Tahdig, also known as tachin, is scorched rice or crunchy rice, a thin crust of slightly browned rice that forms at the bottom of a pot while the rice is cooking. It is attributed to Persian kitchens and found and treasured in others around the world. I’ve tried, usually unsuccessfully, to achieve this technique that results in tasty rice. If I leave rice too long in my rice cooker, a modicum of tahdig is achieved.

These past few weeks, with Daughter away, among the new dishes I tried were two which included tahdig. Each dish take lots of steps, not my usual style in the kitchen. The time is well worth every single detail. To succeed, just follow the directions, do one at a time, and it will fall together deliciously and beautifully.

Eggplant Tachin with Barberries (Persian Baked Crispy Rice) was the first new entry into my kitchen repertoire. This recipe comes from Arielle Nir and the book written with her sister, “A Moroccan Grandmother’s Love Is Rolled Into Her Couscous.”

Start by greasing a glass baking dish with ½ cup of oil. I sprayed mine with the equivalent of Pam. Rinse 4 cups of basmati rice in a fine-mesh sieve; put it into a large bowl and cover with room temperature water. Soak for 30 minutes to an hour, drain.*

*I’ve learned to wash and soak my rice from recipes such as this one. The result is a fluffier rice. Another step that is well worth the extra effort.

Put 1 teaspoon of saffron threads a cup with 3 ice cubes. The recipe directs you to grind the saffron with some salt. This step I passed over!

Next, set your oven on broil. Slice 2 medium globe eggplants into ¼-inch thick pieces. Arrange in a single layer on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush with oil and broil for about 5 minutes, one sheet at a time. Flip, brush, broil 3 more minutes. Sprinkle with salt.

Lower the oven to 350 degrees F. Put ¾ cup barberries* in a small skillet, cook for about 5 minutes or until barberries are fragrant and start plumping. Set aside.

*In place of barberries, I used some currants that had been neglected in the pantry far too long. I soaked them, did not cook in the skillet.

Now cook the rice for 6-8 minutes in a large pot of water with some salt. Remove from heat; it will be al-dente, not fully cooked. Whisk 5 eggs in a large bowl with the saffron water, juice of one lemon, 1 teaspoon of salt. Gently fold in the parboiled rice until evenly coated. Spread half of the rice mixture in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the barberries (currants), arrange the eggplant slices on top. Cover with the remaining rice and smooth the top. Tightly cover with aluminum foil. Bake tachin for 2 hours, until bottom is golden brown (voila, the tahdig). Remove from the oven, rest for 5 minutes.

Place a serving platter (larger than the baking dish) on top of your tachin. Carefully flip onto the platter and remove the baking dish. Or just dish it out of the baking dish!

The rice achieves a lovely tahdig while baking. The eggplant melts away leaving a delicious taste and texture. The berries in the center add a lovely sweet flavor to the overall dish.

Tebit (Chicken Baked in Rice). Over the past few years with the proliferation of recipes distributed digitally, I’ve been intrigued by a chicken dish known as tebit or t’beet. This one-pot chicken and rice dish is attributed as a classic Iraqi Jewish comfort dish. Traditionally, it’s cooked slowly on Friday and remains warm by Saturday afternoon. The rice time has time to soak up the chicken’s richness. 

Recently, I’ve brought a few whole chickens home and remembered seeing this recipe. A quick on-line search revealed a number of recipes.

Start by soaking 3 ½ cup of long-grain rice (the recipe recommends soaking the rice over night, I did not do that). Drain the rice, rinse well with cold water. Combine 2/3 cups rice, one large boneless, skinless chopped chicken thigh (another omission on my part), 2 tablespoons tomato paste (I had made some homemade tomato sauce and used that), baharat,* 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon cardamom in a medium bowl; stir mixture well. Set remaining soaked rice aside until ready to use.

*Baharat is a Middle Eastern spice blend that is gaining popularity. I don’t have any so I googled the ingredients (allspice, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cloves, ginger, turmeric, and nutmeg) and concocted by own mix. Years ago, I also assembled my own ranch dressing without the sale.

Gently loosen the breast skin from the whole chicken using your fingers. Stuff the rice mixture under breast skin (about 1/4 cup) and into chicken cavity (about 3/4 cup). Prick chicken skin using a fork or a sharp paring knife. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack positioned in bottom third of oven. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick pot or Dutch oven over medium-high. Add 1 small can of diced tomatoes (omitted), 2/3 cups of chopped onion, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons paprika, remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons tomato paste, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and transfer to a medium bowl. Wipe pot clean.

Coat bottom of pot with 1 tablespoon oil. Add diced tomato mixture, 4 cups water, one 8 ounce can of tomato sauce, bouillon, and remaining 4 teaspoons salt; bring to a boil over high. Add reserved soaked rice; reduce heat to medium, and simmer, undisturbed, 20 minutes. Add the whole chicken, breast side up, into center of rice mixture.* Spoon some of the simmering liquid over chicken; cook over medium, undisturbed, 10 minutes.

*I’ve read instructions elsewhere about trussing (tying together the legs) the chicken. I see that mine would have looked nicer, don’t know if the cooking or flavor is affected.

Cover pot and transfer to preheated oven; roast for from 1 hour and 20 minutes to 2 hours. Uncover pot; increase oven temperature to 425°F, and roast chicken about 10 minutes until  browned. Remove from oven, and let cool 20 minutes.

To serve, carefully transfer chicken to a plate, cut into pieces, set aside. Invert pot onto a large round platter to release the rice; remove. Transfer chicken to the platter, nestling it into the center of the rice. Or (I chose this alternative) spoon rice onto large platter, placing crispy rice on top. Place chicken over rice, and serve.

The chicken and rice are infused with warm spices and deep, savory flavor. The rice, which caramelizes on the bottom and along the edges, creates a crunchy and dramatic crust – the tahdig.

Constant Companion declared them as “keepers.” End of story …