Jeweled Tahchin – Persian Baked Rice
Want to enjoy a Persian baked rice dish?
Try this delicious recipe courtesy of Anysé & Saleha (@reelhomeliving).
- 91 - 120 Minutes
- Serves 4
Method
Ingredients
Ingredients
- For chicken:
- • 1 boneless chicken breast (~415 g)
- • 3 cloves of garlic, whole
- • 1 medium onion, cut in half
- • 1 tbsp lemon juice
- • 1 tsp salt
- • 4 cups of water
- • 2 tbsp oil
- • 1 medium onion, sliced
- • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- • 1 tbsp saffron water**
- • 1/4 tsp turmeric
- • 1/2 tsp advieh (Persian allspice/garam masala)
- • 1 tsp salt
- • 1/4 tsp black pepper
- For rice:
- • 2 pouches Tilda Pure Basmati rice
- • 3 egg yolks
- • 2/3 cup plain yogurt **
- • 2 tbsp oil
- • 2 tbsp salted butter, melted
- • 1/2 tsp salt
- • 2.5 tbsp saffron water **
- For garnish:
- • 1 tbsp salted butter
- • 1/4 cup of dried barberries (zereshk)
- • 2 tbsp of dried orange peel (bitter orange)
- • 2 tsp sugar
- • 1.5 tbsp saffron water**
- • 1 tsp salted butter
- • 1/4 cup of slivered pistachios
How to make Jeweled Tahchin – Persian Baked Rice
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Preheat oven to 400C, In a pot, add chicken along with the whole garlic cloves, the halved onion, lemon juice, 1 tsp of salt, and water, and allow to boil for 20 minutes until cooked. Once cooked, remove chicken, shred and set aside.
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In a pan add oil and onions. Sauté until light brown and translucent, then add minced garlic. Once fragrant, add shredded chicken with remaining spices and sauté until fully incorporated. Add saffron water at the end and set aside.
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In another bowl, add in all of the liquid ingredients and salt and whisk together to prepare the rice. To this, 2 sachet Tilda Pure Basmati rice and use a spatula to combine it evenly to avoid breaking the rice.
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In a pan, add butter, dried barberries and orange peels. Sauté for 2 minutes then add sugar and saffron water for 2 minutes then remove from heat and set aside. Use remaining 1 tsp butter to toast slivered pistachios.
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Grease all sides of ramekins/baking dish with butter or oil. Add in the rice mixture about halfway in the ramekin, and then a layer of the chicken mixture, sprinkle some of the barberries/orange garnish and pistachios over chicken and then fill the ramekin with the rice mixture. Press down with the back of a cup so you have a smooth firm surface (this will help with a clean flip!).
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Cover with foil and bake on the centre rack in the oven for 50-75 minutes until you see edges get crisp. Once finished, allow to rest for 10 minutes and then flip onto a plate/serving dish and garnish with remaining topping mixture.
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Tips: To prepare saffron water, crush 1/2 tsp saffron threads with 1/2 tsp of sugar into a powder and add 4 tbsp of hot water. This bloomed saffron water is what you will use throughout this recipe. Use full fat thick yogurt for the rice mixture. Do not set ramekins or baking dish on another baking sheet when baking. Place directly on the oven rack to ensure the bottom crisps up and gets nice and golden! You can find dried barberries and bitter orange peels from Persian/Middle Eastern supermarkets and several mainstream supermarkets in the international aisle! You can always substitute with cranberries or raisins and orange zest, but keep in mind that these substitutes are much sweeter than barberries, so you can omit sugar if using these options.
