Giangi's Kitchen

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I love cooking with saffron. It all started with wanting to make my friend Persian saffron rice; from there, a new recipe was born.

We have not had chicken in a while, and as I was perusing some old magazines from this summer, grilling was all over the pages.

As you may have noticed, I do not grill often, but this made me need to marinate some chicken and cook it over very high heat to give it that excellent charred feel and look. My version of grilling inside.

Seeing that I was going to make the saffron rice, it just was to add saffron to the chicken. Because the saffron is slightly bitter, the sweetness of the honey is the perfect pairing.

I have subdivided this recipe into two parts: the chicken and the rice.

Marinating the chicken

I use chicken thighs and leg drums. Of course, you can also use chicken breasts. My advice would be to split the chicken breasts in half.

The marinade is super easy to prepare, and you will enjoy the garlic, saffron threads, melted butter, lemon juice, and honey.

If you want, you can add some mayonnaise. The mayonnaise tenderized the meat as well.

If time permits, I strongly suggest leaving your chicken marinating overnight. This step will allow the marinate to infuse itself into the meat’s fibers. Make sure you turn it in once or twice.

Do not remove the skin. Even though many people do not eat it, I am not one of them.

When you cook chicken, the skin is an excellent barrier between the fire and the meat. The meat does not burn or dry but contrary, gets a fantastic flavor.

Add your own choice of herbs if you wish. May I suggest thyme, chives, rosemary, or parsley?

How to cook Persian Rice

Here is the challenge starts but do not let it stop you. How daunting this may sound, do not let it stop you from enjoying a fabulous dish.

This rice is one of our favorites. Persian white rice is cooked slightly differently than other’s kinds of rice.

The rice is soaked, cooked, and then pan-fried to create a perfectly crispy golden crust, Tadeg, on one side, and fluffy, buttery, and tender rice on the inside. The Tadeg is what we all go after. The crispier, the better.

My beautiful friend Saman showed me how to make this impressive and unique dish. Here are some tips that she shared with me:

• Let the rice rest in plenty of salted cold water for a couple of hours. Drain the rice once in between the hours.
• The above step will allow the water will penetrate each grain of rice and give it the right amount of moisture it needs. This also will allow cooking evenly of the rice.
• In a large pot of boiling water, add the drained rice.
• When parboiling the rice, ensure it still has a bite or al dente. Soft rice will become mush.

Soaking the saffron

Use hot water and let the saffron steep for at least 20 minutes. You want to give all the strands enough time in the water to release their beautiful color.

Start with this step; the longer it steps, the better it will infuse your rice.

What is saffron?

This fragrant, most famous spice originated from a flower called crocus sativus, also known as the saffron crocus.

It is believed to have originated in Greece. However, today it is mainly grown in Iran, Greece, Marocco, and India.

You will find it under lock and key due to the high price. Each threadlike red strand is collected by hand, thus the high price combined with the fact that it blooms for only one week each year.

The strands of saffron must be red stigmas and no yellows stamens.

You may be tempted to purchase ground saffron. I would recommend buying the strands. Being pricy, you do want to see what you are buying.

Preparing the onion mixture

This is one of my favorite parts as I play with flavors to enhance my rice dish.

Almonds, cranberries, dates, and more saffron strands are used.

Prepare this as the rice is soaking and set it aside until ready to use.

Layering the rice and the final cooking steps

Once the onion mixture and the rice are ready, we are ready to move along to the final cooking step for this saffron rice recipe.

Use a shallow round dish for cooking the rice with a well-fitted lid. You want to trap the steam. I place a kitchen towel. Make sure that the flame or heat source does not touch the towel.

Place half of the rice over the bottom of the pot., spreading it well. Add all the mixture you want to in the middle and spread it evenly.

Cover with the remaining rice. Spread all the saffron mixture, and add some butter and oil. Cover and cook.

Do not touch it and let it cook. You will know it is done once the sides start to get golden and separate from the sides.

Gently invert into a serving dish. Once you start serving it, you will see the beautiful golden rice trapping the onion mixture. Love with each bite.

The golden, crispy saffron rice is what we all are fighting after. And if you have ever had that excellent crusty rice, you are in for a sure treat.

You can serve this rice with chicken as I have here, or lamb, Mediterranean stews, and fish.

Final note.

If you want to invest and make this dish often, you can use a unique Persian rice cooker. It will create that tremendously crisp bottom that you are looking for.

I will not recommend using your regular rice cooker as it will never crisp your rice.

Looking for other delicious recipes?

Why not try making:

Potatoes Crusted Sea Bass with Saffron sauce

Asparagus and Saffron Farfalle Pasta

Rice with Dried Cranberries

Turmeric Linguine with Shrimps and Saffron Sauce

Products and Equipment used to make this recipe

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Originally posted on November 17, 2020. Updated on September 7, 2022