POLOW
IRAN
Rice is an important staple throughout much of the Muslim world, but there is one country where rice is practically revered, and that is Iran, where you find stores that sell only rice, several types, as well as rock salt, which is essential for cooking rice. If you were to enter a rice merchant’s shop in Qazvin, an important market town in Gilan, you would find the rice displayed in big sacks lined up in the shop window, with labels informing clients of the type, the price, and whether it is local—rice is grown in Iran, mainly in the province of Gilan on the Caspian shore. And often, you will find customers sipping tea in small glasses, which the vendor will have ordered from a nearby teahouse, while leisurely inspecting the rice before buying it. The way they do this is by plunging their hands into the bag to lift some of the rice, which they then let run through their fingers to study the grain, whether it’s broken (a no-no unless they are making rice pudding) or intact. They will then ask the vendor how long the rice has been aged. The first time I overheard such a conversation (translated to me), I was astonished. I didn’t know then that rice had to be aged! The best Iranian rice is called domesiah, which means “black end,” a name given to the rice because it has a black tip. It is rare to find domesiah now in Iran, and practically impossible to buy it outside the country. The Iranian stores in London don’t even stock Iranian rice today, selling instead Pakistani or Indian long-grain rice, both basmati and other types.
The secret to a good Iranian rice dish is to first rinse the rice, then let it soak in lightly salted water for up to 2 hours before draining it and parboiling it for 2 to 3 minutes, just enough to break the hardness. After that, it is put to steam over very low heat until it forms a tah-dig, or golden crust—the prize part of Persian rice—while the rest of the rice becomes incredibly fluffy. You can prepare it plain as here or make the sabzi polow (Herbed Polow), a typical rice dish for Nowruz (Iranian New Year), or the Lentil Polow, to name but a few of the variations.
As for the tah-dig, you can make it in different ways—the name is a combination of two words, tah, which means “bottom,” and dig, which means “pot.” I like to make a plain rice tah-dig, with just rice, oil, and saffron water, but you can also make a tah-dig by simply lining the pan with a thin layer of thinly sliced potatoes or lavash before you add the first layer of rice.
Serve this polow with the dish of your choice, either kebabs or khoresht.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Good pinch of saffron threads
2½ cups (500 g) basmati rice
Sea salt
⅓ cup (80 ml) vegetable oil
4 tablespoons (60 g) unsalted butter, melted
1. Put the saffron to soak in 2 tablespoons water.
2. Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water, then put in a large bowl. Pour enough water to cover the rice by about two fingers. Add 2 tablespoons salt and let soak for 2 hours.
3. Thirty minutes before the rice is done soaking, bring 2 quarts (2 liters) water to a boil in a large pot. Drain the rice and add to the boiling water along with 2 tablespoons salt. Bring back to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. The rice should be “al dente.” Drain the parboiled rice in a colander and rinse under cold water. Let drain.
4. Put the oil and half the saffron water in a large clean pot with a heavy bottom and place over medium heat. When the oil starts sizzling, sprinkle a good layer of rice all over the bottom, about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick. Then add the rest of the rice, building it into a pyramid so that it does not stick to the sides. Make a hole in the center and pour in the melted butter and the remaining saffron water. Wrap the lid with a clean kitchen towel, cover the pot tightly, and leave over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to very low and let the rice steam for 1 hour or so, or until the bottom becomes very crisp and golden brown—you may not succeed on the first try as it takes some practice to figure out how low a setting you need to cook the rice that long without burning it, but you will soon get the hang of it.
5. Take the pot off the heat and place the bottom on a very cold surface or in iced water to loosen the crust or tah-dig. Scoop out the saffron-colored rice from the center of the rice and transfer to a small bowl. Transfer the rest of the rice to a serving platter, taking care not to disturb the tah-dig. Scatter the saffron-colored rice all over. Then, remove the tah-dig and break it into pieces. Arrange the tah-dig all around the rice and serve hot.
COOKING RICE IN IRAN
There are three main ways of cooking rice in Iran, not counting the different garnishes. In one, called polow, rice is parboiled and then steamed over very low heat until it forms a crust on the bottom. In another, called kateh, rice is cooked with the absorption method and left long enough over low heat that it forms a crust both on the bottom and sides. And for the third, called tahchin, rice is parboiled and then mixed with yogurt and egg and baked in the oven so that it becomes like a cake with a crusty outside and the rice fluffy inside. Of course, you can add meat or a vegetable garnish to any of these three methods, although kateh is more often than not made plain.