Persian Tahchin Morgh Recipe for Baked Crispy Chicken Rice Cake with Saffron and Fruit

 I'm really enjoying learning new cooking techniques from Persia and the way that rice is cooked there, rice is often served with a crunchy base as in a 'tahdig' made either with a mix of rice and yogurt, potatoes or a flatbread, the rice may have fruit or veg mixed in or like here, fruit and chicken. This cake is crunchy on the outside and soft inside and with the fruit it tastes incredible.

Search 'rice' on my blog to see other tahdigs etc also see wiki

This tarchin would be part of a special occasion meal served to family or friends, probably because it uses saffron, which is expensive but gives the cake a lovely colour.

This was the first time I have made a tahchin and next time would mix the fruit in differently, try a veg like aubergine and omit the chicken. My version turned out exactly like videos I viewed on You Tube, including cooking with Yousef 

It is easy to make once you understand the method. 

Ingredients:-

This cake was made with one large mug of basmati rice.
1/2 mug of natural yogurt
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 mug of veg oil.
Saffron - powder it in a pestle and mortar then make up with 1/4 mug of boiling water - allow to stand, if it is not reddish enough add more powdered saffron...

Method:-

If using chicken then fry thin strips of chicken breast that have been mixed with turmeric, cumin and pepper, when cooked set aside. In the recipe I followed I boiled the chicken till cooked with an onion, garlic, bay and turmeric, and cumin.

For the fruit soak sultanas in hot water, if you have burberries use them (they are sharp apparently), if not then use cranberries, you'll want about a mug full of fruit, also shell and chop some sort of nuts, pistachios if possible, make a teaspoon of cardamon seeds. Add all and the chicken to a frying pan without oil, mix and heat for a few minutes.

For your rice wash and parboil it for about eight minutes until the grains are just al dente.

Mix the eggs together, add the yogurt, add some of the oil, some of the Saffron, add the rice and mix very thoroughly.

In a microwave put a dish with 2 tblsp of veg oil a knob of butter and 2 tblsp of Saffron water, heat for a min or until the butter is melted, mix. Then paint this mixture all around your Pyrex dish retaining about a third. It is best to use a Pyrex dish as you can see later if the crust is formed.

Then put a layer of the rice in the dish and squash it down, so there are no gaps or air pockets, put a bit of rice all around the sides and then add your fillings into the centre, finish with more rice and squash down again. The squashing ensures your cake comes out in one piece.

Paint the top with remaining oil/butter mix and cover with tin foil and bake at 180 for about an hour then uncover and see if the cake has a crust, put it back in if it needs it.

Your kitchen will smell lovely like someone, that's you, are baking a cake.

Run a knife around the edge of the Pyrex dish then turn it out, give yourself a round of applause.