Baghali Polo or Timman Bagilla (Dill Rice)

Baghali Polo in Persian, or Timmain Bagilla in Arabic is a delicious dill rice traditionally made with fava beans. It's so easy to make and full of flavour as well as protein. You must try it if you're a dill lover!

What is Baghali Polo or Timman Bagilla?

I grew up eating Timman Bagilla because it's a classic Iraqi dish. It wasn't until recently that I found out there is an almost identical Persian version of this dish called Baghali Polo. It doesn't surprise me though because there are so many similarities between Persian and Iraqi cuisine!

I believe that Baghali Polo made can be cooked with layers of thin potatoes on the bottom of the pot along with saffron water, like most traditional Persian rice dishes. Other than those additional steps, the rice is made the same way we make it.

It can also be cooked with bone-in chicken pieces if you were looking to make it more of a complete meal. I love making mine both ways, depending on what I'm serving with it. This method is really easy and it's the way I make it to save on time but never compromise on flavour. It's a must try!

Ingredients you will need

You will need the following ingredients to make dill rice using my easy method:

• Basmati rice
• Olive oil (you can also use any vegetable oil)
• Fresh dill (I don't recommend using dry dill because the flavour is not as strong)
• Fava beans, which can be really hard to find depending on where you live. I get frozen and peeled fava beans from my local Arabic grocery store. If you can't find it, you can use fresh fava beans, boil them until tender, then peel them. If you can't find any fava beans at all, substitute lima beans or chickpeas
• Chicken broth, or substitute vegetable broth, or simply use water. But the broth will be a lot more flavourful
• Salt and pepper
• Optional: you can also cook this with bone-in chicken pieces to serve on top. Simply boil the chicken with bay leaves, cardamom pods, and a cinnamon stick until cooked, then remove them. Strain the broth to use for the rice, and lightly fry the chicken to brown it, then serve it on top of the rice

How to make Baghali Polo

Dill rice is really simple to make, there are just a few added steps to a regular pot of rice.

• Wash and drain your rice until the water runs clear, then soak it for 10 minutes
• Cook the finely chopped onions in the olive oil until softened
• Add the cooked (and peeled) fava beans (or cooked lima beans or cooked chickpeas). If using frozen beans, allow them to thaw in the pot for a few minutes
• Finely chop the dill and remove any thick and long stems, then add it to the pot along with half the chicken broth and the salt. Allow everything to come to a boil, which should take 5 minutes
• Add the drained rice and the rest of the chicken broth. Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat to low, cover with a well-sealed lid and cook undisturbed for 20 minutes
• Fluff the rice and allow it to stand for 10 minutes then serve

How to make it with meat or vegetarian

I usually cook this dill rice just using chicken broth (you can substitute vegetable broth to make it completely vegetarian). But sometimes if I want it to be a full meal on its own, I make it using chicken.

To do that, use bone-in chicken pieces and boil them with bay leaves, cardamom pods and a cinnamon stick until cooked (about 30-40 minutes). This will create your chicken broth. Remove the chicken pieces, strain and use the broth following the recipe.

I like to then brown the chicken pieces slightly with a bit of oil in a pan and serve them on top of the rice. Turns out really delicious and it's a quick way to make it more of a hearty meal.

What to serve this dill rice with

Baghali Polo is full of flavour and can be served as a full meal on its own with a simple yogurt cucumber salad or any other salad like Fattoush. Or you can serve it as a side to a protein dish like Kafta or roasted chicken. I love to also serve it with a plate of fresh radish and green onions.

Check out these other rice dishes

• Arabic Rice with Vermicelli
• Carrot Rice (Timman Jizar)
• Instant Pot Tomato Rice
• Hashweh Rice

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