Make sure to have a colander ready in the sink to drain the rice. When cooking the tadig, make sure the paper towels are safely away from the heat.
Tomato Persian Rice – Polo Germez
Servings
8 Servings
Ingredients
- 3 cup basmati rice checked and rinsed
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 3 cup water
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground saffron optional
- 1 large onion chopped into small dice
Instructions
- Fill a 6-quart nonstick saucepan with rice, tomatoes, water, canola oil, salt, saffron, and onion. Mix together. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium/low. Simmer for 10 minutes. 2. Uncover and place 2 paper towels (one on top of the other) over the rice. The ends will extend outside the pot. Replace the lid tightly. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. 3. Turn off the heat and tilt the lid to allow the steam to escape so that the crunchy bottom does not become soggy. 4. Serve on a shallow platter, mounding the rice into a pyramid, and garnishing with the tadig.
I tripped over a recipe similar to this in a book of Persian recipes and they said to use a clean lint free towel or cheesecloth type towel, and they suggested clothe spinning the ends up over the top of the lid (so the cloth would not catch on fire, of course.). The paper towels would likely work, I guess, but sooner or later, some “Green” person is gonna point out the bleaches and such used to pre-treat the fibers used in paper towels, or the cost of a towel or whatever!! haha! either way works for me. And I’ve noticed sometimes saffron is cheaper at the local, “mom and pop” out-of-the-way local ethnic stores, particularly if you have a lot of Hispanic or Middle Eastern residents in your area (like a college town where I live.). They tend to be cheaper than the high dollar health food stores with fancy branded spice and herb sections. A tiny smidge of turmeric powder works too but won’t have quite the taste of saffron!! 🙂
Do you have a Trader Joe’s Market in your area, you can get small quantities of saffron for $4. Also a site called the The Spice Sage also has wonderful spices at reasonable prices.
Delicious and so easy to make – even without saffron! I think this is going to become a regular in our house…
Made this as a side for Shabbat dinner and my children absolutely loved it!! The safron was a bit difficult to find but I picked it up some saffron threads at Whole foods and it was worth it.
Hi There…….Try slicing potatoes (french chips) fry in some oil in bottom of Rice Saucepan then add rice, it makes the Tadiq into crispy chips and crispy rice bits, naughty and delicious!