The humble rice transformed into an epic side! Called Tachin or Tahchin, this baked Persian Saffron Rice is crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It’s seasoned enough to eat plain but terrific paired with even heavily spiced mains. That crust is everything!!
Brought to you in partnership with Farmers Union Greek Yogurt.
Have you ever seen a more spectacular looking rice dish?? Look at that insane golden crust!!!! Look at that beautiful vibrant yellow rice!!
Word of warning: Don’t take this Persian Saffron Rice to gatherings because it will steal the show and the host will get annoyed.
Instead, make this as part of your own Persian Feast. Because it’s PERSIAN WEEK here on RecipeTin Eats!
Here’s what we’ve got on the menu for this week:
This Persian Saffron Rice – there are no words. JUST LOOK AT IT!!!!
Persian Lamb Shanks – braised until fall apart tender in a beautiful aromatic broth. Incredibly easy with every day spices you’ll find at any supermarket!
Persian Cucumber Tomato Salad (in the Lamb Shanks recipe)- lovely and fresh, with a little sprinkle of Sumac for a touch of Persian exoticness; and
Persian Love Cake – made with semolina and almond meal, you’ll love how this cake is soaked through with hot syrup!
It’s called Tachin
This Persian Saffron Rice is not something I made up. It’s a real-deal Persian dish called Tachin.
Often you’ll find recipes where it’s layered with a bit of chicken or other protein of vegetables. But for my Persian menu, I’m using it as a side dish so I opted to keep it plain.
Not that there’s anything plain about Tachin!!!
You’ll often find recipes for Tachin – also sometimes referred to as Tahchin – cooked on the stove. But having tried that several times, I can tell you definitively that oven is much easier and safer! On stove top, there’s a high risk of breakage when you flip it, you can’t see when the base is perfectly golden brown and actually, it’s harder to get lovely even golden browning on the stove, you tend to get darker and lighter patches.
Yogurt mixture for saffron rice
All those vibrant colours and textures on the table, and I swear all I can focus on is the saffron rice! Not to talk down everything else on that table, because it’s all super tasty. 🙂 But I have a big soft spot for the rice because it’s one of those recipes that looks exotic but is deceptively easy.
Love recipes like that!
The key to this recipe is a yogurt-egg-oil-saffron mixture that is mixed with par boiled rice, then layered with barberries in a pie dish and baked until crispy on the outside.
This is the yogurt I use – Farmers Union Greek Yogurt. It’s the yogurt I’ve always used for all my cooking – savoury and sweet – as well dolloping / dipping / drizzling on everything from this Lamb Shawarma Chickpea Soup to Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders to this San Fran Chicken Salad with Granch (Greek-Yogurt-Ranch-Dressing).
It’d be a rare occasion if you opened my fridge and didn’t see a big tub of it. 🙂
Dried barberries
They look like dried pomegranates (is there such a thing??!!) and taste like sour cherries. A very Persian ingredient, you won’t find these in every day supermarkets but don’t fret! Yes, having barberries makes it authentically Persian. But from a flavour and visual perspective, it can be substituted with chopped dried sour cherries or cranberries.
You’ll find dried barberries at Persian / Middle Eastern stores or at gourmet stores like The Essential Ingredient. In this Persian Saffron Rice, it’s used in the layers as well as a garnish. Beautiful pops of colour against the yellow rice and deep golden crust.
Let’s be honest – I can talk up how the rice inside is fluffy and flavoured with the yogurt mixture, and how it’s so tasty you can eat it plain, and how you’ll love the little pops of sourness from the barberries that cuts through the richness of the rice.
But you and I both know that this recipe is all about that golden crust. That crust you want to peel off and have all to yourself.
Pull yourself together!! This is a dish for sharing!! – Nagi x
A PERSIAN FEAST
Persian Lamb Shanks • This Saffron Baked Rice • Persian Chopped Salad (in Shanks recipe) • Persian L♥ve Cake (coming Friday)
OTHER THINGS TO SERVE WITH TACHIN
This Persian Saffron Rice will be right at home alongside anything Middle Eastern and Mediterranean. Make a big platter for sharing with a pile of Chicken Doner Kebab meat, Lamb Shawarma or Chicken Shawarma!
What how to make it
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Persian Saffron Rice (Tachin)
Ingredients
Parboiled Rice:
- 2 cups / 360g basmati rice, uncooked (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 3 litres / 3 quarts water
Barberries:
- 1/2 cup dried barberries (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp / 30g unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 tsp rose water (optional)
Saffron Rice:
- 1 tsp saffron threads (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 cup / 250 g plain yogurt (I use Farmers Union Greek Yogurt)
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml oil , neutral (or butter!)
- 3 egg yolks (Note 4 for using leftover whites)
- 3/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Parboiled Rice:
- Bring water to the boil in a large pot. Add salt and rice. Bring back up to the boil then cook for 5 minutes. Drain and leave to steam dry for 5 minutes.
Barberries:
- Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add barberries and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes until they plump up (see video!).
- Remove from heat (they will shrivel quickly) then stir through rose water (if using).
Saffron Rice:
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan).
- Lightly grease a glass pie dish with oil.
- Ground saffron into powder (optional step). Add water and leave to seep for 10 minutes.
- Mix yogurt, egg, oil, saffron water and salt in a large bowl.
- Add rice, stir well.
- Pour half the rice in the pie dish, smooth surface. Top with 1/3 of the barberries.
- Cover with remaining rice, smooth surface, sprinkle over another 1/3 of the barberries. Press down firmly, cover with foil.
- Bake 60 – 80 minutes until the crust is deep golden all over.
- Rest for 10 minutes. Remove foil. Place serving plate on pie dish then flip upside down (it won’t stick because of the oil, see video!).
