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Tahdig | Crispy Persian rice or Persian crunchy rice recipe, delicious Iranian pot’s bottom in 12 kinds
Do you also like “Tahdig”? Are you one of those whose only concern is getting “Tahdig” at the dinner table?
Do you also believe “Tahdig” should be considered a complete meal?!
If your answer is “yes” to all the above questions, you will like this report, be with The Cookery Magazine!
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The interest of Iranians in Tahdig is not without reason, and it is a legend; The age of Tahdig is also legendary in Iranian cooking, and it seems that this Crispy Persian rice has been around since the day when it was an Iranian dish.
However, there is also an interesting story about the origin of the Tahdig, and this is: “The crews who worked in the kitchen of Naser al-Din Qajar [or Muzaffar al-Din Qajar] used to fill their stomachs with the leftover food.”
One day, the servants are fighting over a pot of food. When they ask the chef about the story, the story of Tahdig comes to Shah’s ears, and he orders him to take some of it to him.
The king, who is pleased to eat Crispy Persian rice, orders that after that, Tahdig should be brought to him first as an appetizer and then the main meal.
It is quite clear that this story cannot be the origin of the Crispy Persian rice because it is much older than these words and has always been popular.
Tahdig in the Safavid way!
In the book “Cookery Mustatab” the method of preparing different types of Crispy Persian rice in different parts of Iran is considered similar, and it is stated as follows: “To prepare Crispy Persian rice from the rice itself, first it is boiled and drained; They pour oil or butter in the bottom of the pot, heat it for a few moments and add a little water.
After the water and oil are heated, they pour a layer of rice, and after a few seconds, they add the rest of the rice.
Preparing tahdig with other ingredients, the bottom of the pot is covered with a slice of lavash bread or slices of potato, pumpkin or lettuce leaves and roasted for a few moments; then rice is poured over it.
The time required to close the bottom of the pot is at least an hour and a half on the gentle heat of the stove.
Tahdig in literature and popular culture
Crispy Persian rice, as dear to Iranians as it is on the table, is also delicious to foreigners. In the past, many tourists have written about the exciting taste of Iranian Crispy rice.
Among them, this one included: “Iranian rice has different types, sometimes it is mixed with raisins or meat, and every rice has Tahdig ,and that, Crispy Persian rice is a delicious and mouth-watering part of rice, which is served on a tray or plate of rice.”
The poem is also famous, and “Gorji Esfahani,” a poet of the Qajar period, said:
“ŲØŁ Ł Ų·ŲØŲ® Ų§Ų² Ł¾Ū ŲŖŁāŲÆŪŚÆ Ų§Ų± ŁŁŲØŁŲÆ Ś©ŁŚÆŪŲ±/ Ų²ŁŁ ŲØŁ ŲÆŪŚÆ Ų² ŁŲ§Ų®Ł ŲÆŁ ŲµŲÆ ŲŖŲ±Ų§Ų“ Ł Ų®Ų±Ų§Ų“”
[That is, to reach the bottom of the pot and Crispy rice or crunchy rice , if there is no skimmer, I scratch the pot with my fingernail].
Also, he wrote another verse about this Crispy and crunchy Persian rice:
Ā«ŲŖŁāŲÆŪŚÆ Ų§ŚÆŲ± ŲÆŲ±ŪŲŗ Ś©ŁŲÆ Ł Ų·ŲØŲ®Ū Ų² Ł Ł/ Ł Ł ŲØŪāŲÆŲ±ŪŲŗ ŲØŲ± ŲŖŁ Ł Ų¬Ų§ŁŲ“ ŲŖŲØŲ± Ś©Ų“Ł Ā»
[If a cook refuses to give me Crispy Persian rice, I will kill him and stab him without hesitation].
Crispy Persian rice in the popular culture of the people, has kind of slogan such as:
Ā«Ų§Ū Ų¢Ų“Ł¾Ų² ŲÆŁŲ§ŁŲ±/ ŲŖŁāŲÆŪŚÆ Ų±Ł Ų²ŁŲÆ ŲØŪŲ§ŁŲ±Ā»
[It means that: “O brave cook / Bring the crispy and crunchy rice quickly”].Ā
And beliefs like this: “It is known that if the bride eats tahdig the night before the wedding (Hanabandan), it will rain on the wedding day.Ā
In Gilan, with jokes and laughter, young people are warned against overeating tahdig and believe it will rain on their wedding day if they overeat Crispy Persian rice.
And sayings like this: “Ardestanian people say: The tahdig brings news of the death of rice, and the Mazandaranian people say: whatever you pay for the persian crispy rice is free, it means that we cant put a price on this delicious food and that is worth too much that makes it priceless; and the Semnanian say: The Crispy Persian rice make at the bottom of the pot.”
Tahdig is the part of rice that turns red, and the rice sticks together. That part of pilaf, rice or chelo that is hard and fried is called Tahdig.
Of course, if this crispy and crunchy layer has other ingredients besides rice, it is called tahchin, which of course has different types.
But the Crispy Persian rice is brought to the table in a separate plate; A tahdig that comes out of the pot – like an electric rice cooker pot – is called a “Tahdig ghelefti” in persian.
Tahdig ghelefti means that this crispy layer has no whole in it and it is so clean and connected and united.
However, it is not necessary to have a “Tahdig ghelefti”; it is enough that is not crushed and made into the size of a hand or a bit larger.
To separate the Crispy Persian rice layer from the bottom of the pot, the best way is to put the pot in cold water, which is as much as one or two knuckles.
Of course, the pot must be transferred directly from the fire to cold water; otherwise, separating it will be more difficult because the pot should not cool slowly.
Another important thing about serving Tahdig is to put it in the dish as soon as possible and take it to the table; otherwise, it will get old! It means it loses its freshness; Of course, many of us are ready to eat it, even cold!
The New York Times newspaper publishes a recipe every Sunday on its website.
One of these weeks, the chance was with Iranian people, and the article was called Favourite Iranian Dish!
They taught how to prepare “Potato Tahdig” and wrote in the description that “Crispy Persian rice” is what is formed under Iranian rice and has a roasted and crispy state.
Of course, we must say that “Crispy Persian rice” is not only under rice and made of rice but also under other foods such as pasta, and it has different types, of which bread and potatoes are the most important ingredients.
But what is wrong with Iranian people that they are ready to eat it before eating the main meal with all the disadvantages that all say?!
Different Types of Tahdig
* Add name of tahdig at the end of each number
- Rice
- bread (preferably lavash or taftan. Sangak and Barbari bread are not used)
- Potato
- Tahchin (with yogurt and saffron)
- Grape leaves which we had in Dolmeh recipe (suitable for Albaloo Polo)
- Lettuce (for green beans)
- Makaroni (Persian Spaghetti, sometimes combined with potato)
- Onions
- Leeks
- Omelette
- Zucchini
- Baghali Polo | Persian Rice With Fava Beans
Conclusion:
In the end, it can be concluded that whenever you have an Iranian or Asian guest, one of the original dishes on your colorful tables could be this Iranian food.
And finally, I would like to thank those who took the time to read this article. Among the delicious foods of different societies, Iranian food is gaining more and more fans daily.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is tahdig made of?
As I mentioned in article 12 things ,but the most famous one is rice and potato.
