Tahchin-e Zereshk and the Beauty of Barberries

“Never put off until tomorrow, what you can do today.”

The old adage warning me not to procrastinate was nagging at my brain as I sat at my desk this morning – admiring the Spring hues on the Alborz Mountains – and staring at the big pile of projects waiting to be finished.

View of the Alborz Mountains from Northern Tehran

“Right,” I thought, “today’s the day!”

No, not to finish the work.

But to do something else I had been putting off for ages – making tahchin-e zereshk.

Tahchin-e zereshk is a Northern Iranian dish made from three of the country’s famous ingredients: rice, saffron and zereshk, or barberries.  Tahchin is a layering of cooked rice mixed with saffron, yogurt and egg yolks, with cooked chicken and barberries tucked within each layer.  In Farsi, tah means bottom and chin is the root from the verb chidan, which means to arrange things in order, meaning the layering. 

Tahchin is cooked in a glass dish in the oven and then, when ready, turned (a bit like you would a pineapple upside down cake) onto a serving dish and garnished with more barberries and slivers of pistachios.  The bottom (or top depending on how you look at it) becomes the best part – a crusty rice layer known as tah-dig.  Iranian food followers universally love tah-dig and I have known grown men quarrel over who gets the best bit.

What I love about the dish is not only its subtle flavouring but also its burst of colour.  The saffron gives tahchin its vibrant yellow appearance and the zereshk (the barberries) bring it alive with their ruby red shine.  As the saying goes, you feast with your eyes, and tahchin certainly gives you a beautiful banquet.

Tahchin-e Zereshk Garnished with Barberries and Pistachios

I can just hear some of you not living in Iran asking yourselves where on earth you are going to get zereshk.  These delightfully tart little barberries (known to botanists as berberis vulgaris) grow mostly - along with saffron - in Iran’s South Khorasan Province.  Not exclusive to Iran, however, the plants grow in other countries in the Middle East, as well as parts of Europe and North America.  The barberry plant is known to contain wheat rust, which can devastate crops, and has therefore been eradicated in some places.

But, fear not, if you are determined to cook tahchin, you can find barberries in most Middle Eastern stores overseas or, if you are in the UK and really keen, you can order them online at The Spice Shop.  The dried ones keep for a while and all you need to do is soak them for 10 minutes before using them.

Zereshk are quite common in many Iranian dishes, adding colour and zest.  You are quite likely to find them in food served at Iranian weddings as the sour flavour, so I am told, reflects that not everything in life is sweet and hunky dory.

Barberries are also rich in Vitamin C and high in pectin.  So if you are an avid jam and jelly maker - which I confess I am not – then they are a must have in your kitchen cupboard.

So, what are you waiting for? There is no time like the present to get cooking tahchin!

Tahchin-e Zereshk

What You Need:

For 4 people

400 grams (4 cups of rice)

5 egg yolks

300 grams strained natural yogurt

300 grams cooked chicken (you can use any meat, or for vegetarians you can use spinach or other vegetables) I fried the chicken in olive oil, onions and lots of garlic and seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1 heaped teaspoon of saffron. Grind the saffron down into a powder using a pestle and mortar.  Infuse the saffron with a little boiling water (about ¼ cup at most).

¼ cup of olive oil or melted butter if you prefer.

Tahchin-e Zereshk Before Baking

50 grams barberries. Soak the barberries in water for 10 minutes then rinse and drain them. Mix in one tablespoon of sugar, one tablespoon of olive oil, one tablespoon of the saffron water and let the berries sit for about half an hour. Before you need to use the berries in the dish, fry them gently for about 2 or 3 minutes.

Salt and LOTS of freshly ground black pepper to taste.

To garnish, slice pistachios into slivers and fry a couple of tablespoons of barberries.

What to do:

Rinse the rice with cold water, then leave it to soak, adding a fair bit of salt, for about 40 minutes to 1 hour.  Cook the rice until it is al dente, making sure it isn’t soggy. I solve this problem by using my trusty rice cooker! Set the rice aside until you are ready to mix it with the other ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. 

In a large bowl, add the egg yolks and beat them gently.  Then add the saffron water, strained natural yogurt and the olive oil (or butter). Add salt and pepper.

Mix in the rice thoroughly.  You should have a bright yellow rice mixture now.

Use a clear glass ovenproof dish and grease it really well with butter.  The glass will enable you to see when the rice is crispy.  Make sure you grease the dish well or the tahchin will stick to the glass.

Spread a layer of rice mix into the bottom of the glass.  Press it down well with the back of a spoon. Add the cooked chicken (or whatever you choose to add) and then the barberry mix.  Keep the barberries close to the middle of the dish so that they don’t dry out or burn. Add another layer of the rice mix, pressing down firmly. You can add more layers if you have a deep dish.

When you are ready to bake the rice, melt some butter and pour a few tablespoons over the top of the rice.

Cover the tahchin with tinfoil and poke a few small holes in it with a toothpick to let the steam out.

The tahchin will need about 2 hours to cook.  Check it after one hour to see how it is cooking and keep an eye on it until the crust is ready. Cook for longer if you want a darker crust.

Let it cool for a few minutes then carefully, using oven gloves, place a serving plate on top and then flip it over so that the tahchin comes out easily and rests on the serving plate.

Tachin is best served with a crisp green salad, natural yogurt and some pickled beetroot or cabbage.

Zereshk Tip! My dear friend, Golmehr, has given me a tip about keeping the zereshk fresh and that is to keep them in the freezer.  Apparently, this way, the barberries will stay lovely and their ruby red colour will be enhanced.  And, Golmehr's mum adds slivered almonds with the pistachios to garnish.