Zurbian — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A richly spiced one-pot dish of slow-cooked lamb nestled in saffron-tinted rice with fried onions, raisins, and warm spices. Zurbian is southern Iraq's answer to biryani, bold and aromatic.

Ingredients

3 cups basmati rice, soaked 30 min
700g bone-in lamb pieces
3 large onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp saffron in 3 tbsp rose water
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup cashews
4 cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp baharat
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
Salt and pepper
Fried onions for garnish

Instructions

1 Brown lamb pieces well in oil. Add one sliced onion, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, baharat, turmeric, and cumin. Cook 3 minutes.
2 Add tomato paste and water to cover. Simmer covered for 1 hour until lamb is very tender. Remove meat and strain broth.
3 Fry remaining onions until deeply caramelized and crispy. Reserve half for garnish.
4 Parboil soaked, drained rice in salted water for 5 minutes. Drain well.
5 Layer in a heavy pot: some rice, lamb pieces, caramelized onions, raisins, cashews, then remaining rice. Pour saffron rose water and 1.5 cups broth over top.
6 Seal pot with foil then lid. Cook on lowest heat for 30 minutes. Rest 10 minutes, then invert onto a platter and garnish with fried onions.

Did You Know?

Zurbian came to southern Iraq with Yemeni traders and soldiers, blending with local Mesopotamian rice traditions to create a uniquely Iraqi celebration dish.