This is classic Iranian comfort food, known as Tah Dig, and it really doesn’t get any better than this. Cody and I are both in love with this meal, it’s almost a week later and we are still gushing about it. I veganized (and improved upon!) a recipe from this month’s Martha Stuart Living magazine, and if you make it I guarantee you will love it.
Imagine fluffy, fragrant basmati rice filled with juicy, buttery mushrooms and bright cilantro, all topped with crispy, salty potatoes, and really, can you imagine anything better?
Tah Dig
3 quarts water
2 cups basmati rice, rinsed
2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
5 cups chopped white mushrooms (sliced thinly and then chopped small)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 tsp liquid smoke
2 large potatoes, sliced into very thin rounds
1 cup cilantro, chopped
8 Tbsp vegan butter, divided
extra vegan butter to grease pans
extra cilantro and a handful of pomegranate kernels for garnish
- In a large frying pan in a drizzle of olive oil and a pat of vegan butter cook the chopped mushrooms on medium high heat. Drain the liquid that they give off frequently, you always want to keep the pan as dry as possible. Once most of the liquid has cooked off and poured away, add the liquid smoke, garlic, and soy sauce, and continue cooking the mushrooms until they are brown and caramelized.
- Bring the water, salt, and cinnamon to a boil in a large pot and gradually add in the rice, cook and stir for about 5 minutes, until the grains are tender but still slightly firm. Drain rice and add to it the mushroom confit and 4 Tbsp of vegan butter.
- In a large pot melt 4 Tbsp of butter and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Arrange 3 layers of potatoes in the bottom of the pot in the melted butter, in a circular pattern, overlapping slightly, working from the outside.
- Sprinkle the chopped cilantro over the potatoes and top with the rice mixture, pressing down lightly to form an even layer. Place a cotton kitchen towel or a paper towel over the surface of the rice, covering completely. Cover the pot and cook on medium heat for 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until potatoes are crisp and golden brown around the edges, about 30 minutes.
- Remove towel, run a rubber spatula around the edge of the pot, and invert onto a serving platter.
Subscribe to RSS Feed!
This looks amazing! Three questions for you though:
1. how much rice? I seem to be missing it…
2. Do you think this would work without liquid smoke? I don’t have any/don’t know where to get it where I live, but would love to make this.
3. Have you tried it with any other herbs? I love cilantro, but have never seen it for sale here in Korea.
Thanks!
Oops! 2 cups basmati rice, sorry, I’ll edit that in right now.
Without liquid smoke it would be fine, maybe just add another few teaspoons of soy sauce so you can get that smoky flavor. A pinch of cumin might be nice, as well.
Sure, you could try subbing parsley for cilantro, that would be tasty!
Thank you for posting an Iranian recipe! I really don’t know much about Iranian cuisine. Potatoes and rice sounds really good, of course.
This looks delicious! Is the towel to soak up excess liquid? I’ve never heard of that before. Also- dumb question- how do you know the potatoes are crisp if they are on the bottom of the pan?
You know, I’m not sure what the towel is for! It just had it in the original recipe and I didn’t want to mess with it. Well, you can smell the potatoes begin to crisp up, and I took a small spoon and scooped down the side and checked. Yes, it messed up the final presentation a bit but I wanted to be sure they were crispy. I LOVE crispy potatoes!
This sounds fabulous!
What a beautiful recipe…. and it sounds incredibly good! Thank you!
Wow, that’s absolutely incredible looking!! Minus the cilantro, I’m going to have to give this a whirl. I’m sure parsley will add good color and some flavor in place of the cilantro.
i can guarantee that i will love it with that savory description you gave. i have never actually heard of it, but i’m putting it on my must-make list for sure! thanks for veganizing the recipe!
Could you substitute jasmine rice for basmati? I have an Egyptian potato dish that I have been thinking about veganizing lately..I just might do it!!
I bet you could! Just get the jasmine rice to *almost* done and then pile it on top of the potatoes and cook. Rice is pretty forgiving so it puts up with a lot of switcheroos!
Potatoes AND rice? Starch-a-licious! I think I would love this dish, too. I’m bookmarking it!
This looks INCREDIBLE! I’m just starting a vegan diet, and I’ve been looking for recipes that are vegan and satisfying, and this definitely fits the bill. Thanks!
“Imagine fluffy, fragrant basmati rice filled with juicy, buttery mushrooms and bright cilantro, all topped with crispy, salty potatoes, and really, can you imagine anything better?”
No, I can’t. That sounds delicious!
Hot damn! That sounds and looks heavenly
–and that was my opinion when you even just tweeted about your dinner. I suffer frequently from the sin of not having basmati rice in my house. I think this needs to be corrected. Keep it up 
Mmmm!
Yes, basmati rice is so wonderful! It cooks up so quickly and is always the yummiest, definitely my favorite kind of rice.
So pretty! I think I would totally dig Tah Dig! Love how the rice looks a little crispy around the edges. That makes me happy.
As a half-Iranian, I can absolutely vouch for the gloriousness of tah-dig! It is what makes Iranian rice the yummiest! In Iran they also make something called Ta-chin (usually with yogurt and chicken), and that is somehow made so that it looks like a casserole which is completely encrusted by crunchy rice! YUM!
The towel, which we usually just put under the cover and make sure it’s a tight fit, is, I think, to absorb the steam during the steaming part of the process. Thanks for posting the recipe!
Wow, this looks SO good! I wonder if I could use red peppers instead of the mushrooms as the husband isn’t a big fan of mushrooms. I’m slowly winning him over to them but not in this quantity. Right, dinner time I think! x
I’m a huge fan of tah dig, but I don’t make the potato version…I just like the crispy rice crust tah dig. Iranian food is so delicious!
This looks great and something my hubby would love!
drool! persian food is amazing, i’ll have to try this recipe. so funny, i was JUST talking to my doc who lived in iran in the 70s as an exchange student today, and he was gushing bout the food!
No, I really can’t imagine anything better!
This looks super yummy!!
Thank you! It is super yummy and REALLY easy!
great food pictures- seriously, made me hungry and im actually so so full!! LOL
xoxo
shelley
Haha! That always happens to me. Even if I’ve just eaten, if I’m reading all of you wonderful people’s food blogs I get hungry all over again. Snacking is a must!
this looks positively amazing, Tasha! Wow!
And the comment you just left me about moving your horses. Girl, moving animals is soooo stressful. It’s harder to move a cat than a child! I cant even imagine horses!
Have a super Sunday, honey!
xoxo
This was AWESOME! Now, I seem to remember you saying that we were going to have this again sometime soon. So, I offer myself up as sous chef for this mission.
It was really good and it was a set of flavors that I wasn’t particularly used to tasting on a regular basis. So it was something new as well as delicious.
Mmm! That does look like a real comfort food meal! Anything with rice and potatoes will make me happy
Believe it or not, a Iranian friend of mine was just trying to explain Persian cuisine to me yesterday! I’ve been so curious and now I have a great recipe to try!
I made this last week. The cinnamon was so fragrant in my kitchen. My husband liked it so much that he actually asked for it again this week. Thanks for the great recipe. It was simple to make, too!
Can I use regular brown rice? is basmati the best rice to use??
Sure, brown rice would be fine! I just LOVE the texture of basmati rice so it’s why I suggest it. And it is more traditional for the recipe.