Baghali Polo

Method

1. Put 120 g of basmati rice in a bowl, cover with cold water and swirl with your fingers; pour off the cloudy water and repeat 4-5 times until it runs clear. Cover with fresh cold water, stir in a good pinch of salt and leave to soak for 1 hour — this is what gives the long, separate grains.
2. Grind 1 pinch of saffron threads to a powder in a mortar and steep in 1 tbsp of boiling water in a small cup; leave to bloom to a deep orange while the rice cooks.
3. Prepare 120 g of shelled broad beans: if fresh, blanch 3 minutes in boiling water, drain and refresh; if frozen, simply thaw. Pinch the pale skins off each bean and split them in half along the natural seam.
4. Bring a medium pan of water to a rolling boil and add 1 tbsp of salt. Drain the rice and tip it in, stirring once. Boil hard for 5-6 minutes, until a grain squeezed between finger and thumb is soft at the tips but still has a firm white core. Drain at once in a sieve and rinse with lukewarm water.