TahChin | Rice, Stuffed with Chicken

“TahChin” is an absolutely perfect Iranian dish which, we are sure you will agree after only one bite that, is out of this world. Let’s take a moment to look at the origin of this word: In the Persian language, “Tah” means bottom and “Chin” (coming from “Chidan”) is related to arranging. Since you’ve been familiar with the Iranian cooking culture, you know that whatever is arranged at the bottom of the pot, becomes crunchy, crusty, golden and miraculously pleasant to eat.

TahChin

TahChin is actually a type of chicken-rice cake with a layer of crust on its top. If you are a vegetarian, or prefer meat, don’t worry! There are many different types of TahChin such as potato Tah Chin, eggplant TahChin, mushroom TahChin. TahChin is even combined with some famous Iranian Stews, so we have Ghormeh Sabzi Tah Chin (which is honestly a must-eat) and Gheimeh TahChin. So, out of these so many types, one will finally suit your taste.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine persian

Servings 4 people

Calories 522 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 1 chicken breast
• 3 cups rice
• 1 cup dried yogurt (normal yogurt can be used as well, but dried yogurt will make it more pleasant to eat)
• 50 grams butter
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• Oil as much as required
• Brewed saffron as much as required
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• Pistachio slices as much as required
• Barberries as much as required
• Salt, pepper as much as required

Instructions

 

• preparing the chicken chest is one of the most important parts. To do this, add the chicken chest, some chopped onions and some glasses of water to a pot and wait for the chicken to cook. When it’s completely cooked, wait for it to cool down and shred it carefully and completely.
  
• After the rice is cleaned and ready to be cooked, wash it twice. Add the rice, some glasses of water, some salt and some oil and wait for the rice to cook gradually on a low flame. It should cook until the inside part of the rice is still not cooked and hard, but the outside part is soft enough. At this point use a sieve and some warm water to separate the rice from the water.
  
• In a big bowl, the following items must be added and mixed: egg yolk, rosewater and brewed saffron. They must be stirred long enough for the unpleasant smell of the egg to be gone. Then add the yogurt and keep stirring the ingredients and finally, the half-cooked rice must be added and all the ingredients must be stirred and combined together.
  
• Now, the Tah Chin must be cooked. As mentioned before, it can be cooked in an oven or on a stove. Either way, choose a dish and add some oil to its bottom. The ingredients must be added in 3 layers:

  At first, add half of the mixed ingredients and then press and flatten it. Next, add the stir fried chicken and barberries and as the third level, add the other half of the mixed ingredients.
  
• To cook this dish, cover the top of the dish with a layer of aluminum foil and leave it in an oven for 1 hour at 180 ° C.

  On the other hand, if you want to cook it on a stove, cover the pot with its lid and let the Tah Chin cook for about an hour and half.
  

Important Point: Choosing the right dish!

Important note: Tah Chin can be cooked on a stove or in an oven. If you want to cook it in an oven, try to use a nonstick, ovenproof crystal dish or pot. The dish shown in the picture is a good sample of a suitable dish for cooking Tah Chin in an oven because of the larger surface it has.

The following sample is ideal for cooking Tah Chin on a stove.

Generally, the larger the surface is, the more parts of the Tah Chin will be crunchy and crusty and it will make the dish much more delicious.

Serving and topping TahChin

• Once cooked, take out all of The Tah Chin and add put in on a suitable serving dish. It should be taken out, upside down. It means the crusty part which was at the bottom of the pot, should be on top now. Top the crusty part with some barberries, pistachio slices and some mayo. This flavorful dish is served with Sabzi Khordan, Doogh or coke, as you wish.
• In many serving, Tah Chin is served as a side dish, not the main one.
• Tips for cooking Tah Chin
• Using more saffron will make the dish better. In the Iranian culture, when this dish is meant to be served for guests, more saffron is used.
• If you are a vegetarian, simply substitute the chicken breast with some mushrooms to cook Mushroom Tah Chin.
• It is not necessary to stir fry the cooked chicken chest but of course as you can guess it will make the dish better.

Why does Tahchin ruins and falls apart?

The very first fault you might suspect is the proportion of the ingredients you might have used incorrectly. The egg keeps the ingredients together and gives the molded shape to the tahchin. If the amount of the egg in comparison to the yogurt and the rice be lower or inappropriate, tahchin would fall apart.

Sometimes not mixing and stirring the ingredients well enough, would ruin the content.

When you pour the content to the bottom of the pot, press them carefully at the end. It helps you have a  such better tahchin.

Other forms of TahChin

To stuff the rice, chicken is commonly used but many other ingredients can be used. This dish can be made with mushrooms, eggplants, potatoes and so on. If so, it will be suitable for vegetarians.

If you have ever cooked or tried TahChin, tell us about the ingredients which were used and the final taste of the dish!