If you have never had Tahdig, or Persian crispy rice, you are in for a treat. This buttery, saffron, salty, crispy rice is the epitome of Persian cooking, and impresses people of all cultures and backgrounds as far as I can tell. I’m writing this for the beginners out there, because I was one, recently learning how to make this from my Persian husband and his mom. It’s actually a fairly simple technique, and once you can make this, you can make all kinds of amazing Persian dishes. They are pretty much all based on a foundation of perfectly cooked, fluffy basmati rice with this crispy tahdig.
Overview of TEchnique For Tahdig
There are 3 basic steps:
- Soak and rinse the rice
- Par-boil the rice
- Steam the rice
For detailed tips, keep reading!
Rice Selection
A note on rice selection: Use a long grain Basmati rice. The highest quality rice can be found in Persian or Indian specialty markets, but if you are just starting, any Basmati style rice will do.
Step 1: Soak and Rinse the rice
For a family of 2-4, 2 cups of rice is perfect. Fill a pot with enough water to cover the rice and give it a few soaks and rinses, resting the rice to soak in between. The goal here is to allow some of the starch to come off the rice with the soaking, and then rinse the white, cloudy, starchy water off. After a few cycles of this, you will notice the water clearing a bit, and then you can move onto the next step, par-boiling.
Step 2: Par-boiling
Once you have soaked and rinsed the rice several times and the water is clearing, you’ll move onto par-boiling. Par-boiling simply means to partially boil the rice.
Bring a pot of water to a boil using enough water to cover your rice fully. Heavily salt your water with about 1/4 cup of salt for 2 cups worth of rice. Once vigorously boiling, add in your rinsed and drained rice.
The timing of the par-boil step is approximately 5-7 minutes, but can vary depending on the rice. You will know the rice is ready with the “squish test.” Take one grain of rice between your thumb and index finger, and squish it. If the rice doesn’t break, it needs another minute boiling. If the rice squishes into mush, it’s over done and you’ll want to start over. If the rice breaks into 2-3 discrete segments, it’s perfectly par-boiled. Promptly drain and rinse the rice with cold water at this point to stop the cooking process.
Step 3: Steam the Rice
Once you’ve drained and rinsed the rice with cold water, you are ready to steam.
The first step before putting your rice back in the pot is to prepare the buttery saffron goodness that will crisp up and flavor your tahdig. Melt 1/2 stick of salted butter, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (like Canola), 4 tablespoons water and a pinch of saffron together. Once melted, your pot is ready for the parboiled rice. Place the rice in and spread it to fully cover the bottom of the pot.
Tip 1: Use a non-stick pot. Avoid using a very heavy pot like dutch oven. There are two main reason to avoid the dutch oven. 1. the heaviness will make it hard to flip in the last step of the process. 2. The heavy lid and tight seal will keep in too much moisture resulting in a soggier tahdig = not crispy!
Once the rice is in your pot, it will look like this. Next, you’ll cover the pot with a lid that fits properly. In order to keep the right amount of steam in, it’s best to use a dishtowel or a pad between the lid and the pot. You can easily diy this at home with any clean dish towel if you don’t have a pad made for this purpose. Just be careful to keep the dish towel up and away from your burner/flame. Start steaming on low heat until the steam forms. Once steaming, turn down the heat to a medium simmer setting if you have this. If your stove-top only goes to low, just keep it at the lowest heat for 2-2.5 hours.
At 2 hours, check the rice. It’s good to shake your pot a bit, to see if the tahdig seems thick and set. This is probably the trickiest part of tahdig-to know when it’s done. If it seems to move en-mass, like it’s a firm thick crusty block at the bottom of your pot, then it’s ready. If it’s not, let it sit for another half hour to set longer. If you remove it too early, it will break apart a bit rather than staying in one crispy round. The taste will still be delicious if it falls apart a bit though, so your efforts are not wasted!
The Grand Finale!
Once you’re pretty sure your tahdig is set, thick and crispy, you are ready to flip the rice onto a plate. This is, in fact, the most exciting part of this recipe and technique.
Start by getting a flat plate larger than your pot. Remove the lid and the dishcloth or pad from the pot, and cover the pot with your dish upside down.
Next, carefully flip the pot over with the dish so that the rice releases onto your plate.
Then, remove the pot to reveal your finished product.
If your tahdig looks something like this, with a bit of breaking apart, it just means you need to go longer next time. I’m still working on perfecting this part, and I hope to update this post with tahdig perfection shortly. : ) In the end, you will need to break it apart anyway to serve and eat, and if you got everything else right, it is unlikely to last very long. Enjoy that salty, buttery, saffron goodness!!
If you liked this, you may also enjoy this Fessenjoon Recipe.
There are also variations on this recipe where other ingredients are included in the tahdig, like lavash bread or thinly slice potatoes. Once you’ve mastered this basic, you can move onto all kinds of variations!