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!

Chellow Kabob

So its time I publish a recipe from my Persian heritage. This is one of the simpler Persian recipes, but its soooooo good. I just made this last night, and the best part: I HAVE LEFTOVERS FOR TONIGHT! This is kinda like a hamburger, xcept theres rice instead of a bun for your starch source.

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
3-6 tomatoes (according to your love for the fruit)

1. Crumble your ground beef into a mixing bowl. I suggest using lean ground beef over extra lean, as the fat adds to essential flavouring and juicyness to your kabob.
2. Peel your onion and grate it instead of dicing it. The reason for this is as you press the onion against the grater, more juices are extracted from the onion, creating sort of a mush. This results in two benefits: (1) The juices keep the meat together; (2) No onion chunks.
3. Mince your garlic and add it to the bowl along with your salt and pepper.
4. Wet your hands with cold water to prevent the meat from sticking to them. Mix all ingredients with your hands, but try not to handle it too much. The more you handle it, the tougher the meat becomes.
5. Cover a baking sheet with raised edges, as a border for the meat, with aluminum foil. Press the meat down to make a 1-2 cm thick "flat" of meat (keep in mind the meat will shrink in the oven, so make it a bit thicker than you want when its cooked). Don't worry if the meat doesn't cover the whole sheet, but the foil is necessary to keep the empty spots from burning.
6. Cook in the oven at 350*F. Cook for approximately 15 minutes, when meat is just fully cooked, but the surface still needs to brown.
7. Now comes the tomatoes. I prefer using Roma tomatoes, for their super juicy innards and weak skin. When picking these out, pick the soft ones. Slice your tomatoes in half, width-wise, and place them face-down on your meat. You can also use canned tomatoes, but add them to the meat after about 20 minutes, as they will need less time to soften (you don't need to slice these in half).
8. Cook until meat is browned along surface and edges and tomatoes are tender enough that they can be turned into paste, about 7-10 minutes (3-5 if you're using canned tomatoes). You can usually tell by the loose water having just evaporated from the pan.
9. Remove the tomatoes from the meat and place in a dish for serving. Slice your "flat" of meat into strips.
10. Serve with Basmati rice, and if you like, some plain, thick yogurt (I prefer Balkan's style yogurt - at least 6% MF). I like to mush my tomatoes into a paste and mix it in with my rice. I like every spoonful to have a bit of rice, tomato, yogurt and meat in it, enjoy all the flavours in one bite!

Mom's super simple Artichoke dip

So I'm publishing the first recipe I didn't actually come up with myself. This one belongs to my mom, and where/when/how she came up with it, I don't know, but its been a family fave. This is a standard item at our appetizer table, and is usually gobbled up in no time. Who knew something so simple could taste so good?


1 cup Parmesan
1 cup mayonaise
1 can artichoke hearts

1. Pour one cup fine grated or powdered Parmesan cheese. Add your cup of mayo and whisk the two ingredients together. 
2. Strain your can of artichoke hearts (you can use fresh artichoke hearts, but I've never done so) and cut them into quarters, and then each quarter into thirds. Cutting the artichokes too big will result in spreads without artichoke, or only artichoke. 
3. Mix them into your Parmesan-mayo mixture and then transfer to an oven-safe dish (I recommend Corningware or any other ceramic dish). 
4. Place in 350* F heated oven and cook covered in tin foil for 15 min, then remove the foil and cook for another 5 min, or until golden brown.
5. Serve with French baguette, or any other bread or cracker of your choice.

Anti-Vampire Creamy Hummus

So one thing I'm tired of is store bought hummus. Its always so bland and unsmooth. This recipe is fairly simple and will keep Edward Cullen and his crew of vampires away, so it makes it all the better! If its too hot for you, feel free to lower the garlic level.  This recipe is perfected to your desires WITH PRACTICE more than others. You really have to experiment with the ingredient amounts until you get a dish you're satisfied with. This recipe can be made a day in advance, which I would recommend if you're preparing a dinner party, you want to save as much time as possible on the day of. Just garnish it all right before serving.

3-5 cloves garlic, crushed & peeled
1 can chickpeas
2 tbsp tahini
1 1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 tsp lemon juice (just under one lemon approx.)
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 dashes worcestershire sauce (if desired)
2+ dashes hot sauce (if desired)

I am a huge garlic lover, so sometimes I go beyond this recipe and use up to 8 cloves. However I know not everyone is up for the heat like I am, so use as much or as little as you please.

