Inside the Spice House – Continuing Our Culinary Adventure Across The Middle East

For those of you who have travelled in the Middle East we feel sure you will agree with us at the Spice House, that you discover many varied and delicious dishes that you have not tasted or even heard of before! Dishes from other countries or continents are readily found out of their country of origin, for example Indian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, etc. Not so much with Middle Eastern dishes!

Across the Middle East you will find variations of the popular Mediterranean dishes we all love and enjoy such as hummus falafel, shish kebab, shawarma, tabouleh, kofta, baba ghanoush and so on! Though it is the rice dishes that excited us the most and is, without a doubt, the most popular Middle Eastern food. Whilst it is now a staple food for us, most of us tend to just ‘cook it’!

However, the first time we visited a Persian (Iranian) Restaurant we were so surprised and excited at the two whole pages of rice dishes, more than 40 to try. How beautiful and colourful they all looked too! Yes, we know the Chinese for sure do the best special fried rice, the Japanese certainly are masters of sushi rice, Thais, and Indonesians famous for nasi goreng, pad khoo, Italians for risotto and arancini, Spanish for paella and Mexicans for stuffed tomato rice!

However, we hereby declare the Iranians to be the world champions of rice cooking! Here’s why. We simply have to tell you about Tahdig first (pronounced tah-deeg), literally means the bottom of the pot. It’s a delicious, pan-fried rice, fluffy and battery on the inside with a perfectly golden crust at the bottom of the pot. It’s mouth-watering flavoured with saffron and often scented with orange zest as in this recipe.

Tahdig Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tsp saffron threads
• 2 cups basmati rice
• 1 to 2 tbsp Himalayan salt
• 2 tablespoon whole milk yogurt (Greek or otherwise)
• 2 tbsp grape seed oil, or any healthy neutral-tasting oil of your choice
• 1 cup dried cherries, finely chopped (we use cranberries if cherries are not available or in Iran they use barberries as they are the world’s largest producer)
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 to 8 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 tbsp pistachios, roughly chopped for garnish

Instructions

1. Mix the saffron into 1 cup very warm (but not hot) water. Let sit for at least 10 minutes
2. In a sieve, rinse the rice under cool running water
3. In a large pot, combine 8 cups of water and the salt (this is your one shot to season the rice itself). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook until al dente, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the rice.
4. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the cooked rice, the yogurt, grapeseed oil, and 2 tablespoons of the saffron water. Mix thoroughly.
5. Spread the rice-yogurt mixture evenly on the bottom of a 10-inch lidded non-stick pot. Sprinkle 1 cup of the remaining cooked rice on top, followed by 2 tablespoons of the dried cherries / cranberries, a pinch of orange zest, and a pinch of cinnamon. Add another layer of rice and repeat with the cherries, orange zest, and cinnamon, reserving a couple tablespoon of the cherries / cranberries for garnish. As you go about layering, the rice will start to dome and look “pointy” in the middle–that’s okay! Keep it that way. Finish by dotting the top with the butter and pour the rest of the saffron water all over the top.
6. Wrap the lid in a kitchen towel and secure it around the handle with a rubber band. Cover the pot and cook over low heat, 25 to 30 minutes or until the rice around the edges is golden and crispy; it’s okay to peek under the lid! Be sure not to burn the bottom layer of the rice, though you do want a nice crust in the bottom.
7. Remove the lid, invert a large serving plate over the pot, and carefully flip them over together. No worries if it sticks, just scrape it out and run with it! Sprinkle the Tahdig with the reserved dried cherries / cranberries and pistachios and serve right away.

Next to Tahdig, we love Maqluba (Makloubeh) with lamb or chicken, it is a layered dish served by flipping upside down to reveal layers of vegetables (commonly eggplant, onion, potato, and cauliflower) meat and rice. It’s packed with flavour as everything cooks together in one pot. It is popular in many Middle Eastern countries, a dish to try!

Our favourite rice for special occasions (everyday could easily be a special occasion day at the Spice House) is Persian Jewelled Rice.

Persian Jewelled Rice

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp saffron threads
• 2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
• 1.4 tsp cumin seeds
• a rounded 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• a rounded 1/8 tsp cardamom
• a rounded 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice rinsed well
• 2 bay leaves
• finely julienned rind of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup dried tart cherries or cranberries
• 1/4 cup dried apricots diced
• 1/4 cup dried figs diced
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds toasted
• 1/4 cup pistachios toasted
• seeds of 1 pomegranate for garnish

Instructions

1. Mix the saffron threads in 2 1/4 cups of hot water, set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet and sauté the fennel and cumin seeds until they are fragrant, just a minute or two. Add the cinnamon, cardamom and allspice and stir to combine. Add the onion and sauté over low heat until the onion is softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Add in the rice and sauté it for a minute or 2 with the spices and onion.
4. Pour in the saffron infused water, along with the bay leaves and lemon rind. Stir to combine, season with salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
5. Add in the fruit and nuts, stir to combine, and cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Cook on low to medium heat for about 12 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, for another 10 minutes. Note: check your rice after 12 minutes, and if it’s not tender, let cook a few minutes more.
6. When the rice is done, fluff it, remove the bay leaves, and spoon onto a large platter. Scatter the pomegranate seeds on top to garnish.

All of the rice dishes we enjoyed whilst in the Middle East are perfect served alone or with chicken, lamb, prawns, etc. We would love to hear about your unusual rice dishes, please feel free to e-mail us at [email protected] so we can share them with all our lovely Pals readers! Next month we will tell you about delicious dessert dishes to be found across the Middle East.

For more recipes or info visit www.spiceandeasycyprus.com or call us on +357 99104622