No.69 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Persian rice with tahdig

Made famous by Samin Nosrat

Photo: Ron Diggity, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, 2017.

The golden crust at the bottom of the pot is the most prized part of a Persian meal, and Samin's Netflix episode made tahdig a worldwide obsession.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.

Ingredients

• 3 cups (600 g) basmati rice
• Fine salt (about 1/2 cup for the boiling water)
• Large pinch of saffron threads, ground with a pinch of sugar and steeped in 3 tbsp hot water
• 3 tbsp plain whole-milk yogurt
• 4 tbsp (56 g) unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp neutral oil

Steps

1. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil with the salt; it should taste like seawater.
2. Rinse the rice in cold water, swirling, until the water runs clear, 4 or 5 changes.
3. Add the rice to the boiling water and stir. Boil 6 to 8 minutes, until the grains are al dente, soft outside with a firm core. Drain in a fine colander and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking.
4. Mix 1 1/2 cups of the rice with the yogurt and half the saffron water.
5. In a 10-inch nonstick pan with a lid, heat the oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Spread the yogurt rice evenly in the bottom and press it down.
6. Mound the rest of the rice on top, building it into a pyramid away from the edges. Poke 5 or 6 holes to the bottom with the handle of a wooden spoon. Dot with the remaining butter and drizzle with the rest of the saffron water.
7. Cook over medium heat until you hear steady sizzling and see a little oil bubbling at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan for even color.
8. Wrap the lid in a towel (to catch steam) and cover tightly. Lower the heat to low and cook 30 to 40 minutes, until the rice is tender and a golden crust has formed; check by peeking at the edge with a spatula.
9. Run a spatula around the edge, set a platter over the pan and flip confidently. Serve the crust in pieces with the fluffy rice.

Chef's tips

• A good nonstick pan is the secret to a clean flip.
• Thin potato slices or flatbread on the bottom make other kinds of tahdig.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat: get the book, No. 4 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

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