Tahdig
Tahdig is a Persian rice dish with an intentionally 'burnt', crusty bottom. This version is flavoured with saffron , barberries, pistachios and almonds.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 2 cups Basmati rice
- 1 pinch saffron strands
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup pistachios
- 1/4 cup barberries, dried
- 1+1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Soak barberries in warm water.
- Boil the rice in plenty of lightly salted water, similar to pasta, for 5 min. Should be done on the outside but still have a solid core.Strain the rice.
- Toast almonds and pistachios.
- Strain barberries and fry in a little oil. Will puff up.
- Once strained, place the rice in a bowl and mix in 1 tbsp olive oil and saffron.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pot. Press down ~1 cm rice on the bottom.
- Mix in almonds, pistachios and barberries in the rice bowl. Optional: preserve some for garnish.
- Place rest of rice mix in pot. Press down.
- use a chopstick or similar to poke holes in the rice.
- Wrap the pot lid in a towel and place on top.
- Cook on low to medium heat for 20-30 minutes.
- Check that the rice is cooked and that it has stated to burn a bit on the bottom. See note below.
- Once done, carefully run a heat resistant spatuala around the edge of the rice to dislodge the bottom. Place a serving tray over the pot and carefully but quickly and dterminedly flip the pot upside down. The dish should fall out of the pot easily.
Notes
To tell if the rice is cooked, you can use a heat reistant spatula and run it around the edge to try and feel if the rice on the bottom is staing to get burnt. You might also be able to smell the burnt bottom.