Diablita asked me to post this over at Kickrunners, so I'll cross-post here too. I finally found my Persian cookbook, which I think will be a better recipe for y'all (my mom's method is not as exact and harder to follow... but tasty).
From
Food of Life6 servings, about 1.5 hours
4 c long grain basmati rice (available at most groceries... better than regular rice for this recipe)
8 c water
2 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoon plain yogurt
1 teaspoon ground saffron dissolved in 4 Tablespoon hot water (mostly for color, optional)
1 c butter or vegetable/olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (optional)
1. Clean the rice, which may have dirt/rocks still in the package, by covering with water and draining the water a few times. If you decide to use American or Texmati type rice, just rinse once.
2. Ideally, soak the rice in 8 cups water with 2 Tablespoons salt for 2 to 24 hours, but this isn't totally necessary. It just makes the rice less sticky and prevents it from falling apart if you soak for a bit. Drain the water out after soaking.
3. Boil 8 cups of water with 2 Tablespoons salt in a large non-stick pot. Add the rice to the boiling water, and boil briskly to 6 to 10 minutes, stirring just a couple times to keep the grains separate. Bite a few grains, when they're soft ("al dente" like pasta) the rice is done. Drain the rice with a colander and rinse with cold water. Meanwhile leave the pot on the stove and turn the temperature down to medium-high heat.
4. In a separate bowl, mix 3 spatulas of rice, 2 Tablespoons yogurt, 3/4 cup butter or oil, 1/2 cup water, a few drops of dissolved saffron water, and the cumin seeds if used. Spread this mixture evenly over the bottom of the pot and pack it down. This becomes the tadig.
5. Spatula the rest of the rice and gently place it on top of the yogurt/rice mixture in the pot, shaping it into a pyramid. Poke a couple holes in the rice pyramid with your spatula handle.
6. Cover the rice with a kitchen towel or paper towel between the pot and the lid, and cook on medium-high for 10 to 15 minutes to form the tadig crust.
7. Dissolve the remaining butter in 1 cup hot water (or use the remaining oil) and pour it over the rice pyramid. Cook for 50 minutes more at medium-low heat.
8. Remove the pot from heat, and allow to cool on a damp surface for 5 minutes without uncovering it (this makes removing the tadig from the pot easier). To take the rice out, either spatula the loose rice out with a spatula or flip the whole pot over and dump it onto a serving platter. You should be able to remove the tadig with your spatula or a spoon if it's still sticking.
9. You can take the rest of the saffron water and mix it with a spatula of rice to make the rice yellow, and put this rice on top of the rest in the platter, just for decoration, if you want.
10. Serve the tadig on a separate plate, and put on your boxing gloves! Everyone will be fighting over the tadig.
Enjoy!
