As the influx of Persians crowd the dinner table at any party or “Mehmoony”, my mind usually goes to one thing “Is there going to be enough Tadiq left by the time I make it around this table!?” Some panic instills… and when you do get some of it, you feel that you have conquered and accomplished your ONE and ONLY primary goal at this party. Ok, at least this is how I think…
When I tell you that this is the best part of a Persian meal, I am not exaggerating. I think most would agree. And when I think of how to describe Tadiq to someone, I think of it almost like fried dough, but thinner, crunchy and better! But that’s the best comparison I can think of.
It is a crispy, tasty, and best of all, an OILY treat. 
Here is your short and sweet recipe.. for this:
Tadiq (bottom crust of rice)
This process begins in the middle of making rice…rice has already boiled, is taken out of the pot before this.
- Spread some olive oil to the bottom of your rice pot
- Place whole pieces of pita bread on the bottom of the pot, oil both sides, and then place top of the bread facing down.
- Cover whole pot with this pita bread
- Pour rice back into pot, push towards center
- Place paper towel on top of pot and then place cover on tightly
- Put it on low heat for 30-45 min
- At this point both your rice and Tadiq is done. After you pour out the rice to a platter, you can start to break out the pita bread
- It should be a nice, light brown color
- Break apart some pieces and place on a separate platter when you serve (like the image)
Delicious..
I have a question: Every time (not kidding every time) I try potato tadig it burns. I add oil then a layer of potato, then my pollo… Do you have any tips to prevent this?
When you first cook your tadig, keep it on high setting for about 30 seconds or until you see the water steaming on the pot’s lid. Afterwards, keep it down to as low a setting as possible. You don’t want tadig to cook for more than 30 minutes, otherwise it’ll get very burned. Hope that helps
That is a HUGE help. Thanks! I think next week I’m making us Lubia Pollo so I’ll try that! Have you ever cooked with brown basmati rice? Evidently it exists, which in itself is news to me, and I was thinking of trying it.
Could you do a post about Fesenjoon? It’s amazing over the tadig!!!
Ohh yes… I will plan that one soon!
I actually haven’t tried Brown basmati rice… let me know how that turns out