In Iranian cooking, rice can be prepared simply with butter and saffron, known as Chelo. But just as often, it’s cooked with other ingredients and called polo.
Polo can be made with herbs, vegetables, beans, nuts, dried fruit, meat and even noodles, and acts as the centrepiece of the meal.
This polo is particularly good in the spring when fava beans are young and tender and dill is in season.
The dish is flecked with green dill and favas and is often cooked with very tender chunks of lamb.
Alternately, it may be served alongside lamb on the bone. The rice should have a mild saffron flavour, with the saffron mixed into the rice just before serving.