We are a few days into Ramadan but before I write about Tahchin and give you a recipe, and in a subsequent post write about Ramadan and breaking the fast, I would like to apologise for my long silence. I started the year with a nasty bacterial infection that knocked me out for a few weeks then I was traveling, which added to the long silent hiatus. However, I am back on track now and here I am to tell you about one of my all time favourite dishes, both to prepare and eat. Tahchin is basically an Iranian rice cake that can be made plain or with added lamb or chicken. I guess it can also be made with vegetables although it is not traditional. Whenever I make it — it is one of my party dishes and now that I am obsessed with edible gold, I like to add it to have a gold on gold effect as you can see from the picture — it reminds me of the Sicilian rice timballo which is also baked in the oven. Some may say what about ma2lübeh, which is also a rice cake, but ma2lübeh does not really compare because it is cooked on top of the stove and the rice is not mixed with any marinade and when it is turned over, there is always a moment when you catch your breath hoping that it keeps its shape! The only risk you run when you turn over tahchin is whether it will stick to the baking dish.
Anyhow, tahchin starts out like all Iranian rice dishes with the rice being soaked then blanched but that is where the similarity ends because the rice in tahchin is not as fluffy as with either polow or kateh — unlike these, the rice for tahchin is mixed with a yoghurt and egg marinade that makes it stick somehow although it should never be cakey.
If you are making tahchin with meat, you need to cook the meat separately then marinate it in the saffron yoghurt and egg mixture before mixing the rice with what is left of the marinade and building the cake by laying half the rice all over the bottom of a deep non-stick pie dish, then spreading the marinated meat all over before covering with the remaining rice. You lightly press down on the whole thing to level the top which will eventually be the bottom and bake it in a medium oven for over an hour to develop the crusty outside while the rice steams and fluffs up inside. Here is a recipe for you to try.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Belly Dancer in the Kitchen with Anissa Helou to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.