How to learn to make Persian rice for dummies

amother

OP ↓

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 10:47 am

Is it possible to break it down to someone who knows nothing in a more simple way

icedcoffee ↓

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 12:19 pm

Yes I'll break it down for you! (I'm Ashkenazi and married a Persian and had to learn from scratch) Is it the crispy tadig you're trying to make?

amother

NeonBlue

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 12:43 pm

Following. Would love to learn how to make it

amother

Denim

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 12:51 pm

https://www.chabad.org/multime.....e.htm
Reyna Simnegar - Persian Food from the Non-persian Bride

octopus ↓

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 1:02 pm

https://youtu.be/xD-RtP-JiFE?s.....WZyn5

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 1:06 pm

icedcoffee wrote:

Yes I'll break it down for you! (I'm Ashkenazi and married a Persian and had to learn from scratch) Is it the crispy tadig you're trying to make?

Yes, especially with the crispy potato slices on the bottom

amother

Crystal ↓

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 1:10 pm

I thought tahdig didn't have potatoes and the rice itself was crispy.

amother

↑ OP

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 1:14 pm

Oh not sure.
So maybe I am interested in both types

↑ icedcoffee ↓

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 1:16 pm

It's best to use a large nonstick pot with a curved bottom.

1. Fill pot with 10 cups of water, 1/4 cup canola oil, and 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil.
2. Once the water is boiling, add 5 cups of basmati rice.
3. After about 8-10 minutes when the rice is all/mostly cooked, pour it all into a colander.
4. Back to the pot: add 1/4 inch of canola oil, 2 tablespoons water, and a sprinkling of turmeric. Pour the rice back in, and shape into a pyramid, poking a hole into the top with the bottom end of a spoon.
5. Put the pot cover on and put over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes.
6. Take the cover off and place 2 flat paper towels under it.
7. Bring the heat down to low and keep it there for about 1.5 hours (covered with the lid and the two paper towels). After an hour and a half, the paper towels should be extremely damp! Now is the tough part. Carefully scoop out all of the rice from the pyramid until you reach the tadig at the bottom. The tricky part is knowing when it's perfectly done, because you can't really see it until you turn the pot upside down. I recommend using a spatula to softly pry the sides a bit and see if it feels like a crispy whole, or if it's falling apart. If doesn't seem ready, put it back over high heat 15 more minutes or until it's right.

I use a small plate to hold the tadig in place while I slowly, carefully pour the oil out into the sink. Then hold a large plate to the pot opening and flip the tadig onto it.

If you want to make it with potatoes, add them on step 4 before you pour the rice back in. The trick is to slice them very thin (maybe 1/4"). If they're too heavy or not placed in a great way, the tadig may fall apart when you flip it, but it'll still be delicious.

Let me know if photos/video would help!

↑ octopus

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 2:22 pm

octopus wrote:

https://youtu.be/xD-RtP-JiFE?si=R1uAqDVTQsaWZyn5

This is also Reyna semnigar.

AllThings

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 2:27 pm

https://www.kosher.com/video/c.....e-676

amother

Mimosa

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 5:09 pm

Please don’t overwhelm yourself with all these steps!! Just buy a persian rice cooker. 4 cups rice, rinse and drain until the water is more or less clear. 5 tbs oil, 4 tsp salt, 5 cups water. Mix cover with paper towel ( or not doesn’t really matter) and turn on. When the dial is finished or it turns off, uncover and put a serving plate over the pot, flip (with oven mits!!) and serve!!
From a persian who knows how to cheat lol 😉

saltandvinegar ↓

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 5:20 pm

amother Crystal wrote:

I thought tahdig didn't have potatoes and the rice itself was crispy.

I sometimes put potatoes on the bottom of my tahdig.
op you should buy reyna simnegars book

↑ icedcoffee

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 5:24 pm

I agree the rice cooker method is also a great hack and if I'm in a rush I do that - but I've never gotten it to work with potatoes!

kenz ↓

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 5:59 pm

How does it get the yellow color?

amother

Fern ↓

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 6:00 pm

As an Ashkenazi with a Persian mil, I found Reyna Simnegars cookbook and videos very helpful. I make the rice on a more simple way for regular weekday and tahdig for Yom tov and special occasions.

Regular. Check rice and rinse a few times until the water isn't so cloudy. Put in put with water. Ratio is 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups water. Add some oil and salt to pot. Bring to a boil. Boil for a few minutes until water is at about the level of the rice. Lower flame till lowest. Place two layers of paper towels under our lid. Let steam for at least 20 minutes.

Tahdig. Check and rinse rice. Fill up pot with water. Bring to a boil. Add rice. Cook rice for 3-5 minutes until al dente.(to check, take out a few grains of rice. Break in half. The inside should look kind of translucent with a pin prick of white in the center. Reyna has a video that shows this.) Drain rice into strainer. Poor about 1/4" of oil to bottom of our pot add some tumeric for color and a teaspoon of water heat up. Put the rice back into pot. Cover. Wait until it is steaming. (About 7 minutes.) Lower flame and place paper towels under our lid. Steam for at least 20 minutes. Always comes out perfect. (I usually do it for longer. At some point talking it off the flame)
I haven't tried potatoes yet, but my husband wants me too, so we'll have to try soon.

amother

↑ Fern ↓

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 6:01 pm

kenz wrote:

How does it get the yellow color?

Tumeric

amother

↑ Fern

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 6:02 pm

saltandvinegar wrote:

I sometimes put potatoes on the bottom of my tahdig.
op you should buy reyna simnegars book

I second that. Very helpful.

amother

DarkCyan

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 6:13 pm

I would love to try this, I have no patience for so many steps tho

↑ kenz

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 6:16 pm

amother Fern wrote:

Tumeric

For the rice cooker method when do you put in turmeric, and how much?