A delicious way to spend an afternoon

A couple weeks before Thanksgiving, the Chief Taster drove us to the bookstore because she wanted to try more Mediterranean food, and thought we should get a Mediterranean cookbook.  I (correctly) took this to mean "I want you to cook me some Mediterranean food," but I was ok with that, because it sounded pretty good to me, too.

When I lived in Oregon, I had an Iranian friend who was in the same hiking group as me.  I guess I still have an Iranian friend, but I don't get to see her as often now.  One night, maybe a month or so before I left town, she had me over for dinner with a couple other mutual friends.  Her mom, a venerable woman who spoke slightly more English than I speak Iranian (I currently know one word--tahdeeg--and have forgotten everything else they taught me that night.), cooked an amazing meal of lamb stew and rice.  It remains the best Persian food I've ever had, and it sparked my interest in the cuisine of my friend's homeland.

my tahdeeg; not as good as my friend's mom's, but still tasty

We closely examined several books on Mediterranean food before finding one we liked.  If you'd like to try this dish or any other from the region, just go buy the book.  This post (and any others derived from Kehdy's recipes) won't do the material justice, and her pictures are prettier than mine.

Before leaving for work one day after we made our purchase, the Chief Taster requested Jeweled Rice for dinner with my brother's Honey Butter Glazed Salmon, a long-time favorite of hers.  I agreed, and luckily I started early, because it was much more time-consuming than I initially realized.

To be fair, if I had planned more than 12 hours in advance, it would have been easier.  When I agreed to her menu choice, I didn't know that this recipe would first require me to tackle three others.

Advieh
1 T ground pistachios
1/2 t ground dried edible rose petals (I didn't use these, because I couldn't find them)
1/2 t saffron threads (I chopped them into smaller pieces)
1 t ground cardamom
1 t ground cinnamon

Full disclosure: I only realized after returning from the store that my cardamom was not in ground form, so I had to grind it myself, just like the pistachios.  Naturally, we don't have a mortar and pestle, so I had to use a narrow jar and a small bowl, hoping the entire time that I wouldn't break either one and drive broken glass into my hand.  Mix everything together.  Store in an airtight container up to 3 months.

Saffron Liquid (makes 1 T)
Toast 10 saffron threads in heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat for 30 seconds, until fragrant, shaking pan often.  Transfer to a mortar and allow to cool 1 to 2 minutes before grinding to powder.  Mix ground saffron with 1 T boiling water and set aside to cool at least one hour, until rich orange hue appears.

Parboiled Rice
2 C basmati rice
3 T sea salt

1. Wash the rice in five or six changes of water, until water runs clear.  Hopefully you have a colander or sieve that will work well for this, because I didn't, and had to try very hard to not spill rice from my bowl while dumping out the water.  It was a real pain to wash the rice my way.
2. Pour 4 C warm water into a large bowl with 1 T salt.  Add rice and leave to soak no more than 30 minutes, running your fingers through every so often to loosen the grains.  Drain rice and rinse under warm water.
3. Pour 5 1/2 C water into large saucepan with remaining salt.  Bring to a boil and stir in well-strained rice.  Return to a boil and cook over high heat, uncovered, just over three minutes, until grains are soft outside but still firm in the middle.  Do not stir rice again.
4. Drain parboiled rice in a strainer and rinse with lukewarm water, tossing gently to remove excess moisture and separate the grains.  Parboiled rice can be stored in the fridge up to 3 days.  Return to room temperature before using in recipe.

Now the main event (a fair assessment, since this gorgeous side dish required far more effort than the entree):

Jeweled Rice

1/4 C dried currants

1 C dried barberries or cranberries

1 bitter orange, such as a Seville (I skipped this entirely)

3/4 C slivered almonds

1/2 C shelled pistachios, halved

1 T finely chopped mint leaves

5 T sunflower oil

1 recipe quantity Parboiled Rice

1 t Advieh

4 T unsalted butter

2 T Saffron Liquid

• Soak the currants in water 10 minutes.  Soak cranberries in a separate bowl 5 minutes.  Drain both and pat dry separately.
• (I skipped the orange, so I'm skipping transcription of the orange step.  If you want to get the recipe right, buy the book)

This picture illustrates some of the pretty ingredients, and the third way I screwed up this recipe.

• Reserve 1 T each of the slivered almonds, pistachios, and currants.  Combine the remainder of each with the mint.

The "jewels" of the jeweled rice.

• Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until sizzling.  Spoon 4-5 T of rice across bottom of pan to cover.  Sprinkle 1 T of fruit and nut mixture over rice, then sprinkle in a pinch of advieh.  Continue adding layers, building a dome.  Finish with a layer of rice.  Don't dump the rice in, because it will compress, and the final result will not be as light.

building layers

• Using the handle of a wooden spoon (or in my case, a honey dipper), make three holes in the rice all the way to the bottom of the pan.  This will help the tahdeeg, or crisp base, to form.
• Melt half the butter in a small pan.  Add saffron liquid and 2 T water and mix well.  Pour over rice.
• Wrap the saucepan lid with a clean dishtowel and tie it tightly at the handle.  Use it to cover the pot as tightly as you can so steam does not escape.  (The dish towel keeps moisture from dripping into rice, making it soggy.  I didn't have enough towel to tie, so I used a big binder clip we usually employ to close bags of chips)  Cook the rice over medium heat 2-3 minutes, until you see puffs of steam escaping the lid, then reduce heat to low and cook, covered, 20 to 25 minutes.

• Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in saucepan, add soaked cranberries, and fry, stirring often, 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside for serving.  (I completely forgot this step, because I had mixed the berries earlier before mixing them with the nuts.  I think the complexity and unfamiliarity of the recipe had me a little flustered, but my result was still tasty, so I don't care)
• Gently spoon rice from pan and sprinkle into a dome on a serving plate, or tip pan and spill rice into a  mound.  Use a spatula to loosen tahdeeg and flip it onto the serving plate.  Decorate rice with reserved nuts and berries and the fried cranberries.

Jeweled rice, with some tasty salmon lurking in the background.  It looked more delicious in person.

My Persian friend approved of my efforts, although she only had the pictures I posted online by which to judge.  The Chief Taster raved about it, even after I told her the four or five separate ways I had screwed up the recipe.  I would like to make it again, maybe even often enough that I actually get good at it and feel a little more confident about the endeavor, but next time I'll have a better idea of how to time things.  And now, so will you.