Growing up in a Persian household, I ate rice most nights. Persians typically add flavorful ingredients to their rice, such as dill, barberries or sour cherries, but my preference was (and is) plain white rice.
My favorite part of the meal was the tahdig, or the golden, crispy rice that forms at the bottom of the pot. As far as I was concerned, there was never enough to go around.
For most of my adult life I’d struggled to re-create my mom’s perfect tahdig. I’d relied on an older rice cooker to make rice, partly for convenience and partly because I have very limited cooking skills. The rice would turn out OK but the rice cooker didn’t make crunchy tahdig — if it made tahdig at all.
And then I was gifted a Pars Persian rice cooker, and it is a tahdig lover’s dream come true. I’ve never failed to make crispy tahdig with this rice cooker.
Pars Automatic Persian Rice Cooker (3 Cup), $43, Amazon
It’s very easy to use. Add rice, water, cooking oil and salt to the Teflon, nonstick pot, set the customizable timer (I typically let the rice cook for 50 minutes), and let the rice cooker work its magic.
The Pars Persian rice cooker has received an average rating of four stars on Amazon, many from customers who enjoy tahdig as much as I do.
“Thrilled to finally make perfect tahdig after years of trying,” said one person.
“I have struggled making Persian rice on the stovetop. No more! This cooker makes it so easy! It makes perfect tahdig,” wrote another.
The rice cooker includes both instruction and recipe booklets for new cooks, and comes in different sizes on Amazon, ranging from 3 cups to 15 cups, so you can serve any size feast!
Pars Automatic Persian Rice Cooker (3 Cup), $43, Amazon
