One of the staple dishes at any lunch or dinner table where there is Persian food is tahdig. Tahdig means “bottom of the pot”. “Tah” meaning bottom and “dig” which means the pot in which we cook the rice in. Tahdig is otherwise known as crunchy rice and often raced for at the table. We intentionally crust the bottom layer of the rice to achieve this crunch and we eat tahdig with any Persian dish or stew. There are a couple of other delicious versions of tahdig including an additional layer of sliced potatoes or the use of flatbread, lavash being my favorite. All are equally delicious and a must try.

It’s truly an art to make tahdig because it takes lots of patience in creating the crust because you need the right proportions of rice, heat, oil, and the right pot. Not to mention the right timing in it all.

So my secret in my tahdig is pretty simple. Drum roll please! I use an amazing Persian rice cooker. I have used a Persian rice cooker for a few years now. As a mother, I try to simplify as much as I can in the kitchen. The rice cooker comes with its own manual on how to make rice based on how many cups of rice you would like to make but it doesn’t have a recipe for tahdig. The Persian rice cooker comes in a few sizes and I have a couple of the 5 cup rice cookers.

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Lastly, so many have asked for my Ghormeh Sabzi {green herb stew) recipe. I would be delighted to share it but I have to make more and since I make it from scratch in huge batches I have to measure it from the beginning to share it with you guys. You can buy prepared sabzi from any Persian market. They are delicious too. I am however a little biased to homemade sabzi because I can taste the difference. Ghormeh Sabzi is typically made of parsley, cilantro, chives and fenugreek. However, I also add leeks and a little bit of spinach. The proportions of the greens I add are very specific to achieve a particular pretty please taste.

I hope you and yours enjoy this tahdig as much as my family and I do! Nooshee jan!