Baghali Polo ba Mahicheh

Lamb shanks

• 4 lamb shanks
• 2 onions, quartered
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
• 1½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp neutral oil

Rice

• 3 cups basmati rice, rinsed and soaked (see the chelow recipe)
• 500 g shelled fava beans, inner skins removed (frozen is fine) (1.1 lb)
• 2 bunches fresh dill, finely chopped (or 0.5 cup dried dill)
• ½ tsp ground saffron, bloomed in 4 tbsp hot water
• 3 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp oil, for the tahdig

Instructions

1. Brown the lamb shanks all over in the oil in a heavy pot. Add the onions, garlic, turmeric, cinnamon and salt, and enough water to almost cover the meat.
2. Bring to a boil, skim, then cover and simmer on very low heat for 2½ to 3 hours, turning the shanks occasionally, until the meat is soft enough to pull from the bone. Stir in half the saffron water for the last 30 minutes and let the liquid reduce to a rich sauce.
3. Parboil the soaked rice as for chelow. Add the fava beans to the boiling water for the final 2 minutes, then drain and rinse together.
4. Oil the pot for tahdig as in the chelow recipe. Layer the rice and beans in the pot, sprinkling the dill between the layers, and shape into a mound.
5. Poke steam holes, cook on medium-high for 8 to 10 minutes, dot with butter, cover with a towel-wrapped lid and steam on the lowest heat for 45 to 50 minutes.
6. Toss a few spoonfuls of rice with the remaining saffron water. Pile the rice on a platter, top with the saffron rice, and serve with a shank per person and the sauce in a bowl.