Persian rice with dill
Ingredients:
•3 cups basmati rice
•6 cups cold water
•salt
•1½ cups fresh coriander, finely chopped
•1½ cups fresh parsley, finely chopped
•1½ cups fresh chives, finely chopped
•1½ cups fresh dill, finely chopped
•½ cup fresh green onions, finely chopped
•6 garlic cloves, halved
•vegetable oil
•¼ cup + 3 tbsp butter
•¼ cup yogurt
•a pinch of ground saffron
•1 cup dried dill
•2 pcs potato
Direction:
1.Wash and rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear. Soak the rice in 6 cups of cold water, add 4 tablespoons of salt and set aside for a couple of hours. Drain but don’t rinse the rice. Make sure that you don’t use your hand or a utensil during this process, as basmati rice is very delicate and can easily break.
2.In large bowl, mix all the fresh herbs and garlic together, and keep aside.
3.In a large non-stick pot, add 6–8 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and bring to a boil. Add the drained rice and cook for about 7 minutes until the rice is parboiled or al dente—the grain needs to be soft from the outside and firm in the centre. Drain and rinse the rice in cold water.
4.Wash and dry the pot. On medium–high heat, melt ¼ cup of butter; then arrange the potato slices in a single circular layer and fry on high heat for a couple of minutes.
5.Then add one-third of the parboiled rice to create the first layer; top that with half of the fresh herb mixture and dried dill. Repeat with another layer of the parboiled rice and the remaining fresh herb mixture and dried dill. Cover this with the remaining parboiled rice. Make three holes in the layers of the rice with the handle of a spatula or wooden spoon.
6.In a small cup, mix half cup of hot water with 3 tablespoons of butter and a pinch of saffron, and sprinkle the mixture over the rice dish. Once the rice starts to steam, wrap the pot lid with a kitchen towel, lower the heat, and cook for about 45–50 minutes. The towel absorbs the excess condensed liquid and allows the rice to become fluffy.
Serve with baked salmon and kookoo sabzi. Don’t forget to reserve the crispy rice crust (tahdig) on the side and serve—this is usually to most fought-after element of the traditional Iranian rice dish.
► Abbas from Iran, member of KYCLOS community.
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