A few months back I wrote about Persian Rice Cooking Method, which is done on the stove. In a past post I have also talked about the difference between a Persian Rice Cooker and other rice cookers on the market. Fortunately, for all of us my regular reader Aaron saved the day by letting us know about the technological explanation.
The big difference between Asian rice cookers and Persian is Fuzzy Logic. Fuzzy Logic is the system in most rice cookers to avoid burning, which makes Tahdig impossible.
Another smaller issue is most Asian rice cookers the pot is not non stick rather it is aluminum.
Indeed, Persian rice cookers have a non-stick interior which should be taken care of with much care. In fact, it is important to keep the surface of the pot scratch free.
So, a big thank you to Aaron for his explanation. By the way, in recent months Aaron has started a blog of his own: Level Up Your Cooking. It is absolutely awesome and you will notice that he is very ambitious in the kitchen! Please be sure to check it out. 🙂
I absolutely love my Persian Rice Cooker. It was given to me as a gift when I moved into my very own apartment in Redondo Beach in 2004. It was an awesome place. I knew I had to have it when I walked into the spacious kitchen and the lemon tree in front of my door pretty much sealed the deal.
I use my rice cooker often to make rice because it is easy and a pretty quick way to make rice. It took me a while though to figure out the correct water vs. rice ratio. Persian Rice Cookers simply don’t have directions. I consulted with a couple of cookbook and also asked my mom. I found that when going by their directions the amount of water was too much. After some experimentation I have finally mastered the ratio that works out best for me.
For this recipe I am using two cups of rice which is small amount made for The Sous Chef and I to consume during two meals. Since the ratio of water to rice is one to one you can increase the amount to your need. However, I would not go below two cups when making rice in a rice cooker.
Ingredients
2 cups rice (the equivalent in standard measuring cup is 1 1/2 cups)
2 cups water
1 tbsp canola oil
salt
Place two cups of rice in a bowl.
Wash rice well until water is clear. I find that it is best to soak the rice for a couple of hours when using a rice cooker. I soaked mine for about 3 hours.
Once you are ready drain water.
Load up rice in the rice cooker.
Use the same measuring cup that you used for rice to measure water. I always use my rice cooker’s cup when making rice.
Add 2 cups of water.
Add about half a teaspoon of salt.
Add about 1 tbsp of canola oil. You can use butter instead of oil if you want. Just do not use olive oil.
Give it all a nice and gentle stir.
Cover and press the button to down to COOK.
DISCLAIMER: The following is an extra step that I do. I find that it makes my rice come out the same as steamed rice in a pot. Traditionally, the rice cooker is loaded and left alone until done.
This is what I do: I keep an eye on the rice until the water has been absorbed, which takes about 10 minutes for this amount of rice.
I place a kitchen towel over the lead of the rice cooker and wait for the rice to get done.
Once the rice is done, the light will switch to WARM.
You can either remove the rice from the rice cooker with a spatula…but who wants to do that when you can do it the pretty way? Place a plate on top of the rice cooker.
Take a kitchen towel or kitchen mittens. Pull out the inside pot and place it on the counter upside down.
Gently remove the pot and…..
Voila! Look at this beauty! Making rice with a rice cooker is pretty much fool proof!!!
Look at that tahdig and how nice the rice looks inside! YUM!
October 4, 2009
Lovely step-by-step. Rice looks lovely. All I can think of is some caramel when I see the browny colours!
October 4, 2009
Thank you Kitchen Butterfly! 🙂 I didn’t think I would end up posting as many pictures because it is such a simple recipe. But it truly is step by step!!
October 5, 2009
The rice is beautiful, especially when you take into account how much time the rice cooker saves. Not having to use the traditional methods for the rice, leaves more time to focus on the main dish. I know I could have used 2 more hands in the kitchen last night.
Aaron
October 5, 2009
I couldn’t agree with you more on this Aaron! It only took about 40 minutes to cook!
December 16, 2009
Very nice step by step instructions and mouth watering pictures. Stumbled on your site looking to purchase a new “persian” rice cooker as our old one finally died after years of service…
Keep up the great site. I am going to check out some of your nice recipes.
P.S. Nice to know we are “Southbay” neighbors too… 🙂
Kaevan
December 16, 2009
K1, thanks for the complement! Where are you going to purchase your new rice cooker from? 🙂
February 28, 2010
Thank you so much for your step-by-step instructions. I just bought a Pars persian rice cooker and was so excited to try it and the rice came out very sticky. The tah dig was nice but I was so disappointed in the rice. I think there was too much water and I am going to try the 1:1 ratio you describe and I think putting the towel makes a lot of sense. I will try your technique and hope for the best.
April 1, 2010
What about the potato type tah dig – do you think that would be possible with a rice cooker? I was also thinking of how to make Tahcheen with a rice cooker or slow cooker, any ideas?
