How to cook Iranian rice with Tahdig (Scorched Rice)?

Update Date: May 20, 2024

What is Tahdig made of? Do you know what countries eat Tahdig? Is Tahdig good? What does Tahdig taste like? Do you know what is Tahdig in English?

Tahdig (/tæh di:g/) is made of two Persian words: Tah (/tæh/), which means the bottom of the pot, and dig (/di:g/) is the pot in Farsi. Tahdig can be rice, potato, bread, and some other items. Heavenly delicious, it can have a crispy-crunchy or tender texture that everyone loves.

In brief, to have a tasty Tahdig at your home, here are the simple things you need to do:

• Rinse the rice thoroughly;
• Boil it;
• Drain it with a colander;
• Put some oil at the bottom of the pot;
• Let it cook gently.

In this article, we’ll give you all the details to have the best Tahdig ever, made by yourself. In addition, at the end of this article, you’ll be able to make different kinds of Tahdig.

What Is Tahdig?

Tahdig has a special status in Iranian cuisine. At parties, everyone is looking for Tahdig to decorate their dishes and enjoy the meal. There are various types of Tahdig, and all of them are delicious. You can’t miss Tahdig if trying Iranian food for the first time. Once you eat, you will definitely ask it again.

Tahdig can be rice, bread, or potato slices at the bottom of the pot. However, You can also make it with yogurt, saffron, and egg. Keep reading, please; we will explain clearly how to make Tahdig very simple. Be a professional chef with a Persian cooking style and just at your home smell the pleasant aroma of Iranian cuisine. Let’s make start with rice.

Rice in Iran

Rice grows in different climate situations, such as in Africa, India, Iran, China, Bangladesh, the USA, etc., and people use it as one of the essential foods. American rice farmers cultivate rice in California, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, and Louisiana. Indeed many rice varieties have unique colors, including white, brown, black, and red (depending on their species), shapes, flavors, textures, and sizes.

The most common species is Oryza Sativa cultivated in Asia; the less common Oryza Glaberrima species is cultivated in Africa. According to data, two-thirds of the rice is planted in Asia. Iran is the potential to cultivate many rice species due to the vast lands and soil fertility, especially in the northern provinces close to the Caspian Sea.

The most known Iranian species are Tarom, Hashemi, Hasani, Neda, Gharib, Ali Kazemi, etc., distinguishable only by a rice farmer or expert. Some of the rice names are attributed to those who grew a type of rice for the first time to estimate the rice quality versus its quantity.

When a farmer achieves the perfect result, they put the family name for the rice. Over time people learned about that high-quality rice and began to call it by the farmer’s name, the person who had discovered this species for the first time. In the case of cooking Tahdig, no matter which kind of rice you are cooking.

How to Prepare Rice in Iranian Style?

The steps to make Tahdig are all the same for all types of rice; they are easy to follow and what matters is how you prepare the rice for cooking. In fact, there are two different ways of cooking rice in Farsi, known as Kate or Dami and Abkesh. The first way, Dami, is preferable with some recipes, while some families prefer to cook rice in a second way, i.e., Abkesh.

The main difference between the ways of cooking rice in Persian style, Dami and Abkesh, is the recipe and the condition. In fact, it means that the kind of stew or food you will prepare with rice determines how you cook your rice. Actually, rice is mainly served for lunch. In addition, if Iranians have some guests for dinner, they prefer to eat their meal with rice. Also, conditions can make a big difference.

On a typical day, Iranians often have their rice in Dami style, especially in the cities in the north of Iran. But whenever they have guests, they like to be the best hosts ever. Therefore, they cook the rice in Abkesh style with Tahdig. That’s yummy. This is a way to show more respect to their guests. Now, you have learned how the style of rice cooking is essential in Persian cuisine and culture. Here is how you can cook rice in Dami or Abkesh style.

Ways to Make Rice in Iranian Style

As mentioned earlier, Iranians prepare rice alongside the leading food for lunch and sometimes for dinner. Obviously there are two ways to make rice in Persian, Dami, and Abkesh. To make Tahdig, the Abkesh method is preferable.

Dami is a simple way of boiling rice with some water until all the water is removed, and the rice will cook in the pot with its lid on. In fact, the Persian word “Dam” in Dami style indicates how rice is cooked with steam.  In Abkesh style, you must drain the rice and add some oil to the bottom of the pot. Then you can put the rice inside the pot with its lid on. Here is the same. Abkesh in Persian means colander, and as we use it to separate liquid from rice, this cooking method is known as Abkesh in Iranian cuisine.

Some Tips Before Making Tahdig

The scorched rice with a golden flavor- not overcooked- is called Tahdig in Farsi and is highly popular among Iranians. “Tah” means “bottom,” and “dig” is “pot” in Farsi. If it is your first experience making Tahdig, we highly recommend using a nonstick pot. Otherwise, bringing out the rice with Tahdig for serving on the table can be difficult.

