In the Iranian community, Tahdig is always the number one food item that Iranians want to have with their meal. At every family gathering, Tahdig, is fought over by relatives on who gets the last piece. Tahdig quite literally means bottom of the pot. As rice cooks, it tends to form a crunchy layer that sticks to the bottom of the pot. As the cooking process prolongs you can (if you play your cards right) get a beautiful golden brown crispy layer of rice.
Tahdig can also be dressed up by adding blanched sliced potatoes at the bottom of the rice pot midway through the cooking process. That is the form of Tahdig I made in the previous post about Kabob Koobideh.
In today’s post I tackle your simple run of the mill Tahdig.
*In order to make Tahdig you usually will want to make a regular serving of rice.
Recipe
Ingredients
1 Cup of Basmati Rice
2 Cups Water
1 Tbsp of Salt
1 Tbsp of Oil
Method
1. First soak your rice in water and strain the water out. You will want to use a wire mesh strainer to do so. This will reduce some of the starch from the rice.
2. Bring the water to a boil, once your water is boiling add your rice. This will make your rice far fluffier and less sticky. Once the water has reduced down and your rice grains have lengthened slightly, take your rice off the burner and strain the rice once more.
3. In your pot add about a Tbsp of oil to the pot, then add your rice back to the pot. Add an 1/8th cup of water and put the cover on the pot. Make sure you wrap your cover in a clean towel. This will catch the excess water from the steam, and it will prevent your rice from becoming mushy.
4. Once the rice itself is cooked, turn the burner down to a medium low and allow the rice to crisp up. Once the outer ring on the pot if rice is crisp, it’s usually ready to be removed. The longer you leave it on the pot, the crispier and thicker it will become.
Tahdig is an inexact science, it’s very difficult to perfect on the first try and even the most hardened of Tahdig masters can burn their Tahdig if they are not careful. You can enjoy this with any meal, or by itself.
- 1 Cup of Basmati Rice
- 2 Cups Water
- 1 Tbsp of Salt
- 1 Tbsp of Oil
- First soak your rice in water and strain the water out. You will want to use a wire mesh strainer to do so. This will reduce some of the starch from the rice.
- Bring the water to a boil, once your water is boiling add your rice. This will make your rice far fluffier and less sticky. Once the water has reduced down and your rice grains have lengthened slightly, take your rice off the burner and strain the rice once more.
- In your pot add about a Tbsp of oil to the pot, then add your rice back to the pot. Add an 1/8
- th
- cup of water and put the cover on the pot. Make sure you wrap your cover in a clean towel. This will catch the excess water from the steam, and it will prevent your rice from becoming mushy.
- Once the rice itself is cooked, turn the burner down to a medium low and allow the rice to crisp up. Once the outer ring on the pot if rice is crisp, it’s usually ready to be removed. The longer you leave it on the pot, the crispier and thicker it will become.
- Tahdig is an inexact science, it’s very difficult to perfect on the first try and even the most hardened of Tahdig masters can burn their Tahdig if they are not careful. You can enjoy this with any meal, or by itself.
