Rice with Crust - Persian Tahdig
Two cups of long grain rice.
Thoroughly wash rice and soak for an hour
Boil for 5 minutes in salted water then rinse in cold water and drain in a fine sieve
You've already made a third of a cup of saffron water and melted a big knob of ghee in generous amount of olive oil. Third of a cup.
Put a third of oils and saffron water in heated pan and mix
Tip rice into pan. This conical sieve gives the right cone shape of rice. Gently pat down rice keeping a rise in the middle.
Poke a few holes in the rice, cover on low/medium heat for 5 mins
Pour remaining oil and saffron water round the edge
With a tea towel covered lid put on a very low flame for one hour.
take saucepan off and put it into shallow cold water for a minute or two. Quickly turn out on a board or unbreakable plate and there is your Tahdig. Delicious crust and the rice almost flows, perfectly cooked, no sticky starch.
