Cooked rice
Rinse the rice well before soaking it in lukewarm water for half an hour. Pour off the water.
Boil 6 cups of water (twice as much as rice) in a large saucepan. When the water boils, carefully pour the rice into the pan. Add a tablespoon of oil and turn down the heat to medium. Put on the lid. Adjust the heat as needed.
Let it boil until almost all the water has been drawn into the rice. Turn off the heat.
Meat sauce
Finely chop the onion and fry it gently in a pan with oil.
Peel the potatoes and chop them into small cubes. Brown the minced meat – preferably in two batches – together with the potatoes, before adding salt, pepper, chili powder, cinnamon, tomato puree and water.
Rinse the chickpeas in cold water and mix them in the meat sauce together with the raisins. Let it simmer for at least 10 minutes. Make sure that the meat sauce does not get too dry. Feel free to add more water if needed.
Iranian pilaf in the manner of the Noman
Find a new pot. Pour in well with cooking oil. Cover the bottom with a generous amount of freshly cooked rice, before layer upon layer, fill the pan with the meat sauce and rice. The last layer is covered with rice. Place a clean kitchen towel over the pan, put the lid on top and steam the rice dish on low heat for approx. one hour. The longer you wait, the better the taste.
Feel free to eat pilaf with Greek yogurt, salad and hot pita.