Persian Jeweled Rice

Welcome to Kalustyan’s! This is the friendly face that greeted me at this famous Indian and Mediterranean spice store in New York City.

During my recent 5-week stay in New York City , my goal was to visit as many specialty food stores as possible- hence my subway journey down to 123 Lexington Ave to check out this well-known culinary store. Opened in 1944, this store originally featured Turkish and Middle Eastern spices, but now sells over 10,000 products from over 80 countries. But there’s no doubt that the emphasis is on Indian spices; stepping out of the subway station onto Lexington Avenue, the strong smell of curry wafted through the air, lending credence to the area’s nickname of ‘Curry Hill.‘

One interesting fact: the building occupied by Kalustyan’s was originally built in the 1860s by Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States from 1881-1885. He was actually inaugurated in one of the upper stories of the building. I was entranced to think that as I was perusing the boxes of curry powder in the store, I might actually be standing in the same spot that President Arthur signed the Civil Service Act into effect during his presidency!

In honor of the barberries and saffron threads that I purchased at Kalustyan’s, I decided to make Persian Jeweled Rice. This dish is often served at weddings and other celebrations in Iran, wowing guests with the various ‘jewels’ found in the rice- provided by the candied carrots and orange peel, raisins, barberries, saffron water and various roasted nuts. Although this dish is definitely sweet, it is balanced nicely with the tumeric, cumin and cardamom seasonings.

A unique feature of this recipe is creating the ‘tah-dig’, the crusty layer of rice and yogurt which aficionados love to scrape off the bottom of the pan. Barberries are also used in this recipe- they have slightly tart taste and are grown in bushes native to Europe, Asia and the Middle East. If you can’t find barberries, you could also use dried cranberries.

This recipe is little time-consuming and I like to spread the preparations over several days by making the candied carrot slices and orange peel the day before.

The Method

Rinse the Basmati rice for several minutes under running water until the water runs clear. Bring four cups of water to a boil,cover the pan and cook the rice for about 5-6 minutes until al adente. The rice should still be a bit crunchy.

Soak a pinch of saffron in 1/4 cup hot water- this will be used later to flavor the rice.

Use a vegetable peeler to slice the orange peel into thin strips. Cut the carrot into thin match sticks bout 1 1/2 inch long, then heat the ingredients in a syrup of water and sugar for 10 minutes. (Hint: I used shredded carrots that I bought at Trader Joe’s).

Heat the sliced onions in butter on the stove top. Add the tumeric, cardamom, cumin, roasted nuts, raisins, and barberries. Strain the candied orange/carrot mixture and add to the pan with the onion mixture. Add 1 Tbsp of saffron water.

To form the ‘tah-dig’ (crusty layer on bottom), mix together 2 Tbsp yogurt, 1 Tbsp saffron water and 1/4 cup reserved rice in small bowl. Place this mixture in the bottom of a large pan.

Now begin to layer the rice, forming a pyramid shape. Add 1/3 of the cooked rice, followed by 1/3 of the onion/fruit mixture. Continue layering until all ingredients have been used up. Add the remaining saffron water on top. Using the end of wooden spoon (or other pointy utensil) poke 5 holes into the rice mixture to allow the steam to pass through.

Place a clean tea (dish) towel firmly on top of the rice pyramid structure and close tightly with a lid. Cook the Jeweled Rice for about 20 minutes until the rice has been thoroughly cooked through and the flavors infused throughout the dish. Spoon the rice onto a large serving platter and serve warm.