Persian Rice

My sister requested this recipe, so I thought since I was taking the time to type it up, might as well post it too. :)

Rob made this a couple weeks ago with Chicken Tagine (also from the Joy of Cooking). It was super delicious. I can't take credit for how either of the recipes turned out because it was 100% him. I'm so lucky. <3

Persian Rice (Rombauer, Irma, Becker Rombauer, Marion, and Becker, Ethan. Joy of Cooking. 1997. Scribner: New York.) 4 to 6 servings Traditionally Persian rice is cooked slowly in a heavy pot over direct heat so that a delicious crust, called tah dig, forms on the bottom. The crust is lifted out and served either on top of the soft cooked rice or in a separate dish. In this simplified version, the rice is baked in a nonstick skillet and inverted like a large pancake, with the crisp rice on top and the soft cooked rice underneath. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring to boil in a large pot: 4 quarts water 1 tablespoon salt Stir in: 2 cups white basmati rice 1 cinnamon stick 3 whole cloves 3 black peppercorns ¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds (from about 3 pods) Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the rice is almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let stand in a sieve until ready to use. (Leave the spices in the rice.) Melt in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat: ¼ cup (1 stick) butter Spoon off 3 tablespoons of the butter and reserve. Add to the skillet: 1 cup thinly sliced onions ¼ teaspoon saffron threads Cook, stirring, until the onions are golden, about 8 minutes. Spread the onions in an even layer in the skillet. Stir into the cooked rice: 2 tablespoons diced dried apricots 2 tablespoons dried sweet or sour cherries or golden raisins Salt to taste Spoon the rice over the onions. Smooth the top of the rice with the back of a large spoon and press down very firmly to pack it. Drizzle the reserved butter evenly over the top. Cover with a double layer of aluminum foil, pressing down on the top and crimping the edges. Transfer to the oven and bake for 1 hour. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Uncover the rice and invert a large round platter over the skillet. Protecting your hands with a dish towel, turn the skillet and platter over, allowing the rice to drop onto the platter. Sprinkle with ¼ cup chopped pistachios.

A few notes on our (Rob's) modifications:
We didn't really read the recipe too closely before going to the grocery store. So, we used ground cloves, not whole cloves, ground black pepper, not peppercorns, and ground cardamom, not seeds. We also didn't have the dried apricots. Oh, and we used turmeric instead of saffron. After draining the rice, we did add a bit more of the spices since we didn't have the whole stuff and some of it did get thrown out with the water.

 Chicken tagine

 The whole meal -- thanks, Rob, it was great!!