Persian Jewelled Rice with Tahdig

Ingredients

• 450 g basmati rice
• a generous pinch of saffron
• 80 g butter
• 3 tbsp Greek yoghurt
• 60 g barberries
• 60 g pistachios, slivered
• 60 g flaked almonds
• zest of 1 orange, in fine strips
• 30 g sugar
• 4 cardamom pods, crushed

Method

1. Rinse and soak

   Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then soak it in heavily salted water for at least an hour. Soaking lets each grain swell and is why Persian rice cooks up long and separate rather than short and sticky.

   1 h

2. Parboil only

   Boil the drained rice in plenty of salted water for 5 to 6 minutes only — until the grains are soft at the ends but still hard at the very centre — then drain and rinse in cold water. It finishes by steaming.

   6 min

3. Bloom the saffron

   Crush the saffron and steep it in 3 tbsp boiling water for 10 minutes.

   10 min

4. Build the tahdig

   Melt half the butter in a heavy non-stick pan, mix a couple of ladles of rice with the yoghurt and half the saffron water, and press this into an even layer over the base. The yoghurt is what makes the crust golden and crisp rather than merely toasted.

5. Mound and steam

   Pile the remaining rice on top in a loose pyramid, poke a few holes through with a spoon handle to let steam escape, drizzle over the rest of the butter, then wrap the lid in a tea towel and clamp it on. Cook on a low heat for 45 minutes. The towel absorbs condensation that would otherwise drip back and ruin the crust.

   45 min

6. Make the jewels

   Soak the barberries 10 minutes, then warm them briefly with the sugar, cardamom, orange zest and a knob of butter. Toast the nuts. Fold most through the fluffy rice, keep some for the top, and turn the pan out so the tahdig sits crisp-side up.