Spicy Rice with Fish Crust

Name: Spicy Rice with Fish Crust (Tahandaz-e Mahi)
Prep time: 1 h 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 50 min
Yield: Serves: 6
Cuisine: Iranian
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon ground saffron threads dissolved in 4 tablespoons water; 1½ teaspoons turmeric; 3 tablespoons tamarind paste, diluted with 1 cup/240 ml water; 2 cups/170 g chopped fresh cilantro; 1 teaspoon ground cardamom; ½ cup/120 ml oil, butter or ghee; 2 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves; 2 cups/400 g basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes, drained, and rinsed; ½ teaspoon turmeric; 3 lb/1.4 kg thick, fatty skinless fish fillets, such as salmon; 2 tablespoons ground hearts of dried Persian limes; ¼ cup/60 ml oil or ghee; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 tablespoon ground cumin; 1 cup/85 g chopped fresh dill weed; 1 green jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced; 2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced; ½ cup/120 ml oil or ghee; ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper; 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt; 1 teaspoon fine sea salt; 6 cloves garlic, peeled and grated

Tahandaz-e Mahi

Preparation info

Serves:
6

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
3 hr

Appears in

Cooking in Iran

By Najmieh Batmanglij

Published 2020

About

Growing up in Tehran, I was not familiar with spicy rice from this part of Iran, but I love the flavor. I adapted this recipe from one by Raviyeh Daryanavardi in Qeshm, where we made this dish together.

Ingredients

dusting

1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½

Asia
Iran
Qeshm
Fish course
Pescatarian
Gluten-free
Spicy

Method

For the dusting: Combine all the ingredients for the dusting and mix well. Dust the fish on both sides with this mixture. Cover and refrigerate.
For the rice: In a large nonstick pot, add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt and the