Mahin joon's lubiah polo (crispy persian rice with beef and green beans)
Beef second courses
Growing up far from my family in Iran made for few family memories and even fewer family dinners. With my grandmother across the Atlantic Ocean, I didn't have many encounters with the game-changing Persian cuisine only a truly seasoned hand can make. My dad did his best with potfuls of lentil-studded rice, but the difference was as clear as night and day. If his cooking was Little League, my grandmothers and aunts were playing in the World Series. <br /> <br />One distant relative, Mahin Joon, lived in Scott’s Valley, an hour-long winding drive through the mountains. I remember my dad driving us there once a month, and Mahin Joon’s husband, Cyrus Khan, inviting me to join him on the couch for a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream and an episode of Seventh Heaven every time we arrived. He spoke little English and I didn’t speak much of anything, even at 6 or 7, but this happened once a month, and we understood the shared language of television and ice cream. <br /> <br />While Cyrus Khan and I did what we did best, Mahin Joon was in the kitchen doing the same. Of the tens or twenties of different recipes from different families that I’ve been lucky enough to taste, nobody has made a lubiah polo like Mahin Joon. Her passing this year was a sad reminder to share these sentiments with people while you still can—I wonder if Mahin Joon ever knew that years and years later, 2500 miles away from her old apartment in Scott’s Valley, I still dream of her lubiah polo. <br /> <br />I never cracked the code on what Mahin Joon did differently, but for now, I’ve found something close enough—a warming, hearty dish that tastes like home. This recipe serves about 10, which makes it the perfect candidate for a Not Sad Desk Lunch, or an excuse to invite over friends and family. You might even follow it with a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream. <br />
Share:
0
23
0
Comments