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Tomatoes give this pilaf a wonderful fresh flavor. It can be eaten hot as a side dish or cold as a mezze. If it is to be eaten cold, you might like to use a mild-tasting olive oil.

This is filling comfort food which fits easily with other dishes. You find it in Turkey and in Arab countries.

Coarse-ground bulgur is used to make pilaf. About one and a half times the volume of water or stock is needed to cook it. This quick and easy dish is an ideal alternative to rice or potatoes. You may well want to adopt it as an accompaniment to stews, grills, and indeed to all foods that are usually coupled with rice. It is tastier when real chicken or meat stock is used (see page 143), but you can use bouillon cubes, and water alone will do very well.

This lovely Persian polow is served with lamb meatballs buried in the rice (see note), or as an accompaniment to a roast leg of lamb (see page 233).

This exquisite and elegant Persian rice can also be made with chicken.

An exquisite specialty of Damascus in Syria to serve over 1 1/2 cups rice, cooked by any method for plain rice (pages 337–339).

I was served this exciting dish by Iranian friends who live near me in London. As the golden crust was broken, the rice, stained patchily with red cherry juice, tumbled out with little meatballs and cooked cherries. Fresh sour cherries are used in Iran in their short season. They are pitted or not, and cooked with sugar until they are jammy. I use dried pitted sour cherries without sugar, with delicious results.

Apricots have a particular affinity with lamb. The early Arab Abbasid dynasty, centered in Baghdad, adopted the combination from the old Persian Empire that preceded it and created a series of dishes on the theme which they called mishmishiya (see page 255), mishmish being the Arab word for “apricot.” Apricot is still a favorite partner to lamb in modern Iran. The rest of the Middle East has adopted it to a lesser degree. You need a tart, natural variety of apricots, not a sweetened one.

Candied tangerine or orange peel is the sweet element in this festive Persian rice with carrots. Persian shops sell the candied peel, as well as slivered almonds and pistachios. To make the candied peel yourself, see the recipe that follows this one.

This homely dish is a favorite in Syria and Lebanon. Good-quality canned chickpeas will do. If you are using them, drain a 14-ounce can and put them in with the rice.

A more common version of the tomato pilaf which spread throughout the old Ottoman lands is made exclusively with tomato paste, but this one has a marvelous fresh flavor and delicate salmon color.

The success of this Turkish pilaf depends on the flavor of the orange-fleshed pumpkin, which varies. (It should be sweet-tasting.) I prefer the dish without the raisins.

Rice dishes feature in a big way in miniatures depicting the feasts and banquets of the Turkish Ottoman Sultans, and one researcher found mentions of 100 in the archives of Topkapi in Istanbul. Yogurt makes a good accompaniment to this simple and delightful one.

In Egypt this is prepared in the spring, when fava beans are very young and tender. It is served hot as an accompaniment to meat, or cold with yogurt and a salad. Egyptians do not remove the skins of the beans.

There is something very comforting about this homely Turkish pilaf in which the rice is cooked in the broth of the chicken. For an Arab version with pine nuts, flavored with cinnamon and cardamom, see the variation.

This is the most popular everyday Arab rice dish. It is eaten on the second night of the Muslim New Year “so that one’s employment may be prolonged and multiplied” like the vermicelli broken into little bits; or, as some say, “so that one may be prolific and beget many children.” Serve with a yogurt-and-cucumber salad, such as the one on page 70.

The traditional Arab rice for fish is pale yellow with saffron and garnished with pine nuts. Turmeric, the “Oriental saffron,” sometimes replaces the expensive spice. Here the grains become softer and less separate with more water than in other rice dishes, and olive oil is often used.

Many dishes standardized in the courtly kitchens of Constantinople during Ottoman rule spread throughout the Empire. This is one of the classics that you find in all the cities that were once outposts of the Empire. It is good to serve with meat or chicken.

Yellow rice is a festive, celebratory dish, prepared for its delicate flavor and decorative quality, and in the hope that its color will bring joy and happiness. This spiced version is particularly delicious.

A number of popular Lebanese dishes which go under the name of fatta (see page 222) involve yogurt and a bed of soaked toasted or fried bread. This one is served for breakfast accompanied by scallions and green peppers cut into strips.