Tahdig

 

Tahdig is a Persian specialty. It’s the crispy layer that forms at the bottom of a pot of buttery rice if you let it cook long enough. Why should it be just a Persian thing? I think every pot of rice in America should have a crunchy bottom to it. Why not? Burning food is practically a national pastime.

I tried to make Tahdig a few times before I finally figured out a method that worked. Controlled burning is key. Follow the recipe to the word for a perfectly golden cripsy Tahdig.

Ingredients:

2 quarts water
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 cups basamati rice
3 tablespoons butter

Preparation:

If you want perfectly separated grains of rice, rinse it in a pot of lukewarm water, swirling to remove the excess starch on the surface of the rice. Change the water several times until the water remains somewhat clear after the swirling. If you like or don’t mind stickier rice, you can skip that part–it’s time consuming.

In a large saucepan bring water with salt to a boil. Add rice and boil 10 minutes. In a colander drain rice and rinse under warm water.
In a 2- to 3-quart nonstick saucepan melt butter. Spoon rice over butter and cover pan with a kitchen towel and a heavy lid. Fold edges of towel up over lid and cook rice over moderately low heat until tender and a crust forms on bottom, 30 to 35 minutes.

Spoon loose rice onto a platter and dip bottom of pan in a large bowl of cold water 30 seconds to loosen tah-dig. Remove tah-dig and serve over rice.