The fun of this recipe is that we never fix it the same way twice. Each cook will probably develop a favorite combination, but it's so simple that you can play with it endlessly and yet it never takes much time to make. Use the seasonings and other ingredients that strike your fancy. This recipe is probably best for cooks who are a bit adventuresome.
Persian Rice
2 cups cooked rice your choice(basmati or jasmine best, brown ones also work); a traditional way to fix it is to fry it with a little saffron. (A cheaper and more available option is turmeric, which also tweaks the flavor in a different direction.) In this case don't cook the rice quite as soft.
Use any of the following that suit your taste, to make up 1 cup: Raisins Currants Dried or fresh figs Dates Dried appricots Pecans Walnuts Almonds Pistachios Pine Nuts
For meat eaters, Ground Lamb is traditional (if using it, use 1/2 cup meat to 1/2 cup fruit/nuts) ; spiced with garlic, whole coriander,rosemary, thyme,cumin,fenugreek and/or dill, or with cinnamon, cloves, ginger-- we like the candied. Ginger and some of the sweet spices combine well with the herby herbs. Again it's fun to experiment. Some of these are less traditional than others, but they work. You can use ground turkey or other ground meat but it will really not taste the same. Usually combining a few herbs and spices works better --less confusing to the taste buds. I like to use about a 1/2 teasoon of the less pungent herbs and 1/4 teaspoon of the strong ones like cloves. But we like strong flavors--I would probably put 3 cloves of garlic in this for instance. Sorry not to be more exact, but we both cook from the "pinch of this, handful of that" method.
Cook the rice. Heat the fruits and nuts through in a mixture of honey, butter or olive oil, and water (total liquid 1/2-3/4 cup). Don't over cook, but the fruit should be plump. Spices can be added to the mixture at this time, or if you are going to use the meat you can brown the meat with the herbs and add the spices of your choice and then the fruit and nuts. Saute all briefly together before folding into the rice. Put into a baking dish and bake in the oven till the top is lightly browned. (We cook on a wood stove so I am guessing a 400 oven for 15 minutes would do it-- correct me if I'm wrong.)
Sometimes my husband does this more as a meat loaf, with a bit of egg to hold it together, adding the fruit to the rice,and forming the meat into a loaf and putting it on the bed of rice, then baking it.The meat juices keep the rice moist, but adding a bit of butter and water to it if it gets dry while baking works well. Consult a standard meatloaf recipe for cooking time.