Tahdig (Persian Crispy Rice)

[RolfTaylor]

I am pretty sure this is the right forum for this. If not I guess I will find out and I do apologize in advance!

There's a Persian dish called Tahdig which translates to something like "from the bottom of the pan". There are recipes online. Basically you start by cooking rice, and then you take the already cooked rice and gently brown it in oil until the bottom is quite cirspy. It is then flipped out of the pan (a la pineapple upside down cake) and then sliced into wedges. All of this is by memory, obviously you can look it up. The result is a mixture of crispy rice along with some softer rice.

I also learned just this week that there is a Korean version that sounds very similar if not the same. Paul, the Korean friend that told me about it, tells me it also has a not-exactly-translatable name that means pretty much the same thing that Tahdig does in Farsi.

Being a self-professed lazy cook, I have noticed the similarity of Tahdig to the bottom of the analog rice cooker if I fail to stir it near the end of cooking (which I deliberately do not). Paul has noticed this as well. Both of us typically add some oil to the rice after adding it to the cooker which is probably necessary to get this nice crispy stuff on the bottom. In my house the cook (me) gets the crispy bits and the rest goes on the table.

Being an electronic technician/inventor type of person I am thinking about the following experimental modification to my rice cooker to make Tahdig in a lazy fashion.

I would connect a timer to my rice cooker internally. When the automatic thermostat of the rice cooker turns it off, the timer would force it to continue cooking for an additional period to deliberately over cook the rice. With those that use time-based rice cooking (e.g. InstaPot) could do the same thing by deliberately adding time to whatever the recipe calls for.

So

1) Has anyone in the group made Tahdig? How? Were you happy with your recipe? If so please share that in the appropriate recipe forum.

2) Has anyone attempted to deliberately over cook rice in a digital rice cooker or a InstaPot? If so share your observations.

3) Is anyone familiar with the Korean version?

Any other thoughts?

[TripleB]

I've made it a couple times. We'll have it when I'm making a Mid. Eastern dinner. I've snapped a pic of the recipe from my recipe catalog. I got from a Samin Nosrat recipe online. Sorry, not going to take the time to post in the recipe forum.

[barelfly]

If I remember correctly, Cook’s Illustrated has a recipe/technique for Persian rice and they use a towel over the Dutch oven and then the lid. I have not made it but a good friend of mine has and it turns out well. I don’t have a membership to get the recipe, but they call it Chelow.

[fzxdoc]

Here's the Cooks Illustrated link for Chelow (Persian Crispy Rice). Tahdig is apparently the name for the crispy rice crust. You'll have to be a member to access it.

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/8718-chelow-persian-style-rice-with-golden-crust

It looks like a busy recipe; there's a video too.

Kathryn

[mnavarre]

Here's the Cooks Illustrated video on YouTube:

Here's a different take that's more like what I've had in Persian restaurants:

I don't really see how you could make Tahdig in a rice cooker, even if you hacked it.

[Jim White]

For a wonderfully detailed discussion and a how-to that got me through producing it on the first try, I strongly recommend Yasmin Khan's The Saffron Tales. About a year a half ago I made her Tahcheen, which is a crispy rice dish with a layer of mushroom and eggplant in the middle. I also added chicken, as the traditional dish is usually made with chicken.

Here it is on the great reveal, after popping it out of the cooking dish:



And after adding the topping and removing a slice to show the insides:



I put it in SUWYC here.

Thanks for the reminder, I need to cook this again soon.

[holehogg]

Looks so good Sir.

[RolfTaylor]

Wow! When can I come have some?

With rice and veggies like that, perhaps I could become a vegetarian, not that I would!

[JCBBQ]

Woah! That looks spectacular 👏👏👏

[RolfTaylor]

Here's the Cooks Illustrated video on YouTube:

<snip>

Here's a different take that's more like what I've had in Persian restaurants:

<snip>

I don't really see how you could make Tahdig in a rice cooker, even if you hacked it.

Thank you for these. Good to know there are other tahdig lovers here.

Yes, this latter recipe is pretty much what I have read about. SO reviewing these combined with what I have read before I conclude the following

1) To get fluffier basmati I should be pre-soaking with salt. I can do that despite being lazy

2) Obviously the butter and oil are crucial. In theory, the butter and oil will float to the top of a rice cooker, but in reality it seems to get absorbed into the rice as I do use oil and I have never seen a oil slick on top

I think my next experiment is to cook soaked rice in the rice cooker. Then pack it down, make holes with butter in them as described in the above recipes. Cover with lid (and perhaps towel) and transfer the rice cooker pot to the stove probably high heat for 5 minutes and then low for 20 minutes. If that turns out well, even my lazy streak won't stop me from doing it again.

If that works, I may try doing it all in the rice cooker (instead of a timer I could easily just add a manual on switch and use the kitchen timer. I will definitely share my results.

[PBCDad]

In the Dominican Republic they do this as well, but they don't keep it whole or flip it over to make into its own dish. They call it "con con" and eat it with the rice - people fight over who gets the con con pieces. Interesting that it has developed in several cultures.

[RolfTaylor]

Do you know what con con translates too? I first had this 20 year years ago at the home of my first Persian friend. I have never tired making it, but every time my rice gets over cooked I keep the crispy bits for myself.

[jfmorris]

I find this very intriguing. Wonder if you could transfer rice from a rice cooker into a hot oiled cast iron skillet to crisp it up and create similar results. One of my favorite dishes at a local Vietnamese place is their clay pot (I usually get chicken), which always is so satisfying and has lots of crispy rice at the bottom. When they bring it out to you it is sizzling hot. I've wanted a way to replicate that dish at home, but have never been able to find (locally at least) the little clay pots they serve it and bake it in.

[RolfTaylor]

Yes, I beleive it could be done that way in a cast iron frying pan. But it appear that many savor the fluffy rice contrast, so if you want that you probably need to cover tightly so that the rice on the top steams while the bottoms crisps.