Crispy Potato and Saffron Tahdig
Tahdig is a famous pan-fried rice dish, with a crispy golden shell. Literally translating to bottom of the pot, tahdig infuses long-grain rice with fragrant saffron and tons of butter to create a luxurious dish begging to be cracked and eaten!
This recipe stars U.S.-grown basmati rice and comes to us from our friend Alexa Santos in partnership with USA Rice and thefeedfeed.
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Servings6-8
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Prep Time1 hr 15 min
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Cook Time25 min
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Total Time1 hr 40 min
Ingredients
- 3 cups basmati rice
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
- ¼ cup boiling water
- ¼ teaspoon saffron threads, ground with a mortar and pestle
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and divided
- ½ cup whole Greek yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 small russet potato, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick
Directions
- In a large bowl, cover rice with cold water and 1 tablespoon salt. Soak for 1 hour, then drain.
- Combine boiling water and saffron in a medium bowl. Whisk in 1 tablespoon salt and 6 tablespoons melted butter.
- In another bowl, whisk together yogurt and egg, then stir in half of saffron mixture. In yet another bowl, toss potato slices with 1 tablespoon saffron mixture to coat.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with the remaining 1 tablespoon salt. Boil rice until slightly tender but still not fully cooked, 5 minutes; drain.
- Grease a 10-inch non-stick pot with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. To the yogurt mixture, gently stir in 3 cups boiled rice until coated. Line the bottom of pot with potato slices, then spread coated rice over potatoes and up 1-inch around sides. Top with remaining rice, then drizzle the remaining saffron mixture on top.
- Wrap a towel around pot lid and cover. Place over medium-high heat until you begin to hear rice sizzling, 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook until golden brown, 15-20 minutes; remove from heat. Place a platter over pot and invert so crispy rice is on top, then serve.