April 1, 2010
Yasi, if you want to make potato tahdig in a rice cooker you will have to take the rice out once the water is absorbed, pour some oil, layer the potatoes and then pour the rice back in. I have never made Tahchin in a rice cooker so I have no idea…I don’t know about a slow cooker, but I think making it in a rice cooker is possibility.
April 2, 2010
Love the step-by-sep instructions. I don’t think my rice cooker is that strong because I did not get the tahdig like you did in the picture. It was a very translucent color. So sad, but the rice came out great. Thank you!!
April 3, 2010
Jessica, try leaving the rice in the for about 10 minutes longer on cook and see if that helps. Let me know what happens?
April 12, 2010
What are some good brands to buy for a rice cooker?
April 12, 2010
Carla, I only use Basmati rice. So any brand of Basmati will do!
June 10, 2010
I recently got married and moved out of my parents’ house, and I’m still learning to cook Persian food. I think getting the rice to cook the Persian way has been my toughest challenge. But with my rice cooker, I don’t have to worry about that.
I bought my rice cooker from sadaf.com. It was kind of expensive, but worth every penny. It has several settings for different types of food and rice with or without tahdig. I follow the instructions that came with it, and it makes awesome rice and tahdig.
My question for MPK is: can I make sabzi polow or bagali polow in a rice cooker?
Thanks
June 10, 2010
Newsha, congrats on your marriage! Persian rice cookers are more expensive than regular ones but definitely worth every penny! Yes! You can make Sabzi polow and Bagali polow in a rice cooker but you have to make sure that once most of the water has been absorbed you mix the rice with the herbs and/or fava beans because otherwise they will just stay on top of the rice.
July 21, 2010
The only problem with the rice cooker is the lack of yummy yogurt! 🙁
August 3, 2010
I love your website and how well you show the step by step procedures. For rice cooker rice, I follow your instructions almost exactly, however, instead of a Persian rice cooker I use a Presto Multicooker that I bought at Walmart 10 years ago for about $19 (now I think they are around $40) . It has a thermostat control that I set between 225-250 degrees, depending on how much tah-dig I want. This might be an option for your readers who cannot find Persian rice cookers in their area.
August 11, 2010
I have a question for you! can you put potato underneath as your tahdeeg? have you tried ir? or that it will stick to the bowl and damage it?
August 11, 2010
Omid, I have never tried making potato tahdig in a rice cooker. I suppose you can place potatoes at the bottom of the rice cooker, but you would have to remove the rice from the rice cooker once you see that most of the water has been absorbed, then place some oil at the bottom of the pot, add potatoes, and then top it all with rice.
September 5, 2010
Why the ban on olive oil?
September 8, 2010
bdr, it’s best to not use olive oil because it has a strong taste and scent which overpowers the delicate taste of rice. It’s best to use a type of oil that does not have a flavor or scent.
October 8, 2010
I have been searching and searching online to buy a tahdig making rice cooker. I found a website that sells, Imperial, Pars, and Royal brands.
http://www.gift-centre.com/store/department/23/Rice-Cookers/
I’m interested if anyones as any experience with the brands. As I live in Samoa, its will be difficult to send it back it doesn’t work
October 8, 2010
Saba, I have a royal rice cooker and I have been very happy with it. 🙂
April 10, 2011
Just wondering if you have tried brown basmati rice with the Persian rice cooker & what if anything needs to be done differently? Thanks.
April 21, 2011
Roshi, I have never made brown rice in a rice cooker before, but I would assume that it would need a bit more water.
May 14, 2011
That’s some perfect persian rice!
June 4, 2011
Can you please post more recipes for different types of rice in the persian rick cooker?
Thanks!
January 7, 2012
Dear Sanam, I just bought a Pars rice cooker and my rice keeps coming out sticky, any suggestions?? It also has two little steam holes on the side in the inner pot. Their proportions are 1:1 unless it’s 6 cups or more, then it is 1:1.5. Hope you can help! and thanks in advance! (I am using Basmati from IndiaGate – fyi)
January 7, 2012
Hi Dawn, hmmm, you may want to play with your rice to water ratio. I would put a little less water and see what happens. Additionally, it might also be the type of rice that you are using. But first I would start experimenting with less water. Let me know what happens!
January 8, 2012
Thanks for all the recipes! As to those who were wondering whether you can do potatoe tahdig in a rice cooker – yes and it is very simple. You just add the potatoes after having covered the bottom of the cooker with some oil and salt – and then pour water on with the rice. Just be careful when pouring on the water so that the potatoes stay at the bottom. My mother always does it this way and the tah-dig becomes perfect!
January 12, 2012
Sanam, thanks. I did reduce the water just a bit and it worked – thanks! I will just have to play with it. I have a dinner party in two weeks and want to use it then, so I have to get busy and make a lot of rice to practice. I hate it when I am forced to eat Iranian food, darn! :))
January 12, 2012
Dawn, so glad it worked! Yes, you have to play with them measurements until you get them right. That’s pretty much how I figured out my own rice cooker!!
