Persian Rice, or "Polow", for the IMBB Recipe

Pim posted today requesting a recipe for Polow, the Persian-style rice that should be served with the Khoresht below.

You should know that my rice RARELY turns out... especially the "tah-deeg" or "bottom-of-the-pot" crust. C is always making fun of me, and I do hope to perfect it SOMEDAY... Hope you have better luck than me! This recipe feeds 2.

1 cup basmati rice
3 tbsp canola oil (you can use any veg oil)
1 tbsp plain yogurt
1/2 tsp saffron threads

• Wash the rice in two changes of water, then let it soak in well-salted water for a couple of hours.
• Bring 3-4 cups water to a boil in a large pot, and season with a teaspoon salt.
• Add the washed rice, and and let it cook until the grains are softened and you can see the ridges (maybe 15 minutes) - you can bite into the rice, and it should feel "al dente". DO NOT OVERCOOK.
• Drain the rice, and give it a gentle rinse w/warm water.
• Put a few tbsps of oil in the bottom of the pan, just enough to cover. Add the yogurt, and mix gently. Reduce the heat to low.
• Add the rice back into the pot, sort of "mounding" it towards the center of the pot.
• Drizzle another tbsp of oil (or butter, if you prefer) over top of the rice. With the handle of a wooden spoon, poke a few holes in the rice.
• Wrap the lid of the pot with a dishcloth, and cover the pot.
• Cook on low heat for about 30 minutes*.
• Meanwhile, grind the saffron threads to a powder, and add a tablespoon of hot water.
• When rice is done, take a quarter cup or so out of the pot, and mix in the saffron water. Serve the rice on a platter, with this scented, colored rice spread on top.
• Serve alongside any khoresht or kabobs.

*I've been TOLD that for good tah-deeg, you need to increase the heat either right at the beginning or towards the end of the cooking. When you hear sizzling, turn it down. But like I said before, I've never managed to get it right. So try it at your own peril. Once you've perfected the method, you can add flatbread (like lavash) or thinly sliced potatoes to the bottom of the pan. The potato tah-deeg is particularly good with Gheymeh Bademjan.

Comments

[ejm]

Our Persian rice recipe has similar ingredients to yours but the method varies quite a lot. And it works! Our recipe is at:

http://ejmtph.crosswinds.net/recipes/rice.html#persian

[Miro]

I'm drooling over here. I had the distinct pleasure of a relationship with a wonderful Persian woman and, in turn, was exposed to the wonderful culture and food. We went to her family's house for Thanksgiving and had 5 ... yes I said FIVE kinds of rice. This was my first introduction to the glory that is tah-deeg as well as ghorme sabzi (pardon my spelling), joojeh kebab, masto khiar and bastani akhbar mashti.

More Persian recipes please! :)

The key to good (persian) rice is enough water in the boiling stage and to not overcook. This is actually the same principle that applies to spaghetti.

There's some scientific reason having to do with starch concentration. Also the initial rising helps reduce the starch in the rice to begin with.

[jen maiser]

I tried making Persian rice for the first time this weekend (not from this recipe) and it did NOT come out ... it tasted fine, but zero crust. This one looks more promising, and goes with some of my instincts (I wanted to turn up the heat to high to get a crust and then lower) -- looking forward to trying it.

[Doug]

I have been making it for many years without problems. What I do differently is: I use almost 2 gallons of salted water for the initial cooking. Instead of oil (never makes good crust), I use butter. Melt 1/4 cup of butter in the bottom of the pan until you can smell a strong nutty smell. Skip the yogurt. If you want, you can add some flat bread at this point. Spoon the rice into the center of the pot without patting it down.

I don't poke holes in the top of the rice since it crushes the rice grains together and doesn't help the steaming. Instead, I simply drizzle a little more butter on top.

I also make the saffron a little different. I use a 50/50 mixture of butter and water. Melt one pad of butter with one table spoon of water in the microwave so the butter is melted and the water is warm (not hot). Add the saffron by crushing it (not grinding) and let it sit in the warm buttery water for a couple minutes before adding a third cup of rice.

This has always worked for me. The rice (always basmatti) comes out light and fluffy. The crust's color comes from the browned butter and its thickness comes from the depth of the butter in the bottom along with the cooking time and temp. For me, its 30 minutes on something slightly higher than low.