My brother-in-law’s uncle gave me this recipe, and I adore it. a unique barbecue sauce that differs from the norm. You gotta give it a shot! You can adjust the quantities of the ingredients in this recipe to your preferences. Use as a dip or drizzle over your preferred meat. It pairs perfectly with chicken!
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 cups |
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- ½ teaspoon white sugar (Optional)
- 4 tablespoons boiling water
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, or more to taste
Instructions
- Grind saffron threads with sugar in a mortar and pestle. Transfer to a bowl and dissolve in boiling water. Set aside to soak.
- Wash starch from the rice by rinsing it in a nonstick 4-quart pot. Rinse 3 or 4 times in lukewarm water until water runs clear. Fill the pot 3/4 full with cold water, covering the rice. Bring to a boil. Add olive oil and cook until rice is soft on the outside and still crunchy in the middle, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Drain rice and rinse with cool water. Set aside. Rinse any excess rice starch out of the pot.
- Melt butter in the clean, dry pot. Mound rice over the butter; add enough water to reach 1/3 of the height of the rice. Sprinkle salt over the rice. Wrap the lid with a kitchen towel and cover the pot to seal tightly. Simmer over medium heat until all water is absorbed and a crispy crust starts to form on the bottom, about 10 minutes.
- Fluff the rice with a fork while turning it out on a plate. Measure 1 cup rice and mix with the saffron water. Scatter saffron rice over plain rice. Detach the layer of crust, or ‘tahdig’, from the bottom of the pot and serve in a separate dish as a special treat.
- Instead of butter, you can use 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- This rice goes with my ghormeh sabzi recipe. Other traditional Persian side dishes include 1) chilled, fresh, whole radishes in lightly salted water; 2) white onions cut into eighths and large sprigs of fresh basil (served with pita bread and butter) and 3) peeled, sliced baby cucumbers tossed with a mild yogurt and chopped fresh dill, salt, and pepper to taste. A proper Persian dinner is never served without one or more of these table garnishes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 276 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 49 g |
| Cholesterol | 10 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 415 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I’ve made this just for the crispy crust on the bottom. It’s magic!!