April 26, 2012
You can put potatoes in for tah dig, but, you have to stop cooking the rice before the rice tah dig forms, put the rice in to a bowl or plate, place the sliced potatoes on the bottom, put the rice back in, reset the cooker for another 20 minutes or so. I have a Pars brand cooker with a dial for time, not the switch. I used to have one of those, but the switch breaks easier. You can do the same to make addas polo, lubia polo, havij polo, tah chin, etc. by stopping the cooking before the tah dig forms, layer, stir gently and resteaming the mixture. Tah chin, you dont want to stir, just mix the yogurt and rice, layer cooked meat, not raw on top of in then add the rest of the rice. So easy and you never have to worry about the tah dig being too dark or not dark enough.
June 7, 2012
Hi Sanam – I was wondering if you can add the saffron water to the rice using this cooking method? And at what point would you recommend adding it? Thanks!
June 19, 2012
It seems others have had trouble making a non-potato tahdig. I have a Royal Cook and have tried numerous times, but the closest I can come to making a tahdig requires leaving the rice cooker on “cook” for close to an hour. This results in something that might resemble a tahdig by eye, but it’s not a crispy crust like a real tahdig.
I have recently taken to cooking the rice in the rice cooker for the “first phase” and then doing the “tahdig phase” in a regular pot on the stovetop. This way I get perfectly cooked rice without having to pay close attention, and then can achieve a genuine tahdig on the stovetop.
That method aside, is there some way I can achieve a real tahdig in my Royal Cook? Should I dump the rice when it’s cooked, then add oil / yogurt / etc. like a traditional tahdig, return it to the cooker, and continue? It seems like I must be doing something wrong. Thanks for any advice!
June 19, 2012
By the way, your website is fantastic. I’m not Iranian but am an aspiring Persian cook, and have been very impressed with your recipes and instructions. One day maybe I will cook like a dear Iranian friend who is a true master, and share the glory of this little known cuisine (in the US) which is among the best in the world! My favorite, at least : )
June 20, 2012
Pesiaphile, I have no trouble cooking rice with Tahdig in my rice cooker without yogurt or potatoes. Just make sure your rice and water ratios are correct.
June 20, 2012
Desiree, you certainly can add saffron water to this recipe. I would add it at the same time you load all of your ingredients and make sure you mix it well so that all the rice is the same color.
July 8, 2012
Looks very good.Thank you for the step by step..Im still learning!
August 6, 2012
So glad I found this article. I bought an Aroma rice-maker at Tar-zhey (Target) and merely started the cooking cycle for white race, after the timer went off the first time, and used another timer for five ‘extra’ minutes. Guess what- we almost got a brown crust, and it DID fall out of the cooker like the picture. I was ecstatic. (I’m the cook for the family, for ‘new dishes’)
It was not as beautiful as your picture, but if I had given it perhaps 8-10 mins., it would have been ‘perfect.’ As it was, the entire family appreciated it, and the ‘gormeh sabzi’ we made for the first time last night as well. Thanks much.
(and we’re not even Persian/Iranian!)
October 16, 2012
We are about to embark on a kitchen remodel and we’ll be without our range for a while. I was pleased to find your post- we could use a rice cooker to make our Persian rice! But, can you cook anything else using a Persian rice cooker? Could I make pasta in it, for example?
January 9, 2013
Is that authenticated way to cook Persian rice with rice cooker? My roommate Paymon insist that you need to open the lid several time to let water evaporate and you have to stir it like risotto when you use rice cooker.
January 21, 2013
you did mention “do not use olive oil”…may i know why? 😉
January 27, 2013
Do you put the kitchen towel on top of the lid or do you take the lid off completely on the rice cooker?
March 13, 2013
Agnes, I wrap the lid in the kitchen towel.
March 13, 2013
Ayu, olive oil does not withstand high heat and has a subtle flavor that would compete with the delicate flavor and aroma of the rice.
March 13, 2013
Ben, I have never heard of anyone opening the lid and stirring it like risotto.
April 3, 2013
Salam Sanam Khanoom,
I just bought a Pars persian rice cooker (http://www.kalamala.com/collections/specials/products/pars-rice-cooker). This is my 3rd persian rice cooker over the past 20 years. The instructions for this model say to pour water, oil, and salt into the cooker, let the water come to a boil, and then add the rice. This is different than any other cookers I’ve used before. Usual you add everything at the same time. Does your cooker have the same instructions and you just choose to ignore it or does yours say to add everything at the same time? I’m trying to figure out if I can just ignore the instructions and do it as I always have. Any thought you have on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
BTW…I LOVE your site!!
April 3, 2013
Salam be shoma Farzin Khan, my rice cooker did not come with any type of instructions. This is the first time I have ever heard of a rice cooker saying to add the rice once the water comes to a boil. I would do a test run and see how it works either way.
April 3, 2013
Thank you Sanam jan…I’ll give it a shot! 🙂
Newer Comments »