 cup water + 7 cups water for parboiling rice
1 onion
cloves garlic
0.9 lbs / 400g white cabbage (about half a cabbage head)
6 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp ghee
3 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste + 2 tsp for parboiling rice
Time
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 1 h
Steam: 1 h
Total: 2 h 15 min

Method
Chop the veg
Slice the onion and finely chop the garlic. If you’re using half a cabbage head, halve it again into quarters. Them finely slice it, as if you were making coleslaw.
Cook the sauce for your Kalam Polo
Fry the onions in 1 tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat. After 5 minutes you can add the garlic and let both fry gently together for another 5 minutes.
Add 2 more tbsp of vegetable oil to the pan. Once hot, add the ground/minced beef to it. Let the beef fry and change colour for about 5 minutes, then add the turmeric, black pepper and to the pan and combine everything.
In another pan melt 3 tbsp ghee over medium temperature. Add the cabbage to the pan and put the lid on. Remove the lid after 5 minutes. Let the water evaporate and allow the cabbage to fry a little.
After about 15 minutes transfer the meat and onions to the pan with the cabbage and add 1 cup of freshly boiled water. Combine everything and let the ingredients simmer together for 5 minutes.
Parboil the rice
Bring 7 cups of water to boil in a large pan. Let 2 tsp salt dissolve in it. Parboil the rice so that it’s soft on the outside but uncooked in the centre (al dente so to speak). This can take anything from 3 to 7 minutes. I usually use Tilda Basmati rice and parboiling it 5 minutes is long enough to get it to that stage.
Drain the rice in a strainer and rinse it with cool water to interrupt the cooking process and wash off any excess salt. Let any water drain away.
Layer the Kalam Polo
Add 3 tbsp vegetable oil and 3 tbsp water to a coated pan and place it over medium heat.
Add a few tbsp of the cabbage beef mixture to the bottom of the pan until it’s just covered. Then add a few spoons of rice on top of it. Sprinkle with cinnamon powder. Now add another layer of sauce, then rice, then cinnamon, and so on until all the ingredients are used. Finish with a layer of sauce. The rice should be in a pyramid or heap shape.
Sprinkle the rice “pyramid” with 2 tbsp freshly boiled water. Poke 5 holes into the rice, all the way to the bottom of the pan. This will further help the moisture evaporate. Once you see steam rising from the rice, cover the lid with a clean kitchen towel, press it firmly on the pan and reduce the heat to low.. Let the Kalam Polo steam over low heat for one hour.
Serve your delicious Kalam Polo
To make sure the Kalam Polo is ready, you can carefully touch the outside of the pan with the tip of a wet kitchen towel. If it makes a sound like “tshhh”, it means any moisture is gone and your Kalam Polo is ready.
In order to get the tahdig (the crispy bits in the bottom of the pan) out easily, you can submerge the pan into a sink filled with a little cool water.
Serve your delicious Kalam Polo with Salad Shirazi, torshi (pickles), yoghurt or any sides you like. Enjoy!