But don’t worry if you can’t take out the rice with Tahdig completely. Iranians have a secret sauce to bring out Tahdig and rice and serve them on the table. Rice is highly important on Iranians’ tables; Iranians decorate the table with large rice plates beautifully hence we are here to share tips with you.

When Is Tahdig Ready?

When rice is well-cooked, and the pot is hot, give it a few minutes of rest time and after a while, cool down the outside bottom of the pot at once. You can turn on the faucet and put the pot into the sink to make it cool. But be careful not to pour water over the pot and wet the rice. You just need to wash the external bottom of the pot with cold water. This way, Tahdig will separate itself from the bottom of the pot because of the sudden temperature change. The inside of the pot is hot, and the outside is getting cold with the cold water.

To ultimately bring out the rice with Tahdig and serve rice with its circle shape on the table, just choose a circle tray larger than the pot’s lid. Put the inner side of the tray over the pot and hold both so you can quickly turn them upside down. Then on the tray, you will have the circle-shaped rice with Tahdig on top. If the pot is too heavy, just use the other way to remove the rice from the pot. With a serving spatula, serve the rice on the plate, remove Tahdig in pieces, and put them over the rice. The pictures below can help you discover Tahdig’s role in the beauty of Iranian meals.

The customs of eating rice in Iran

Iranians generally have lunch in various varieties like stew, Kebab, mixed rice, and vegetables. If you mix some saffron with rice (add saffron with a bit of hot water and two or three pieces of ice to intensify its great red color), it will give you an excellent supper appearance and fantastic flavor, especially with Tahdig. Just try it to understand it! However, some Iranians basically and habitually have it for dinner, but most people believe in the fattening and health-threatening impacts of consuming rice at night.

Rice recipes in Iran

You may like to prepare rice like Iranians. Generally, Iranians have two ways of preparing it, although it depends on your recipe. For example, Iranians use cooked rice (without mixing it with vegetables, meats, etc.) with all kinds of Kebab (meat and chicken), Ghormeh Sabzi Stew (a mix of kidney beans, small pieces of meat, and some kinds of vegetables- Click the link to learn how to make Ghorme Sabzi), Gheimeh Stew (a mix of split peas, pieces of meat and French fries) and some other dishes.

The second one is different and has to be cooked in a mix, depending on the case, with some particular kinds of vegetables, meat, or chicken (like Sabzi polo, Estamboli polo). You may be interested in Iranian cuisine. In this Persian cookbook, you will find the most popular Iranian foods. The e-book is easy to follow, and the instructions for each meal make you a professional chef at home. Cook in Persian style and enjoy eating.

If you are interested in Iranian cuisine, there are four cookbooks available in our store. One for vegetarians and one for meat eaters, both available in Persian and English versions separately.

Rice with Tahdig Recipe

The method for both Dami and Abkesh rice cooking styles is generally the same.

Here, the recipe is for two servings:

• 2 cups of rice;
• 4 cups of water for cooking rice;
• One teaspoon of saffron;
• 1 cup of hot water for saffron (with a few pieces of ice);
• Oil (olive or sunflower oil) for the bottom of the pot to avoid sticking.

At first, it is better to start with saffron. Put saffron into the hot water and leave it in a warm place. Then, after 1 minute, add ice pieces to maximize the color; give it enough time to brew and release its fantastic color. Then rinse the rice with water 3 or 4 times. After washing the rice to remove the dust, the most critical point is adding enough water; for 2 cups of rice, 4 cups of water is enough.

You can measure the height of the water with your index finger, too; put your index finger into the pot containing rice and water. For the Abkesh method, the height of water should at least be up to your two first knuckles; for Dami method, up to one knuckle of water over the rice surface is enough. The following pictures illustrate the amount of water required to cook rice.

Water amount in Abkesh

The water amount is the critical point in cooking rice. If the water is less than the required amount, the rice will cook tough, and if there is extra water, the rice will probably cook sticky. In fact, Iranians would like soft rice soft, which is not chewy. All in all, rice in Persian is called Polow or Berenj.

After a while (about 30 minutes), put the pot over high heat until it boils. After a few minutes of boiling, you need a colander to drain the excess water. Leave your drained rice for a moment. Now it’s time to make Tahdig with saffron flavor. To do this, put the pot over low heat and add oil. To make Tahdig, mix saffron with some rice and spread the colored rice at the bottom of the pot.

