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Home Rice Recipes

Persian Saffron Rice (Tachin)

By:Nagi
Published:1 Oct '18Updated:13 Jan '23
104 Comments
Recipe v Dozer v

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.

Overhead photo of Tachin Persian Saffron Rice sprinkled with barberries

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!

Persian Feast banner

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)

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 1 hr 5 mins
Total: 1 hr 20 mins
Side
Persian
4.96 from 24 votes
Servings9 – 12 people
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 93
Recipe video above. This is a rice side dish that will steal the show! The rice stays fluffy and tastes quite rich, but it’s not heavily flavoured (hence suitable as a side dish), yet is flavoured enough that you’ll want to eat it plain. The barberries provide welcome pops of sour but don’t fret if you can’t find them, see Note 2 for substitutions. This rice dish will pair terrifically with any Persian / Middle Eastern / Lebanese / Gulf recipes. See in post for Persian Feast menu!

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:

1. Can be substituted with long grain or jasmine rice.
2. A Persian ingredient found at speciality and ethnic stores. Tastes sour and provides great pops of colour. Can be substituted with 1 cup of dried sour cherries or cranberries or craisins.
3. Can be substituted with 1/16 tsp of economical saffron powder. Basically, if saffron powder is around the same price as other spices, then it’s the economical version ie not 100% saffron (saffron is the most expensive spice in the world). Grinding into powder is optional. I’ve done it without grinding and didn’t notice a difference in overall colour though you do see little saffron strands (which is pretty!).
4. Leftover egg whites – Here’s my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection.
5. Slightly adapted from this Bon Appetit Crunchy Baked Saffron Rice.
6. Nutrition per serving.  Serves 8 to 12 as a side as part of a multi-course meal.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 360cal (18%)Carbohydrates: 42g (14%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 18g (28%)Saturated Fat: 3g (19%)Cholesterol: 75mg (25%)Sodium: 991mg (43%)Potassium: 96mg (3%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 190IU (4%)Vitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 55mg (6%)Iron: 0.5mg (3%)
Keywords: Baked Rice, Persian Rice, Saffron Rice
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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!!!

Nagi from RecipeTin Eats hugging Dozer the golden retriever dog

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!!

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Persian Lamb Shanks

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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104 Comments

  1. Tetiana says

    October 23, 2019 at 3:51 am

    Can it cook inside metal dish?
    Thank you

    Reply
  2. Attia says

    June 21, 2019 at 11:10 pm

    Can I add dates, raisins, and chicken?

    Reply
    • Dana says

      April 6, 2021 at 10:08 pm

      Did you cook the chicken first?

      Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 22, 2019 at 12:29 pm

      Totally! Sounds divine Attia – N x

      Reply
  3. Mayanka says

    April 28, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    4 stars
    Hi Nagi,
    It turned out wonderful only when I inverted it, the bottom portion did not fall immediately I had to make it straight And loosen the sides and then it fell also the crust i.e. the rice seemed crispy dry is that ok ? What can you eat along with the rice ?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 29, 2019 at 8:06 am

      Hi Mayanka, sorry the rice didn’t come away straight away! Yes the crust of the rice is my favourite bit, I like eating this with Persian Lamb shanks ❤️

      Reply
  4. Linda says

    April 8, 2019 at 9:03 am

    Nagi,

    First let me say that I love all of your recipes. All I have to tell my husband is that we are having one of Nagi’s Recipes for dinner and he is sooo happy! Regarding the teaching recipe…. is it possible to prepare everything up to the point of baking and then refrigerate before baking a few hours later?

    Reply
  5. Shahla says

    April 3, 2019 at 1:51 am

    5 stars
    OK Nagi!!! Where do I start? As a Persian Girl who fancies Myself a rice Expert,(All Persians do! LOL) YOU NAILED THIS!!! I’m sending you a Big HUG from AFAR!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!! So is YOUR rice and your PUPPY!!! XOXO

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 3, 2019 at 2:45 pm

      Woah what a great compliment, thank you so much Shahla!

      Reply
  6. Yummo says

    January 17, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    I was told by a professional Iranian chef (who was famous for his tachin recipe!) to never preheat the oven when making this dish, I can’t remember why but he said it was a mistake. Also he said to make sure to make it in a glass dish to achieve the perfect tadhig. Just thought I’d pass along the tips:)

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 17, 2019 at 8:24 pm

      I’ve never heard that, what a great tip – I’ll have to try it!

      Reply
  7. Sara says

    October 20, 2018 at 6:31 pm

    5 stars
    Nagi, I made this tonight and it was just brilliant. Soooooo full of flavour. I also made your Persian lamb shanks to go with it. Amazing!!! Thanks for the recipes 😊

    Reply
  8. Monica @ Family Mess Hall says

    October 15, 2018 at 6:56 pm

    I will be trying this recipe very soon. Look amazing!

    Reply
  9. Rachel says

    October 14, 2018 at 10:11 am

    5 stars
    Thanks for another winning recipe, Nagi! I made this last night and we all really enjoyed it 🙂

    Reply
  10. Gary says

    October 6, 2018 at 5:22 am

    I know you said that yogurt is key, but what can I substitute it with if I want to make it vegan? Thanks.

