Pots for Cooking Rice

A deep, non-stick pot must be used for the rice grains to swell properly and for a good crust to form without sticking. I use a 5-quart (4.7-liter) Anolon pot (11¼ inches/28cm in diameter and 3¼ inches/8cm deep). Rice cookers are a wonderful invention for cooking rice Persian-style because the non-stick coated mold allows for a golden crust (tah-dig) and the unvarying temperature produces consistently good rice. However, each type of rice cooker seems to have its own temperature setting; therefore the timing must be experimented with to get the best results. Rice cookers often come with nonstandard measuring cups—do not use them for my recipes, use standard measuring cups. Step-by-step instructions are given for Steamed Plain Rice, and Rice with Lentils using the Pars electric rice cooker. Other rice recipes can be carried out similarly. Electric rice cookers and non-stick pots that are helpful in making and unmolding the golden crust are available at Iranian grocers in the U. S. or through the Internet (see list of stores).