Make sure you cover the pot bottom with a mix of oil, saffron, and rice. When you add the drained rice over this surface and let the rice cook gently over the low heat, at last, you will have Tahdig. Sprinkling water on the pot sides is one of the best methods to determine that cooking is done and you have a nice golden scorched rice (known as Tahdig in Farsi). This is the Abkesh style. In the following picture, you will see the result with Abkesh method.

What is Dami?

As we mentioned, there’s another way to cook rice, called Dami or Kateh. If you simply let the rice with water boil until the water evaporates to see well-cooked grains, you will cook the rice in Dami style. However, in this way, you don’t need to use oil. If you let the rice overcook, consequently, it turns brown. Be careful not to burn the rice.

This is a simple type of Tahdig that is more common in the northern cities of Iran. As you see in this rice cooking style, you don’t need to drain the boiled rice or use oil and saffron. It is just like a little bit of overcooked brown rice. It all depends on your taste. If you like to have it scorched and crispy, let it remain more over the heat. But if you like it tender, remove it from the heat as soon as the rice grains are well-cooked.

Tahdig in “Dami” Method of Cooking Rice

How Is the Taste of Rice with Tahdig?

When you learn to make tahdig, it will be much easier to make different kinds of Tahdig based on your taste. Hence you can combine rice with many flavors to make a new taste. However, many countries don’t eat it or don’t know the difference between Tahdig (scorched rice) and burnt rice. The best Tahdig is a crunchy golden thin layer of saffron, yogurt, and yolk; indeed, it’s not black and burnt but golden, dry, and crispy!

Also, Iranians put some potato slices or a thin layer of bread (mostly Lavash- a kind of Iranian bread) at the bottom of the pot to have a different dry, crispy Tahdig flavored with cumin, sesame, etc. Children mostly love potato Tahdig. Remember that if you want flavored Tahdig or make it with potato slices or pieces of bread, you must cook your rice in Abkesh style. Consequently, you must let your rice boil for a few minutes, then drain it in a colander.

After adding some oil to the bottom of the pot, cover the surface with your favorite items. Rice as Tahdig is the most common item. To apply the rice itself, cover the pot bottom with some drained rice after putting in some oil.

However, other suggested items are thin layers of potato, thin pieces of bread (Lavash- an Iranian bread), spicy chicken slices, eggplant slices with your favorite seasonings, etc. Then, you must fill the pot with the remaining drained rice and let it cook gently.

Types of Bread for Tahdig

Here you can see different types of Iranian bread used for Tahdig:

To make Tahdig, cut the bread into square pieces. Then add some oil at the bottom of the pot, and cover the bottom with these pieces.

In recent years, young Iranians have been more creative in trying new kinds of Tahdig and surprising family and friends with new tastes, flavors, and designs. Consequently, when you learn the main steps of making Tahdig, the other finishing touches are all up to you and your taste! Just enjoy every moment of eating your food with the Persian cooking style.

The Best Iranian Recipes with Tahdig

Iran takes advantage of ancient food recipes; fortunately, most will be more delicious if Tahdig is added. In fact, some are eaten with simple rice, and others are mixed with stuff. For instance, Fesenjan with rice, Zereshk Polo with chicken and saffron rice, Tah Chin with saffron, yogurt, and the yolk that has a delicious and thick layer of Tahdig, all kebabs like Bakhtiari with saffron rice, and Baghali Polo with muscle (Mahicheh in Persian), etc.

The Customs of Eating Tahdig in Iran

Most Iranians love Tahdig, and few people may dislike this crunchy flavor stuff. Generally, the sides are loosened with a wood or silicone server because the pot should be nonstick, and if you use other pots, you may not have a good Tahdig. Then it is divided into pieces served on a plate, and each member of the family or guests will have one. However if the pieces aren’t equal to the members, they cut them into smaller parts so all members can have them.

Why Do Iranians Love Tahdig?

Guests are always warmly welcomed by Iranian families. In the family and friends gatherings, they play games together, and consulte with the elderlies. Finally the host’s friendly behavior all end up with excellent meals for lunch or dinner. Truely, Iranians’ food tables have always been colorful and mouthwatering.

The rice dishes decorated with Tahdig on top are mesmerizing, and you can’t help looking at them. Its smell, color, and flavor make you grab a piece, and surely you will ask for more. The siblings may even fight over more Tahdig, especially the one made of potato slices.

The Iranians’ interest in Tahdig may sound strange; however, you will be thrilled if you taste it once. Indeed Iranians are food lovers due to possessing various food recipes accompanied by Tahdig- this beautiful thin golden crispy. So give it a try, and enjoy its lovely taste.

Persian Cookbooks are available on GetbookOnline Store

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To learn how to make Ghorme-Sabzi, Shirazi Salad, and many great Iranian recipes for main foods and side dishes, check out the Persian Cookbook.  “Let’s Make Something Delicious with My Mom’s Lunch and Dinner Recipes”

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