- Scatter surface with remaining barberries then serve.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Big goodbye hug as I head off to Vietnam for a couple of weeks. I love this damn dog so much.
As for Dozer – he’s off to the golden retriever boarder where it’s 24/7 fun and rumbles!!!
Today’s recipe is brought to you courtesy of Farmers Union. I’ve used their Greek style natural yogurt for as long as I can remember. So it was a no brainer when they asked if I’d create a recipe for them!!
I have made this several times. Some of us don’t eat meat, so I saute some fake meat with Persian spices and put it between layers of the rice and then bake and it’s spectacular. I make the rice as per the recipe and it’s perfect, every time.
I halved this recipe (2 egg yolks instead of 1.5 because I couldn’t be bothered working that out lol) and cooked it in a glass pie dish for 80 minutes. I managed to get that beautiful crust and it was pretty good. My tips would be to make sure your saffron is fresh! Also use the correct amount of salt as I thought it was a bit too much so didn’t use it all, but in the end I needed to add a little salt when I was eating it!
I served this up with the Persian Lamb shanks. Really yummy together.
I had to use craisins as I didn’t have time to order barberries online. Thought the craisins were a little bit sweet and next time I make it I will try with the barberries. More organised next time! Making this again soon. Nice one Nagi!
Does anyone know if this could be halved and cooked in a spring form metal pan? As there are only 2 of us looking at making this in a small 19cm spring form pan
Oh.my.goodness! I don’t like saffron, so subbed rosemary, and like someone suggested added rotisserie chicken. Also dried cranberries because I had them. Sooooo good!
Hi,
Can this dish be prepared in advance? And if so, how would you go about doing so?
I cooked this tonight with the Lamb shank (https://www.recipetineats.com/persian-lamb-shank-recipe/ ) and finished off with the Persian love cake (https://www.recipetineats.com/persian-love-cake/ ). No time to make a Persian salad/veg so we just had plain salad.
This rice is interesting. I don’t have a oven dish which I could flip over so I just used a glass rectangle casserole dish. Still yummy.
I found that I had to use more craisins as the qty in the recipe didn’t cover the rice.
Can this be made day before or prepared ahead…. As 3 hours prior to dinner I have to go and pick up my Persian friend from the airport. I live a long way from the airport
The main meal I’m cooking in my crockpot so it ready when we get home at 6pm .
Delicious! I made this and cooked it at 350 degrees for 80 minutes in my toaster oven on the convection setting but it didn’t get crispy. Is that because I used a toaster oven instead of a stove oven?
Oh Nagi… you have done it again!! We have “international night” every Friday night, when we kick back after a week slogging away at work and aim to eat something new or different. Often we slack it and have a pizza 🙄, but wow, when I spotted your Persian menu.. it was on!! I cooked the lot and it was FABULOUS 🥰🥰🥰!! What a great idea of yours, to put a whole menu together! So.. guess I’m gonna go through all of your website and find more “international night” menus.
You are amazing. Every one of your recipes works (even when I’m making it 😜),are easy to make and are totally delicious!
Keep up the great work and thanks again! Scratch behind the ears for Dozer too!🦮xx
I am happy you enjoyed it Kerrie and Dozer says thanks!! N x
Can this prepared in advance, brought to room tem the. Put in the oven?
I love Persian food and this is one of my favourites. Your recipe is totally authentic and looks delicious. I’m making it now but am putting a layer of shredded roast chicken in the middle. I’m so looking forward to dinner tonight!
Hi Nagi,
As an iranian(persian), I should say this recipe is spot on, exactly like what we cook (unlike so many other saffron rice recipes I’ve seen!)
Although as you mentioned, the traditional version has cooked chicken (or sometimes cooked beef or fried eggplant) in the middle of rice layers to make it a main dish.
Try it with chicken if you get a chance (if you didn’t already!) and Oh My God! 😅
It’s ALWAYS one of the dishes in iranian partys!
Thanks for the chicken suggestion, it turned this into an incredible meal!
How would you add chicken to this? How is it cooked? What spices would be good to add so it doesn’t overpower the rice?
Made this tonight with the rest of the Persian Feast suggestions and it turned out perfect! I used cranberries in place of barberries and the addition of their little pops of sweetness was perfect. Thanks for a great recipe Nagi !
I love your website and recipes, Nagi!
I’m planning on making this delicious-looking Tachin on Saturday. Would you recommend doing it in advance and reheating? Or is it best eaten as soon as it’s been taken out of the oven?
Thanks!
Can you substitute the saffron with curcuma for the yellow colour?
Hi, I can’t wait to make this but what size pie dish is best to use?
Thanks
Hi Louisa, an 8/9″ will be perfect. N x
Hi Nagi,
I love your blog (it is my go-to anytime I’m not sure what to cook), so I was so excited to see you have a recipe for tachin! It’s also wonderful to see Persian recipes on your blog as it is such a beautiful cuisine, but I find it’s hard to find good recipes online.
My partner is half Iranian and he said this is the best tachin he’s had. I have made it so many times, sometimes with the barberries and sometimes with a layer of cooked chicken/onion in the middle so it’s more of a main meal than a side dish. Always served with some Shirazi salad and yogurt with raisins and cucumbers of course!
Thank you for yet another beautiful recipe!
am i able to sub saffron for tumeric?.. all i can get my hands on at the moment ..
Hi Casandra, it wont be quite the same unfortunately, saffron is a key ingredient in Persian Saffron Rice. N x
I actually went out to go buy some – it’s in the oven now! I’m so excited! Thank you
We made this for part of our dinner tonight and as someone who has travelled to Iran (twice), this is legit. So delicious! Thank you!
That’s the best!!! Thanks so much Candace ❤️