Ingredients
- 1 bowl
Basmati rice or Thai rice
- According to your taste
Salt
- According to your taste
Saffron
- 50g
Butter
Directions
Tahdig (تهدیگ), a very easy recipe for crispy saffron rice from Iran, is traditionally served as a main dish. You will only need rice, butter and a dose of saffron to make your homemade Tahdig.
It can be cooked in different forms and prepared with potatoes, aubergines, various vegetables, yogurt…a recipe that will be unanimously loved by young and old!
Tah in Persian means “bottom” and Dig means “pot”, literally “the bottom of the pot”. Among the many Iranian recipes, the Persian rice Tahdig is not the only dish that Iranians like to crisp in the bottom of their pan: they also apply this method of cooking to spaghetti or even Lavash bread in order to obtain a texture similar.
The main difficulty and the magic of Tahdig lies in 2 strokes of the magic wand: first, you have to obtain a golden rice without however burning it and second, succeed in turning your pan over on a plate to place your Tahdig without breaking it…
Don’t hesitate to post your Persian Tahdig on Instagram tagging #irancuisine or in the comments once successful 😉
Variants of Tahdig
There are mainly plain rice Tahdig recipes, but be aware that there are different variants of Tahdig to make it even more delicious:
- Potato Tahdig: For those with a craving for comfort food. Impossible not to be satiated after rice and grilled potato strips!
- Lavash bread tahdig: A delicious variant of the classic rice tahdig, easier and faster to make.
- Spaghetti Tahdig: For pasta lovers, the Tahdig also works great if you want to crisp up your spaghetti!
- Tahchin Morgh, a tasty chicken Tahdig recipe: For poultry lovers, this recipe for flavored rice covered with chicken and Tahdig will delight your taste buds.
Baking Tahdig in the oven
If you don’t feel like getting into the painstaking preparation of Tahdig with a pan, you can try the oven-baked Tahdig recipe. The baked Tahdig will be less fatty because you will need to put less fat. To make a Tahdig in the oven, you will need a glass dish that will allow you to monitor the coloring of your rice until you obtain a beautiful golden crust!
How to accompany your Persian Tahdig ?
You can enjoy your Crispy Persian Rice with many different accompaniments! Tahdig goes very well with something fresh like abdugh Khiar or Doogh. You can also serve your Tahdig with different sauces or stews such as Fesenjan or Ghormeh Sabzi.
Materials needed to make this recipe:
- A non-stick saucepan or casserole dish. You can also make your Tahdig in the oven
- The lid that goes with your saucepan or casserole dish
- A clean towel
- A bowl
Steps
1 Done 30min | Rice PreparationWash the rice several times in clean water until the water becomes translucent. |
2 Done 8min | Boil water with coarse salt and cook the rice for 7 to 8 minutes so that it is not fully cooked and remains crunchy. To stop the cooking, rinse the rice in cold water. |
3 Done | Preparation of saffron waterIn a small bowl, dissolve the saffron in 3 tablespoons of hot water until the water is colored. |
4 Done | Cooking rice in the bottom (Tah) of the pan (Dig)In a pressure cooker or sticky pan, melt the butter and add the saffron water. |
5 Done | Spread a layer of rice in the bottom of the pan, packing it in well, then repeat the operation with the rest of the rice. |
6 Done | Cover the lid with a clean tea towel and place the lid on your pan. |
7 Done | Once the rice is cooked (you will hear the rice crackling) invert the pan on a plate as if you were unmolding a cake, being careful not to break your homemade Tahdig. |
8 Done | Taste your homemade TahdigAll you have to do is serve it right away, because the hotter your Tahdig, the better it will be! |
