Types Of Rice
There are five major varieties of rice in Iran: champa (short and thick, probably from the ancient Indonesian kingdom of Champa), rasmi (longer and wider), anbarbu, mowla'i, and sadri (a variety brought to Gilan from Peshawar in 1850 by the grand vazir, Mirza Aqa Khan Nuri Sadr-e A'zam). Other varieties similarly have names based on their shape, perfume, or taste: khanjari, dagger shaped; 'anbarbu, amber perfumed; shekari, sweet. Today in the West, basmati rice from India is readily available and is close to Persian rice. When basmati rice is cooked, it fills the air with a delightful aroma similar to that of flowers. Other kinds of long-grain rice may also be used for Persian rice dishes, but never the so-called converted rice (Uncle Ben's brand, for example).

Cooked Rice
Rice is eaten in great quantities in the Caspian region, but elsewhere in Iran bread is the main staple and rice is considered a luxury by the peasants or the urban poor and is eaten by them only on special occasions or served to guests. There are three major types of cooked rice in Iran: kateh, chelow, and polow. Though various polows were first mentioned in Persian literature by 'Obeyed e Zakani in his Mush-o Gorbeh in the 1300s, the present refined versions were probably developed in the 1800s during the Qajar period.

Kateh is the traditional dish of Gilan, and is the simplest way of cooking Persian rice. Rice, water, and salt are cooked until the water is absorbed. Butter is added, the pot is covered, and the rice is allowed to cook. The rice becomes compact with a crusty surface. In the Caspian region kateh is eaten for breakfast heated with milk and jam, or cold with cheese and garlic. For lunch and dinner it is eaten with meat, fowl, fish, or khoresh (stew).

Damy is a type of kateh cooked with herbs and vegetables. It is similar to kateh except that the heat is reduced immediately after the rice starts to boil. The pot is then covered with a dish towel (dam-koney) or 2 layers of paper towels wrapped around the lid to prevent steam from escaping. After 40 minutes remove the cover, pour oil or butter on top of the rice, recover, and continue cooking for another 20 minutes.

Chelow has the same ingredients as kateh except that more care is taken in the cooking process, including presoaking, parboiling, and steaming. This results in a fluffy rice with each grain separate, and the bottom of the pot has a crisp golden brown crust, tah dig. Tah dig should be a golden color, never scorched or dark brown. The reputation of Iranian cooks rests on the quality of their tah dig, or golden crust. Chelow is then eaten with khoresht, called chelow-khoresht, or with kabab, called chelow-kabab.

Polow is first cooked in the same way as chelow. The meat, fruit, and vegetables are fried together and then arranged in alternating layers with the rice; they are then steamed together. ]

Rice is, of course, also used in many other dishes in Persian cuisine, including soups, ashes, meatballs, kufte-berenji, stuffed vegetables, and dolmeh. There are also many sweets and cookies made using rice flour: halva, fereni, shirberenj, and nan-e berenji. It is also used as a type of popcorn, by roasting, berenj-e budadeh or berenjak, and deep-fried as a candy, reshteh bereshteh.

A Note on Cleaning, Washing and Soaking Rice
Basmati rice contains many small, solid particles. This grit must be removed by picking over the rice carefully by hand. Then the rice is washed thoroughly in cold water. Place the rice in a large pot and cover with cold water. Agitate gently with your hand without breaking the rice, then pour off the water. Repeat 5 times until the rice is completely clean. If you use an ordinary colander to drain your rice, you may lose some rice through the holes. A fine-mesh, free-standing strainer or sieve is needed so the water can drain from the rice. When washed rice is cooked, it gives off a delightful perfume that unwashed rice can never have. In Gilan rice would often be soaked in salt water in large quantities and used for cooking as needed. Soaking and cooking in salt water seems to help firm up the rice, lengthen it, and keep it separated and fluffy after the cooking process.

Throughout this book I have used cooking times for basmati rice, which I recommend. However, if you use American long-grain rice it is not necessary to wash the rice 5 times.

Pots for Cooking Rice
A deep, non-stick pot must be used for the rice grains to swell properly and a good tah dig to form without sticking. Rice cookers are a wonderful invention for cooking rice Persian-style because the non-stick coated mold allows for a golden crust (tah dig) and, as the temperature does not vary, it allows for consistently good rice. However, each type of rice cooker seems to have its own temperature setting; therefore the timing must be experimented with to get the best results. Step-by-step instructions are given for Steamed Plain Rice and Rice with Lentils using the National Delux electric rice cooker. Other rice recipes can be carried out similarly. Electric rice cookers and non-stick pots are available at specialty food stores.

A Note on Storing Rice
Iranian rices are not available in the US, but Indian basmati rice, which is like the Persian varieties and gives off much the same flowery scent during cooking, is sold even in supermarkets. Or you can order it from any of several US distributors. Among them are A & A Food Products Division of Richter Brothers, Inc., Carlstadt, NJ 07072; and House of Spices, 76-17 Broadway, Jackson Heights, NY 11373. I recommend the variety known as lal quilla. It is sold in 11-pound sacks and 5-pound plastic bags, but for convenience I buy it in 55-pound sacks, mix it with a pound of salt to repel insects and mold; and store it in a big popcorn tin with a cover. The rice should always be well-cleaned and washed before cooking