Saffron Infused Basmati Rice

Ingredients - Basmati Rice (typically, 1 cup per 2 people), rinse & cleaned

1/4 sliced white onion

1 medium sized potato, pealed and sliced the long way

spices: tumeric, cumin, coriander seeds, salt, 1/4 teaspoon of saffron

Instructions

1.) Fill a teflon pot half way with water, start boiling

2.) Once it is a rolling boil, add 4 teaspoons of salt. Add the rice until it is a bit hardened, about 5 - 7 minutes on low- should be al dente

3.) Once hardened, remove rice from heat and pour it over a strainer in the sink. Pour cold water over the rice, give it a shake or two. Let it sit

4.) In the same pot, add oil, the sliced onions & let it fry... Once fried, pour half the oil into a bowl & turn off the heat. In the bowl, add a few tablespoons of water, place it aside for later

5.) In the pot, add 1 teaspoon of tumeric and cumin, coriander seeds, place the sliced potatoes

6.) Add some coriander seeds to the rice

7.) Without a flame, and using a small plate add the rice to the pot creating a mountain, tallest in the center

8.) With the long side of a ladle, poke 5 holes in the rice reaching the bottom of the pot - past the potatoes. This will allow steam to escape from the bottom of the pot & control the texture of the tahdig. Put the flame on High

9.) Once you see steam escaping from the five holes fairly fast, reduce flame to simmer

10.) Once you lower the flame, pour over the oil & water combination over all of the rice. Let it sit on simmer for 20 minutes to an hour. Over the pot place paper towels (or a kitchen towel) to cover the pot, and place the pot cover above the paper towels

Optional: Take one cup of the cooked rice, mix it with a tiny bit of saffron and boiling water. Decorate the rice with this yellow rice

**pro tip: clean and soak the rice for two hours in salted water, prior to cooking

#Esfahani #Healthy #Gourmet #Saffron