# Tahdig tips



## Suthseaxa (Apr 25, 2016)

For anyone here who wants to make and/or try Persian tahdig (pronounced tadeeg) rice, I thought I'd share my best method thus far for making it. It can take a few tries. This is for a plain crust tahdig; I have yet to try/perfect others.

Take some good quality basmati rice (enough for your diners and ensure it's enough to cover the bottom of a pot with enough to spare)

Wash the rice until the water runs clear and then soak in lightly salted water for hours. At least two. I tend to do it all day. Some people say overnight.

Drain the rice and allow the water to drip away. I do this in a sieve for ease. 

Boil some salted water and add whatever you wish to it for flavour. I tend to use cardamom pods, orange blossom water and a cinnamon stick.

Briskly boil the rice for 5-10mins. Personally, I find 7 is perfect for the type of rice I use. The grains should be soft but not yet cooked.

When done, drain the rice and wash with cold water to stop it from cooking. 

Pour enough oil into a heavy pot to coat the bottom and add some cold water (I use saffron water), just so you have about 1mm of liquid in the bottom (excuse any estimation errors I made with the depth!). 
Add enough rice to cover the bottom of the pot. Swirl in some nigella or cumin seeds if you like.

Mound the rest of the rice in a pyramid on top. Put a lid on the pot and cook over medium/high heat for 10mins. 

Whilst the rice is cooking, whisk a little more oil with some saffron/rose water. When the rice had cooked for 10mins, open the lid and pour over the water/oil mixture. Move the pot over to your smallest flame/ring and turn the heat down low. Wrap a tea towel over the lid of the pot, replace it on the top of the pot and let the rice cook for 60-70mins over a very low heat.

Take the pot from the flame and rest it on a cold or wooden surface for 5mins. 

Serve the rice, detach the crust form the bottom, cut into slices and serve!


You can also season it with advieh (a mixture of cumin, cinnamon, rose petals and cardamom) before serving. Enjoy!


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## Janet H (Apr 25, 2016)

Oh Yum! Thanks for posting - the technique tips are really useful.  I LOVE this dish and have had some amazing variants with cherries and almonds included.


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## Suthseaxa (Apr 26, 2016)

Jahaver polow, I believe that is called. Jewelled rice


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## GotGarlic (Apr 26, 2016)

I made this recently from a cookbook about the spice road through Persia. It included nuts and dried fruits, which represented the jewels. It was delicious


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## Suthseaxa (May 22, 2016)

Just to let you all know, this does _not_ automatically translate between pots! I tried this in my new stainless steel saucepan and the rice was completely cremated onto the bottom of it.....oops.

I think I'll have to try again tomorrow. I'll halve the time and see what happens


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## outRIAAge (Jul 9, 2016)

GREAT detailed recipe: thank you! The recipe I've been using lacks all the detail of yours, which no doubt explains my so-so results. My Le Creuset works fine, though.

My new $30(!) rice cooker claims to do tahdig. I thought the claim laughable, but turns out it can almost replace a kitchen: I make stock in it, steam eggs, fry sausages, slow-cook, make biryanis, pilafs (Beth Hensperger's rice cooker cookbook a constant source of inspiration), and make excellent yogurt, so maybe I'll ignore its rice cycles and use your recipe in it.


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## Suthseaxa (Jul 10, 2016)

I have been doing more and more experimentation with this, such that my wife is sick of hearing about Persian rice (but not, of course, of eating it!)

It seems that the ideal cooking times/amounts for the sort of rice I buy are:

5 mins par-boiling, then drain and refresh with cold water
1 tbsp oil, 1/2 tbsp ghee, 1 tbsp water in my 7" pot.
Layer rice in the bottom. Heat over medium-high heat for _10_mins
Put ona  heat diffuser over very low heat for 45mins.

For yoghurt crust, 10mins at medium-high is a bit too long, so I am considering trying the recipe I saw on another website where you stop the initial high heat when you see steam coming out of the pot, which is about 7mins. I am having a little trouble rice grains burning with both yoghurt and plain crust, so I'll give 7mins a go on Wednesday and let you know what happens


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