Persian "Tahdeeg" Rice and Lamb Kebabs

I found about this Persian rice by mistake a few years back. I was talking to my friend Aida about these awesome "persian potatoes" I had in Chicago. Aida told me these potatoes are cooked under the rice. What? How? I looked it up then, and then completely forgot about it. Fast forward to last week, and I think about these potatoes again. I figured this definitely needed some re-visiting. 

From my research online I found out that a golden rice crust is created at the bottom of the pot called Tah-deeg (literally "bottom of the pot"). This can be made with the rice alone; or pita, lavash or potatoes on the bottom. I'm interested in the potato version. The potatoes are thinly sliced and layered in a heavy bottomed pan with rice on top. The potatoes get crispy on the bottom, while the rice cooks.

I started out by partially cooking my rice in a bit pot of water. Like pasta. Cook for about 12 mins and drain. A lot of the recipes called for saffron, so I busted out my stash. Saffron, ounce for ounce is the most expensive spice. This tiny container of about 1 gram (.035 oz) cost about $10. 

But little bit goes a long way. I used about a pinch. Soak it in a few teaspoons of hot water and let it steep for about 20 mins. Pour into the drained, half-cooked rice. I also added a handful of slivered toasted almonds for a crunch. Mix well and set aside. 

Thinly slice potatoes on a mandoline. I used the red potatoes I got from my CSA. Any variety should do well here. Liberally oil the pan. I picked my largest non-stick pan for this. Now layer the bottom of the pan in a concentric circles of potato slices. 

Season with salt and another quick drizzle of oil. Then pile on the rice. Make holes in the rice with the back-end of a ladle, and drizzle in a bit more oil. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of water over the rice, cover and set on low. 

I kept checking on the rice and potatoes, and for some reason kept drizzling more oil, just to make sure it doesn't turn into a burnt mess. This turned out to be unnecessary. My rice ended up a bit too oily (but still tasty). The oil in the beginning and the non-stick pan would have sufficed. 

While the rice cooked, I worked on a few things to eat with this. Lamb kebab, sauteed green beans and a simple tomato salad. 

Lamb Kebabs: ground lamb + salt, pepper, garlic, ginger, cumin, chili powder, cilantro. Mix, form oblong kebabs and pan fry. 

Sauteed green beans: String beans. Sautee garlic, add beans and salt. Cook till beans are still crisp. 

Tomato salad: Chop tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt. 

The rice cooks in about 20-30 mins, covered on low heat. You're supposed to flip over the entire pan to have an intact bottom crust. I wasn't confident enough for that yet. We just dug in and made sure we got a piece of the lovely crisped potato crust. The rice was amazing. That tiny pinch of saffron gave the entire pot of rice a wonderful floral aroma. The nuts added texture and the potatoes were delicious. 

For next time, I'll definitely cut down on my oil. Cooking the rice a la pasta, made it very fluffy. This kind of rice would taste great with marinated chicken layered in the rice. Almost like an Indian Biryani. Lots of variations come to mind. I'll try it again soon.