Persian Rice

Persian rice Though Persia—Iran today—has long been famous for its rice and its rice dishes, the best Persian rice has rarely been available outside the country. Outside Iran, Persian dishes are usually made with basmati rice, which is very like the third and fourth grades of Persian rice. Those grades are, starting with the best: ambar-boo, amber-scented; darbari, imperial court rice; dom-siah or black-tailed rice, a variety of basmati; sadri, a rice very like basmati that came to Persia from India in the nineteenth century. Iranians use a short-grain rice called gerdeh in rice puddings and as a binder in meatballs (kofteh).