Kalam Polo
Ingredients
- 3 cups basmati rice (525g)
- 0.55 lbs minced/ground beef (250g)
- 8 cups water (2 litres)
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 0.9 lbs while cabbage (approx. half a head) (400g)
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 3 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Salt to taste + 2 tsp salt to parboil rice
Instructions
Chop the veg
-
Slice the onion and finely chop the garlic. If you’re using half a cabbage head, halve it again into quarters. Them finely slice it, as if you were making coleslaw.
Cook the sauce for your Kalam Polo
-
Fry the onions in the vegetable oil over medium heat. After 5 minutes you can add the garlic and let both fry gently together for another 5 minutes.
-
Add 2 more tbsp vegetable oil to the pan. Once hot, add the ground/minced beef to it. Let the beef fry and change colour for about 5 minutes, then add the turmeric, black pepper and salt to the pan and combine everything.
-
In another pan melt 3 tbsp ghee over medium temperature. Add the cabbage to the pan and put the lid on. Remove the lid after 5 minutes. Let the water evaporate and allow the cabbage to fry a little.
-
After about 15 minutes transfer the meat and onions to the pan with the cabbage and add 1 cup of freshly boiled water. Combine everything and let the ingredients simmer together for 5 minutes.
Parboil the rice
-
Bring 7 cups of water to boil in a large pan. Let 2 tsp salt dissolve in it. Parboil the rice so that it’s soft on the outside but uncooked in the centre (al dente so to speak). This can take anything from 3 to 7 minutes. I usually use Tilda Basmati rice and parboiling it 5 minutes is long enough to get it to that stage.
-
Drain the rice in a strainer and rinse it with cool water to interrupt the cooking process and wash off any excess salt. Let any water drain away.
Layer the Kalam Polo
-
Add 3 tbsp vegetable oil and 3 tbsp water to a coated pan and place it over medium heat.
-
Add a few tbsp of the cabbage beef mixture to the bottom of the pan until it’s just covered. Then add a few spoons of rice on top of it. Sprinkle with cinnamon powder. Now add another layer of sauce, then rice, then cinnamon, and so on until all the ingredients are used. Finish with a layer of sauce. The rice should be in a pyramid or heap shape.
-
Sprinkle the rice “pyramid” with 2 tbsp freshly boiled water. Poke 5 holes into the rice, all the way to the bottom of the pan. This will further help the moisture evaporate. Once you see steam rising from the rice, cover the lid with a clean kitchen towel, press it firmly on the pan and reduce the heat to low.. Let the Kalam Polo steam over low heat for one hour.
Serve your delicious Kalam Polo
-
To make sure the Kalam Polo is ready, you can carefully touch the outside of the pan with the tip of a wet kitchen towel. If it makes a sound like “tshhh”, it means any moisture is gone and your Kalam Polo is ready.
-
In order to get the tahdig (the crispy bits in the bottom of the pan) out easily, you can submerge the pan into a sink filled with a little cool water.
-
Serve your delicious Kalam Polo with Salad Shirazi, torshi (pickles), yoghurt or any sides you like. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! If you have any questions please let me know in the comments, I’m always happy to help.
I’d love to see your Kalam Polo! Feel free to tag me with @igotitfrommymaman on Facebook or Insta so I can take a look and give you a thumbs up!
Wanna save this recipe for later? You can print out the printable version above or pin it to your recipe board.
Looking for more recipes? Here are my other Persian classics!
Do you wanna learn more about Persian cooking? Sign up to Maman’s recipe mail so you will get notified of new recipes on the blog.
Thanks for stopping by!
Related

Morasa Polo - Persian Jewelled Rice
You May Also Like

Khoreshte Gardan – Persian Lamb Neck
December 17, 2018
Khoresh-e Karafs – Lamb Celery Stew
May 12, 2020
6 Comments
Mandana Young
I just cooked your cabbage receipt and was fantastic. Had the best ever Tadic too I put thin bread at the bottom.
Hami
Thank you for reviewing my recipe! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Your tadig sounds heavenly! 🙂
Pippa Smith
I love Iranian /Persian food but found it very meat heavy and as my husbad and daughter are vegetarian , i was delighted to see the recipe for Kalam Polo could be cooked with cabbage instaed of beef mince.
It was delicious and once i got the hang of the sequencing very easy to cook and follow.
i loved the crunch of the cabbbage and onions and the caramelisation at the bottom of the pan . I also addded a can of chickpeas as one of the layers , just for fun.
i served it with yogurt and dried mince, fresh tomatoes and cucumber salad and flat breads.
Oh , the recipe says it serves 4 but that is an Iranian 4 ! it actually serves about 10!!!
Hami
Hi Pippa, thank you so much for reviewing my recipe! I’m so glad you liked it! That’s true, My portions are definitely Iranian portions. 😀
Goldis
I have cooked Kalam Polo.
the taste was amazing.
I just want to say thank you for taking me back home.
Hami
I’m so glad to hear that this recipe evoked memories of home in you. Thank you for your fantastic review.