    Reply
  11. Aless says

    October 4, 2018 at 4:48 pm

    Thanks so much, Nagi ! Any recipe with Persian as the first word gets bookmarked!! It looks amazing by the way!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 5, 2018 at 4:39 pm

      Hope you get a chance to try it Aless! It’s pretty amazing! 🙂 N x

      Reply
  12. Beth says

    October 4, 2018 at 8:42 am

    Oh my goodness I am so proud of myself I made this and it came out perfectly. The only difference was I used dried cranberries because I could not find barberries. What a great recipe.
    I also want to mention that right after you posted the recipe for the cornbread muffins I made them and loved them using the cream corn made them amazing. I also made the chili with the muffins Thanks for all your lovely recipes.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 5, 2018 at 2:02 pm

      YES YES YES!!! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Beth, thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know you enjoyed this!!! It’s an amazing recipe and I’m truly glad it inspired you to try it 🙂 N x

      Reply
  13. Jane Toomajanian says

    October 3, 2018 at 3:59 am

    The Persian Saffron Rice looks yummy! Love Dozer!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 5, 2018 at 4:27 pm

      And it TASTES even better than it looks! 🙂 N x

      Reply
  14. Becca says

    October 2, 2018 at 6:59 pm

    Hi Nagi,

    I’m allergic to cranberries, cherries, gooseberries, etc., so I imagine that berberries might fall into the same category of allergen. Can you think of something else to replace with?

    Thanks,

    Becca

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 5, 2018 at 4:33 pm

      Hi Becca! Try heating lemon juice and soaking goji berries to add the tart flavour into them! N x

      Reply
    • Oliver says

      October 3, 2018 at 5:53 am

      Toasted slivered almonds.

      Reply
    • Nav says

      October 3, 2018 at 12:07 am

      5 stars
      The dried berberries can be mixed with crushed nuts like pistachio or almond and some sugar to create a sweet savoury taste. You can also completely omit it; it’s for dressing purposes. It’s important to know that Persians usually use shredded chicken or beef or sometimes thin cut eggplant as the inside layer instead of berberries. So, yes, you can bake this tasteful cuisine without berberries/cranberries. Enjoy!

      Reply
  15. Amanda Tamayo says

    October 2, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    Hey! This looks great! Quick question: COULD you use pomegranate seeds for this, instead of the barberries/cranberries/cherries? I sincerely dislike sour or tart things like those [ironic since I LOVE my acid dishes], and wanted to see if those could be subbed. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 5, 2018 at 4:35 pm

      Not fresh pomegranate, they would be too juicy 🙂 What about goji berries? That would work a treat!

      Reply
  16. Lola says

    October 2, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe Nagi. I recently moved to south California and this is where I discovered Persian food. I love it! Since I’m yet to try any of them at home, I think I will start with this Saffron Rice. It looks so good!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 5, 2018 at 4:36 pm

      Hope you get a chance to try it Lola, it’s pretty amazing! N x

      Reply
  17. Eha says

    October 2, 2018 at 10:24 am

    5 stars
    Since Persian cuisine, unbeknownst to many, is one of the two great cuisines of the world I have tried to learn for the longest time, this week truly will be ‘my week’ ! Have not made Persian rice quite this way and surely shall attempt soonest. Have some saffron left . . . methinks have heard about saffron production in Australia just recently (homework needed!) and barberries can be bought on line quite easily: have done so a few times. Am so looking forwards to your ‘Postcards’ but wish you had more time just for yourself without having to remember us all the time . . . best of fun . . .

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 2, 2018 at 11:27 am

      I honestly had no idea saffron was grown here in Australia 🙂 I am going to keep an eye on it the next time I get saffron! N x

      Reply
  18. Vera G says

    October 2, 2018 at 10:12 am

    They say we eat with our eyes and this one is just that. The Color is something that drew my eyes and ILove,Love rice. It’s on my menu, Thanks. Photo of two of you is soooooo SPECIAL!! Enjoy yourHoliday!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 2, 2018 at 10:23 am

      I KNOW! Isn’t that colour amazing??? And that crust!!! N x

      Reply
  19. Rachel says

    October 2, 2018 at 9:21 am

    PERSIAN FOOD IS MY EVERYTHING!!! I am SO EXCITED for this week! And, I was going to look for a recipe for Persian saffron rice just tonight, because yesterday I was given a jar of Tasmanian saffron. You read my mind!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 2, 2018 at 9:30 am

      I have to confess, I didn’t know much about exact dishes when I first started looking 🙂 It’s been fun learning about authentic Persian dishes!! Tasmania saffron eh? Didn’t’ even know we made our own saffron Down Under! N x

      Reply
  20. Afsaneh says

    October 2, 2018 at 7:38 am

    I like this food also is delicious.
    Thanks 😊

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 2, 2018 at 9:35 am

      Thank you! I do hope you get a chance to try it! N x

      Reply
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