1. Crush the garlic with the side of your chefs knife, peel and remove stems. Place them into your food processor and turn it on to mince. This saves the time of having to mince them with your knife, and you need your food processor anyhow, so you may as well save your self some time and effort.
2. Drain the water-brine from your can of chickpeas INTO A CUP OR BOWL! Set the brine aside, you'll need it in a bit. Add the lonesome chickpeas and your tahini into your food processor with your minced garlic in it. Turn on your processor and puree. Take off the lid and scrape the edges down with a rubber spatula.
3. Turn on your processor again, and as its blending, add your lemon juice, olive oil and worcestershire and hot sauce, should they be desired. I prefer to use fresh lemon juice, just make sure no seeds get in! I recommend using some worcestershire and hot sauce, but the choices are yours. For hot sauce I would suggest either Tabasco or Louisiana's. 
4. Add your set-aside brine bit by bit until you've reached a desired creamy-ness.
5. Though I did give a suggested measurement for pepper, I suggest adding it bit by bit, stopping in between additions and tasting until you are pleased with the hot-ness of it. Remember to keep scraping down the edges with your spatula.
6. When your hummus is finally to your satisfaction, pour into a serving dish and cool in the fridge to add firmness and that sharp, cool taste. Right before serving, you can decorate your dish with some fresh-ground coarse black pepper, olives, hot peppers, sliced bell peppers, whatever you want! Serve with fluffy, toasted pita. 
7. **If you've got the grill already fired up, here's an interesting way to toast your pita; apparently its very common in Greece. Brush several pieces of pita with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt, and toast on the grill until desired done-ness (about a minute per side before in burns).

Yummy-licious sticky BBQ sauce

One secret after another! Here's how I make my ever so good barbecue sauce. I like prefer to make it than buy it at the store with "dehydrated glutamate" and all their other super-natural ingredients. Its fairly simple. Save your old store bought barbecue sauce bottles to store the new king in your fridge for when its needed!

1 tbsp oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1-3 cloves garlic, minced (amount depends on your love for the ingredient, or your hate for vampires)
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup mustard
2-3 tbsp black-strap molasses
1-2 tbsp liquid sweetener*
3 tbsp vinegar**
2 tsp worcestershire
3 tsp Standard Dry Rub

1. In a medium sauce pan, heat your oil on medium heat. I prefer to use olive oil or canola, I prefer the flavour from olive oil, but its a bit more fattening than canola. I do not suggest using corn or sesame oil for this sauce. Once your oil is heated, add your fine-dice onion and stir til it begins to soften, then add your minced garlic, and stir for another minute or so. 
2. Add your ketchup, mustard and molasses. * Then your liquid sweetener; some options are honey, corn syrup and maple syrup. You can also use a bit of apple juice or orange juice concentrate. I like a combination of honey and corn syrup, but the choices are yours and endless. 
3. ** Next is your vinegar, I like to use apple cider vinegar, or sometimes malt vinegar. You can use white vinegar, but the flavours are limited, however it is much more sour, so you might not want to use so much. Add in some worchestershire sauce
4. Finally, use some of my Standard Dry Rub recipe. You can add the spices individually if you don't have any made, but chances are if you're using this sauce you would've had to rub something before. I also find that when I add the spices individually the sauce, I end up adding too much, and the sauce becomes too thick.
5. Should the sauce thicken too much at any point, the situation can be avoided by adding a bit of hot water. Finally whisk all your ingredients together, bring your heat down to low and let your sauce simmer for a bit.
6. Sauce your chicken and pork, or use as a condiment for dipping or in burgers!

Standard Dry Rub

So I think its time to unveil my secret dry rub! This rub is great for chicken and ribs. I also use this combination of dried spices and herbs for when I make my super yummy sticky barbecue sauce.  Usually fresh spices allow for ultimate flavour, but it has a shorter shelf life, and I like to make this stuff in large amounts and store it in my cupboard for whenever its needed. You can adjust this recipe to your preferred liking. Also i've never actually measured out this recipe, so hopefully everything'll be even.


1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 1/4 tsp coriander
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp celery salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mustard powder
3 tsp brown sugar

Whisk all ingredients together, and rub generously allover meat. Like it super spicy? Add extra pepper, or for an extra kick, some crushed red cayenne pepper. Remember if you're doing ribs to remove the inside membrane before you marinade!

Just getting started!

So I think its about time I got a blog. Just getting started with Blogger for now, if all goes well, I will program my own site. This site'll be everything I feel like: Recipes, Music, Trips, Plans and my ever so important life. Let me know what you think, and I'll be taking requests for new post ideas. Also, challenge my cooking skills, and ask me to write a recipe for something (keep in mind my baking is iffy, so i'll probably just send you a link to a recipe i like in most cases).