Gheymeh Nesar Qazvin a colorful food made of nuts!

Ingredients

• Diced meat (beef or lamb) 450g
• Rice 4 cups
• Tomato paste 1.5 tablespoon
• 2 minced onions
• As needed salt, pepper, cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon
• Infused saffron 1/2 cup (1 tsp saffron)
• Slivered orange peel 1/2 cup
• As needed frying oil
• Butter 120g
• Barberry 1/2 cup
• Slivered almond 1/3 cup
• Slivered pistachio 1/3 cup
• Rosewater 1/3 cup

Method

• Place the rice in a suitable pot and wash with enough changes of water so that the washing water runs clear. Then, drain the rice and add 6 cups of water and 2-3 tbsp of salt. Let it soak for 1 to 8 hours. (for this recipe you can either cook Kateh or Abkesh. Both are suitable for this food but Abkesh is always a better option.)
• Sauté the minced onions with oil in a suitable pot on medium heat until it is starting to yellow.  Place half of it in a plate and set aside to use later. Add meat to the pot and sauté for a couple of minutes. Then, add potato paste, stir, add enough water (2 or 3 cups), pepper, turmeric, reduce the heat, and cover the pot with a lid. After it cooked add a pinch of saffron and a tablespoon of salt, or more up to your desire. (adding salt before the meat is cooked may longer the process of cooking. saffron at the end gives it a better aroma and taste.)
• Meanwhile, let’s get to our garnishes. Wash and drain barberries. Place a medium-sized pan on a low flame. Add oil, or butter, with barberries and two tablespoons of water and saute until it turns into a light red color.
• Place the slivered almond in a bowl add ½ cup of fresh water, or rose water, and set aside to soak for 10 minutes. Meantime remove the bitterness of orange peels (don’t know how? Click here). Place a skillet over medium-low heat. Add remained onions and orange peels. Saute for 3-4 minutes until orange changes color. Now take another skillet, add almonds, with its water, remained saffron water, and cardamom powder to the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and continue cooking until the water completely evaporates. since pistachio will lose color if soaked or cooked, I recommend adding it on the top of the rice when it’s ready to design, but you can saute for a minute or two to make it tender. (cooking the garnishes all together is also an easy option, but cooking them separately as instructed gives the food a better taste and look.)
• After you cooked rice, add half of it in a proper dish then add half of the meat and garnishes and then spread a small portion of cinnamon all over it. Finally, add the other half of the rice on the top and design it with the remained meat and garnishes however you desire. You can also mix 3 tablespoons, or more, of the rice with infused saffron for design.
• Now your Qeymeh Nesar is ready to serve. You can eat it with yogurt and Salad Shirazi. Don’t forget to eat Qazvin’s Baklava with tea after this heavy meal. Bon appetite.

Trick: If you don’t have saffron, substitute about 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric.

If you have the same food in your city/country or you know any additional tips, YaldaMedTour would love to read about them. So don’t forget to share.