Chelo Ba Tahdig

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1. 1Step 1: Place rice in a medium sized mixing bowl. Fill with cold water. Wash rice in water by gently swirling the rice around in the water. Drain and repeat process about 5 times, until the water that is rinsed runs clear, not cloudy. Soak washed rice in 2 cups cold water and 2 tablespoons salt for at least 1 hour.
2. 2Step 2: In a large pot bring 10 cups water and remaining 3 tablespoons of salt to a boil. Drain soaked rice. Add the rice to the boiling water and bring back up to a boil. Leave pot uncovered and don't go anywhere! The water can boil over very easily. With a spoon scoop off any foam that rises to the top. Watch your timer. Start testing your rice after 4 minutes. My rice was al-dente and ready to drain at 5 minutes. It shouldn't take longer than 6-8 minutes. Once al-dente, drain in a colander and quickly rinse the rice under warm water. Make sure your colander's holes are small enough so you don't lose any rice. When rinsing the rice under warm water make sure you don't open a gushing amount of water on the rice. If your faucet has a spray option use that. If not place your hand under the tap and with fingers create a spray. Gentle. Let rice completely drain off any excess water.
3. 3Step 3: In a non-stick pot or pan (if using the same pot you boiled the rice in make sure you wash and dry it first) melt 2 1/2 tablespoons ghee or butter over low heat. If using oil heat the oil over low heat for a couple of minutes. The cooking oil should cover the entire surface of the bottom of the pot. (If your pot is bigger add more oil or butter accordingly) Add a pinch of saffron to the oil. Swirl around. (You want to work fairly quickly here, so the oil at the bottom of the pot doesn't cool off too much) With a spatula add enough rice to fully cover the bottom of the pot. Using the back of the spatula or the back of a wooden spoon pack down the rice firmly.
4. 4Step 4: With a spatula gently scatter the rest of the rice into the pot in the shape of a pyramid. This is to give the rice enough room to expand and lengthen. With the handle of a wooden spoon poke a couple of holes in the rice to allow the steam to escape. Don't poke all the way down to the tahdig. Drizzle half of the melted butter and 2 tablespoons hot water over the rice. Cover and turn heat up to medium-high. Cook for 10 minutes.
5. 5Step 5: Turn the heat down to medium. Lift lid without allowing any of the condensation collected on the lid to drip back in the rice. Cover the lid with a clean kitchen towel or a couple of layers of paper towel. This is to catch the condensation. Place lid firmly back on the pot. Cook for 10 minutes.
6. 6Step 6: Turn heat down to low. Place heat diffuser under pot. Cook for 40 minutes.
7. 7Step 7: Turn heat off. Remove lid. If serving like a cake, place serving dish over pot and flip. Otherwise, set aside a couple of spatula fulls of rice. Scatter remaining rice on a platter and gently remove the tahdig. In a small bowl mix the saffron water with the remaining melted butter. Mix the reserved rice with the saffron water/butter mixture. (if not using butter just mix the saffron water with the reserved rice) Scatter the saffron/rice mixture over the white rice.