Aroma Test Kitchen

Persian Rice

May 8, 2012 at 2:58 pm Aroma Test Kitchen Leave a comment

I’ve had some questions about Persian rice and how to make it in a rice cooker. This type of rice is somewhat different because its success greatly depends on the hard and crispy crust that forms on the bottom of the pan while at the same time yielding rice that is airy and fluffy. There are special rice cookers designed for Persian rice that deliver the above mentioned qualities without needing to prepare the dish the old-fashioned way in a pot. Persian rice is one of my favorite things to eat and I’ve always made it in a regular nonstick sauce pan until today. The results were amazing. I used the Aroma ARC-1010SB Rice Cooker with the Sauté-Then-Simmer option.

Following these steps are crucial to achieving light fluffy rice, as well as getting the crust to form on the bottom. The slide show at the bottom of this post gives step-by-step instructions too.

PERSIAN RICE

2 cups of Basmati rice
2 cups of water
2 tbls of salt
2 tbls of vegetable oil
A pinch of saffron
A dollop of honey

Place two cups of rice in a bowl and wash the rice well under running water until the water is clear. Drain and refill the bowl with clear water and let the rice soak for 2 hours. Drain the water and add rice to the inner pot of the rice cooker (make sure to use the same measuring cup to place equal amounts of rice and water into the pot).

Add salt, close the rice cooker and set the ‘Steam’ function for 15 minutes. Open the rice cooker and carefully remove the rice from the inner pot. Add the saffron and honey to the inner pot as well as 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the cooked rice back to the pot. Poke holes through the rice with a ladle handle or something similar.

Close the rice cooker and select the Sauté-Then-Simmer function. Once the rice cooker changes to ‘Keep Warm’ turn it off and let it cool for 10 minutes. Carefully empty the rice on to a serving dish, the crust should come loose easily. If it sticks scrape it off and place it on top separately.

The finished result: beautiful “Tahdig” crust and fluffy, airy rice.

Entry filed under: Rice Cooker, Side Dish, Vegetarian. Tags: Basmati, food, Persian Rice, Rice, rice cooker, Saffron, vegetarian.