Place the rice in a large saucepan with the 1½ cups of water, 2 tablespoons oil, and salt. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and cook until you see holes forming on the surface that tunnel down into the rice, about 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover the saucepan. Cook for 20 minutes, then fluff and set aside.

In a small sauté pan, over medium-high heat, sauté the pistachios and the raisins in the remaining oil. Cook for a total of 4 minutes, mixing often. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of boiling water and the saffron. Let stand for 1 minute. Add ½ of the white rice to this bowl and coat it well with the saffron water. Let stand for 1 minute.

In a large bowl, mix the white rice, pistachio, raisins, orange zest, cilantro and the yellow rice.

Serve on a platter and garnish with the pomegranate seeds.