Toasty Crispy-Bottom Rice With Currants And Pistachios
Toasty Crispy-Bottom Rice With Currants And Pistachios
Three of my good friends are Persian, and I’ve had each of their versions of traditional tahdig, the Persian rice dish where cooked rice is browned on the bottom, low and slow in the oven, then turned out and served with the crispy bits broken up as a treat. They’re probably all going to disown me when they see this air-fried version, but I make no claims to its authenticity. Miraculously, the air fryer produces a super-crisp bottom layer of rice that’s crunchy and ready in less than half the time of the traditional method. This version, studded with currants and pistachios, is a great side dish on its own, or, topped with a fried egg, an unusually indulgent breakfast for one.
Ingrediënten
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 cups cooked white basmati jasmine, or other long-grain rice
- ¼ cup dried currants
- ¼ cup roughly chopped pistachios
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh cilantro
Instructies
- Combine the olive oil and turmeric in the bottom of a 7-inch round cake pan insert, metal cake pan, or foil pan.
- In a bowl, combine the rice, currants, and pistachios, season with salt and pepper, then spoon the rice over the oil, making sure to not stir the oil up into the rice.
- Very gently press the rice into an even layer.
- Place the pan in the air fryer and cook at 300°F until the rice is warmed through and the bottom is toasted and crispy, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the air fryer and invert onto a serving plate.
- Break up the crust on the bottom of the rice, sprinkle with the cilantro, and serve warm.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Switch It Up:
The cooking time for this recipe is specific to white rices. Feel free to use other cooked grains here, like wheatberries, fregola, or brown rice, but know that it may take longer for the grains to get really crispy on the bottom. And while you’re experimenting, change up the spices on the bottom to suit your taste, or just crisp up the rice in plain olive oil to make a crispy rice cake to serve under roast chicken, sliced steak, or any other dish that has lots of delicious juices that the rice can soak up.
