Spicy Picnic Rice

Super yummy colorful ingredients are in this dish giving its awesome combination of flavors that is as delicious as it looks. This dish is great on a picnic and its super nutritious.

• 3 cups long-grain white basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons salt, divided
• 2 large oranges, preferably organic
• 1 cup whole dried barberries or chopped unsweetened dried cranberries 
• 1 teaspoon loosely-packed saffron (about 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup orange blossom water, divided
• 2 tablespoons oil, butter or ghee
• 1/2 cup sliced raw toasted almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped raw toasted pistachios
• 1/2 cup golden or green raisins
• 2-3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch long matchsticks
• One 4-inch whole cinnamon stick
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground cardamom

1. Wash the rice in a large container of water, swishing it around with your hand then draining off the water and repeating until the water has no color, about few times. Cover again with water, add 2 tablespoons of the salt and soak between 2 and 24 hours. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside.
2. Set a small pot of water to boil. Use a vegetable peeler to take thick strips of rind off the oranges, including a little of the white pith. Slice these strips cross-wise into very small slivers. When the water is boiling, drop the slivers into the water and cook 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside. (This cuts the bitterness of the orange rind.)
3. Clean the barberries by removing any stems or debris. Place them in a sieve set inside a bowl. Cover with cold water and soak for twenty minutes. Pull the sieve from the bowl and rinse under cold water to flush out any remaining sand. Set aside. (If using cranberries, skip this step.)
4. In a mortar and pestle, crush the saffron threads with a few pinches of sugar until a powder forms. Stir in 3 tablespoons of orange blossom water and set aside.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the almonds and the pistachios, and sauté for about a minute. Add the raisins to the pan and toss with the nuts. Empty the mixture into a bowl and set aside.
6. Heat two tablespoons of the saffron orange blossom water mixture, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat in the same skillet. Add the carrots and orange peel and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the remaining sugar, the remaining saffron orange blossom water mixture, the cinnamon stick and the cardamom and sauté for 1 minute. Add 1 cup water, bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to medium heat and cook for about ten minutes, or until the carrots lightly caramelize and the liquid has reduced to a syrup. Drain the carrots and orange peel, and reserve the syrup.
7. In a large heavy-bottomed pot with a lid, bring ten cups of water to a boil. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons salt, and then add the rice to the pot with the remaining 1 tablespoon plain orange blossom water. Boil briskly until the rice has risen to the surface and when bitten into, a grain of rice feels soft, 6 to 10 minutes. Drain the rice into a large fine-mesh sieve, rinse with cold water and turn it out into a bowl.
8. Gently mix the remaining saffron orange blossom water and the reserved carrot/orange syrup to the par-boiled rice. Take a large spoonful of rice at a time and gently spread it over the bottom of the pot. Give the pot a shake to even out the base. Add more spoonfuls of rice, one at a time, gradually shaping it into a pyramid.
9. Wrap the lid of the pot with a clean dish towel and cover firmly to prevent steam from escaping. Cook twenty minutes on low heat.
10. To serve, arrange on a serving platter layers of rice, then the caramelized carrot mixture, then the barberry mixture.
11. Picnic ready!

Persian rice super picnic yummy!