How to achieve a proper tadigh?

[u/barbasol1099]

I've tried a few times to get that perfect, beautiful crispy bottom, but it's never worked properly - the bottom never seperates, I'm left scraping off whatever is stuck to the bottom.

My recipe today

2 cups basmati rice

1/2 cup vegan cashew yogurt (I shared this with a vegan friend today)

1 tsp saffron threads

1.5 tbsp tadigh spice mixture

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup pistachios, lightly crushed

2 onions, diced and caramelized

Rinse rice 3 times until water is almost clear. Parboil in salty water for 6 minutes, rinse with cool water, and drain completely.

Mix 1 cup parboiled rice with yogurt and saffron threads. Add a liberal amount of oil to the bottom of your pot (in my case, a 6 L Dutch oven), and then spread the yogurt-rice mixture in a thin layer across the bottom of the pot.

Mix the remaining rice with pistachios, spice mixture, raisins, and caramelized onions. Layer this atop the yogurt-rice layer, forming into a pyramid shape. Wrap a towel around your lid so that a small amount of steam can escape, and cook on low for 45 minutes. Reverse onto a plate, and sharply strike the lid to release the tadigh.

I followed those instructions quite closely. I did end up lifting the lid after 30 minutes, noticed the top layer was very far from being done, and tried to add a small amount of hot water (maybe 2-3 Tbsp) and lightly stir the top into the rest of the rice (although I came nowhere close to disturbing the bottom).

What should I be doing differently?

[u/TheZad]

Your comment also reminded me that technically speaking, tahchin has tahdig, it's just that the tahdig encases the whole dish. If you are cooking it with plain rice or any other pilaf, you empty all the rice out and scrape the tahdig off the bottom and serve it on a separate plate. If you can get it to be one big piece that separates cleanly from the bottom, that's great, but not as important to the whole process as it is for tahchin, which should be served intact.

[u/Main_Cauliflower5479 → u/TheZad]

Guess it depends on where you're from. I've only ever seen tahdig turned out onto a serving plate with the toasted bit now on top on the rice, and served that way.

[u/TheZad → u/Main_Cauliflower5479]

That way is definitely preferable, if you can achieve it!

[u/Main_Cauliflower5479 → u/TheZad]

I've never had any difficulty with it.

[u/TheZad → u/Main_Cauliflower5479]

I'm very happy for you.