Polo Tah-dig (Basmati Rice with a crisp coating)

Well I figured since I posted Cello Kabob and suggested to serve it with rice, I should probably mention how to make rice Persian style! Rice is served with every Persian meal, and its considered more than just a side dish. Its an art, and often goes beyond just boiling. One key factor is each grain has to be separate. This is one of the most difficult processes I've ever come across in cooking, and I still have trouble with it. I've been to Persian dinners and there will be literally 3 styles of rice being served, and you better try them all. All sorts of items can be added to rice: berries, beans, legumes, herbs, spices (zaffron is very common), meat, yogurt, and the list goes on.
Now I'm probably the least cultural Persian I know, and I don't speak Farsi besides the basics. What I do know are certain dishes, or at least the general terms for dishes. The dish "Cello Kabob" is actually a style of Kabob, and the recipe I published was actually a certain type of Kabob I don't know the name of. Polo is Farsi for rice, and Tah-dig is the term for a crust of rice formed along the edges of the pot of rice. The term literally means bottom of the pot. Tah means bottom and dig means pot. Again, there are many ways of doing the Tah-dig, and many ingredients you can add to make a heartier, more flavourful and thicker Tah-dig.
The way I'm going to teach you is fairly simple in theory, but requires tons of practice until its perfect. I've made tons of bad rice, and still sometimes fuck it up. I still don't have it to perfection, the way some people can, but its a working progress.

2 cups Basmati rice
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp salt

I would suggest using a Teflon pot, so that the rice can slide out easily. You can use a stainless steel pot, which is healthier, but I would add a little extra oil to simulate the non-stick effect.

1. Place your two cups of rice into a pot so that it fills it up about 1/3 of the way. Add some cold water to the rice and swish it around to wash it. As you do this the water will turn a milky white colour. Strain this water and repeat this process for an approximate total of 3 times, or until the water begins to maintain translucent (it will always have some "whiteness" to it, so don't waste your time doing it forever).
2. Now comes the first tricky part: measuring the right amount of water. Don't ask me why, but EVERY Persian I've ever asked to explain how they make their rice gives me this method to measure the water. Add enough water so that when you place your index finger in the water, with the tip barely touching the surface of the rice, the water level should reach the first knuckle. Too much water can cause the rice to be mushy, and too little will result in dry, under-cooked grains.
3. Add your salt and oil, and put on high heat uncovered. Stay near the stove for this process, as a lot can go wrong. Watch your rice as its boiling. The boiling process should take around 15 min, but it can vary.
4. Once most of the water has been boiled away, you will want to do a "grain check." Pick out one grain of rice from the pot and squeeze it between your thumb and finger. The grain should be mostly cooked, but the center should still be raw, and will appear whiter. If its too raw, add a bit of BOILED water to the rice and keep on high heat until it passes the "grain check."
   **DO NOT LEAVE YOUR RICE ON HIGH HEAT UNLESS THERE IS WATER IN THE POT! - IT WILL BURN!!!!**
   If its too cooked, your rice is going to be a bit mushy, but you can avoid it by straining off any remaining water in the pot. Usually, if you've added the right amount of water, 15 min should be perfect. Remember this is a recipe that improves with PRACTICE! Don't be discouraged if you don't get it right the first, second or 10th time.
5. Now its time to make the tah-dig. First bring your temperature down to low. Then, with a wooden spoon or spatula, bring the rice on top to the center, forming a little pile or mound. This keeps the moisture from spreading too much through out the pot.
6. Now here's something you've probably never had to do in cooking: wrap your lid in a dry towel, and place it on the pot. The towel absorbs all the steam rising from the steam, so that it doesn't just hit the lid and drip back into the rice. Remember, additional moisture causes the rice to become sticky and mushy, and you want every grain to be separate and fluffy. Use an elastic to hold the towel together at the top, you don't want it to drop near the element/flame! You will want to leave this on the stove for about 45 minutes, and avoid taking the lid off as much as possible (as beautiful as it seems).
7. Now comes the fun part: serving the rice. This method I taught you will result in "cake-like" rice. Remove the pot from the heat and take off the lid. Place a plate up side down on top of the pot. Hold the plate solidly to the pot and quickly, but very carefully, flip the two together. Slowly lift the pot away from the pot. Hopefully the rice will have slid out all in one piece with the crusty tah-dig forming a cake of rice. If the rice didn't come out, flip it back the way it was, and run a knife along the edges to help separate the tah-dig from the pot. Repeat the flipping process. If it still won't flip, don't worry, you're rice should taste good all the same, you just won't have the awesome presentation to go with it. It'll come with practice!