Easy Persian Saffron Rice Recipe: how to use saffron to cook rice

Saffron rice or saffron rice is one of the main and delicious dishes of Iranians. In this article you will learn how to make a delicious saffron

Ingredients for saffron rice:

1/4 teaspoon of saffron

1/4 cup of warm water

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 cups of white rice

3 cups of chicken stock or vegetable stock

3/4 teaspoon of salt

Grinding saffron

In the first step for saffron rice, take half of the saffrons and put them in the mortar and grind the saffrons completely with the mortar stone .

Brewing saffron

Pour 1/4 cup of hot water into the mortar to infuse the saffron . Let the saffron soak for 5 minutes . By doing this, the aroma of saffron is released.

Fry onions

In a large pot , pour olive oil. Then add the chopped onion to the pot and fry for about 10 minutes , stirring frequently until the onion becomes soft and caramelized and ready to be added to the saffron rice.

Add rice

Add the rinsed rice to the pot and mix the rice with the cooked onion and let it fry for 1 minute .

Time to pour saffron on rice

For saffron rice, pour the brewed saffron evenly over the top of the rice.

Add chicken

Add chicken or vegetable broth and salt to the pot. Wait until it boils, then stir. Let our saffron rice boil again for some time .

Boil rice

Cover the pot with a lid and reduce the heat. Let the saffron rice cook for 20 minutes . Then turn off the heat and leave it on the gas for 10 minutes .

Saffron rice is ready!

Enjoy your meal! We could easily make a wonderful saffron rice , you can serve meat or any stew you like next to this saffron rice

Tips and tricks of saffron rice:

1. If you want the rice to turn white after cooking, add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the rice water while boiling.

2. If the rice gets burnt, put a piece of bread on top of the rice, the bread will absorb the burning smell.

3. To brew saffron rice faster , make holes in the middle of the rice while steaming , this will make the steam from the bottom of the pot reach the surface more easily and the rice will steam faster.

4. If you notice that your rice is salty while boiling, put some potato pieces in the rice water. Potatoes absorb salt.

5. To prepare two-colored rice , don't forget to separate some of the rice after draining it and mix it with brewed saffron in another container.

6. You can also use barberry and cooked almond slices to decorate rice or saffron rice.

Saffron Benefits

Saffron is a bulbous plant that is used as a seasoning and food coloring. Saffron has high nutritional value and therefore has high properties. Of course, pay attention to the fact that many saffron dyes have entered the market today, only a few of them have health permits, and it is better to use this type of product when access to saffron is limited. In general, saffron has the following properties

- Reduces cholesterol and blood fat

- Sedative

- Appetizer

- Memory booster

- Prevention of heart diseases

- Heals eye and skin diseases, relieves flatulence, stomach ache and anemia

- Aid in digestion

- Anti-depressant

- Preventing the progression of eye disease and preventing low vision in adults

- Against cancer

These were just some of the properties of saffron that you can use in preparing saffron rice

Easy Saffron Rice Pilaf Recipe

Wash the rice well with lukewarm water. Then pour the water and pour it into the pot. We pour enough water into it to cover about a finger of water on the rice. Pour some salt and oil into the rice water and let the rice water evaporate completely. Then we pour the brewed saffron along with some oil on the rice and let the rice brew.

Easy Saffron Plain Rice Recipe

How to put saffron on rice? First, wash a few cups of rice as many people as you want with lukewarm water and add some salt inside. and pour water on it the size of a finger and let it stay for 2-3 hours. Pour two-thirds of water and a small amount of oil into a pot and let it boil. After the water boils, pour the soaked rice into the water. Let the rice cook for about ten minutes. Test a grain of rice, if it is soft, it means it is time to drain the rice. Put a colander in the sink and pour the rice in the pot into it. After that, to have a complete saffron rice, pour the saffron infusion on the rice. Just note that you must do this after draining the water so that the saffron does not get lost with the rice water. Then put the rice back into the pot and put oil on it. And we put it on the gas until it brews well.