The Electric Stove Dilemma
I love sign-in and seeing that people have left comments. I love the fact that I have created two posts based on what a couple of people have asked in the comments. Well here is a third one! You asked and you shall receive my dear readers.
In a recent comment Wendy said:
I’d love to hear your thoughts about making perfect tahdig on an electric stove. I’ve made it about 10 times and still haven’t managed to get it just right. Guess I should break down and buy a rice cooker.
Truth be told I know nothing about electric stoves. Fortunately for me every place that I have ever lived has had a gas stove, which frankly to me are simply the best for cooking. I am mildly snobbish when it comes to stoves because there is something about seeing the flame under the stuff that you are cooking that cannot be experienced through an electric stove. I believe that when you cook with a gas stove you can better control the temperature at which you cook.
I have seen many people make Persian rice on electric stove before and clearly it can be done. One thing that I have noticed that people who have an electric stove do is place a layer of aluminum foil at the bottom of the pan, then place the rice on top of it and proceed to cook the rice regularly. Beyond this information I don’t know much.
On the matters of owning a rice cooker, I am all for it. I have one and I LOVE it. Some people don’t like the way rice comes out of a rice cooker because they say that it is not as fluffy as it is when you steam it. I do agree with this, but at the same time making rice in a rice cooker is essentially fool proof as long as you become familiar with your rice cooker and get the rice and water ratio correct.
I know this out of experience as it took me a few tries until I figured out that the perfect ratio for my rice cooker is one to one. Besides this, the other cool thing about a rice cooker is the fact that you simply throw everything in there and in about one hour you have yourself some with a fabulous looking tahdig.
With all of this said, I would love to hear the opinion of those who have an electric stove and make Persian rice. How does your rice come out? Talk to me pleeeeaaase!
February 17, 2009
Thanks for replying to my question!
Now I am going to move on to the rice cooker question…what model would you recommend? Najmieh Batmanglij uses a “National Deluxe” rice cooker but I can’t seem to find one, not even on line. And all the common models at Target, Walmart, etc. seem to be specifically designed to NOT burn your rice!
Sorry to bombard you with questions but I live in Oklahoma and have no one to talk to about this. Again, thanks so much!
February 17, 2009
Oh the Persian rice cooker issue that I was planning on posting some day! A Persian rice cooker is different than a regular rice cooker. I will post about this in the next couple of days!
I love answering questions, so please feel free to throw as many as you want my way!
March 29, 2011
I have always had electric stoves so I am unaware of the wonders of using a gas stove. I have never had a problem with taddig, except on rare occasions I burn it. I know some people use non-stick pots for this but I prefer a heavy cast aluminum pot. I have learned that a heavy pot makes better taddig. So I use a heavy pot,non stick, and leave it on a 3 electric burner setting for 30 min and its perfect. My family loves a tortilla placed on the bottom type taddig. So I place the small amount of water and oil in the pot,then place a tortilla then put the rice on top and about 30 minutes later I have perfect taddig some of the butter in the rice melts down into the tortilla and my family loves it.
April 2, 2011
an electric stove can cook perfect rice if you use the oven instead of the hob!
December 11, 2011
I make rice in a large dutch oven, Teflon coated. After the rice has soaked in salt water for a few hours, I add olive oil and boil the rice on high heat without the lid. When the water is almost cooked off and the rice is tender but stiff, I empty it into a bowl. I then add some unsalted butter to the bottom of the pan and melt it. Then I layer the sliced potatoes in a circular manner (like Potatoes Anna) on the bottom of the pan. I then put the rice back on the potatoes, add a few cups of cold water and wrap the pot lid with a thick towel. There it steams on low heat until dinner is served, at least 30 minutes. It turns out perfect every time! I use basmati Indian rice. I learned this method from Arakki family members.