Meygoo Polo – Persian Prawn Rice

Meygoo Polo is a flavourful prawn rice dish from the south of Iran. Having prawns as one of the main ingredients, as well as its subtle heat make this dish so unmistakably southern.

Like so often every region in the south of Iran prepares this dish a little differently. One thing I’d recommend is using quite small prawns, so that you have one in at least every other spoon of rice.

It’s sooo good with mango pickles on the side. The sweetness of the mango combined with the slight kick of the Meygoo Polo just go so well together! I haven’t had any ever since I finished the last jar my Maman made when she was here a couple of years ago. I will get her recipe and hopefully share it with you soon.

Ingredients

5 cups / 1.4 litres + 2 tbsp freshly boiled water

340g / 2 cups basmati rice

240g / 3/4 cup prawns or shrimps (fresh or pre-cooked frozen)

1 medium carrot

50g / 1/4 cup peas (frozen or fresh)

50g / 1/4 cup sweetcorn (canned or fresh)

1 small bunch coriander/cilantro

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

4 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp salt + to taste

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp saffron

Time

Prep: 20 min

Cook: 1 h 10 min

Total: 1 h 30 min

Method

Prep the sauce

If you’re using fresh prawns remove the shell and the intestinal tract (the black vein along the back). You can do that by making a shallow cut along the back and then carefully pulling it out.

Finely chop the onion, garlic, carrot and coriander/cilantro.

Fry the onions in 2 tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and fry both together for another 2 minutes.

Now add the prawns, tomato paste, curry powder, turmeric, cayenne pepper, black pepper and a pinch of salt. Combine everything well.

Cover the ingredients with 1 cup / 240ml freshly boiled water and add the carrots, sweetcorn, peas, coriander and saffron to it.

Let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes over medium heat.

Parboil the rice

Wash the rice until the water almost runs clear.

Bring 5 cups/1.2l of water together with 1 tbsp of salt to boil in a pan. Once boiling, add the rice to it and keep the temperature high to bring it back to boiling again.

Let the rice parboil for 3 to 7 minutes. The exact time varies from brand to brand. I recommend removing a rice corn every minute or so to see if it is half cooked. Split it in half with your fingernail. The outside should be cooked and soft, while the centre should still be firm. 

Once the rice is parboiled to this stage, drain it in a strainer and rinse it thoroughly with cool water. This will interrupt the cooking process and wash off any excess salt. 

Layer and steam the rice

Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 tbsp water and 2 tbsp of the sauce to a coated pan. Give it a quick shake.

Now add a thin layer of rice to the pan, then add a little sauce. Continue layering this way, finishing with a layer of sauce that covers all the rice.

Poke three holes in it with the back of a wooden spoon. This helps the moisture evaporate and allows the rice to cook evenly. Place the pan over medium heat. 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 rice steam for 45 min over low heat.

Serve your Meygoo Polo

Wet the tip of a kitchen towel and hold it against the side of the rice pan. If it makes a sound like ‘tssss’, your rice is ready.

Remove the lid and replace it with an upside down plate. Carefully flip the pan over. If the tahdig doesn’t come out of the pan easily, you can submerge it in a sink filled with a little cool water. This usually does the trick.

Transfer the tahdig onto a separate plate.

Serve the prawn rice with pickles (I recommend mango). 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 Meygoo Polo! Feel free to tag me with @igotitfrommymaman on Facebook or Insta so I can take a look and give you a thumbs up!

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Looking for more recipes? Here are my other Persian classics!

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Thanks for stopping by!