Rice is to the Middle East what pasta is to Italy. While rice is a staple in Asian countries, there it is typically served plain; the flavors coming from the sauces for the vegetables, meat or legumes. Iraqi and particularly Iranian rice dishes, on the other hand, are known for their flavours, colours and, especially, their presentation. The way we serve them is something of a ritual. Having more than one rice dish at a meal is not unusual. Sometimes we even make a rice crust on the bottom of a dish so that, when served turned upside down, it looks like a cake.It took me a long time to get used to making a smaller quantity of rice for dinner. When I was growing up, my mother would serve everyone a big mound of rice topped with whatever stew she had cooked that day. We’d eat the rice with a spoon or by scooping it up with a piece of hubus, or flatbread. I guarantee you that in any traditional Iranian home you’ll find a huge pot of rice on the stove.The Iranian and Iraqi method of preparing rice: partially cooking it, draining it, then returning it to the pot with fried onion and a touch of water and continuing to cook it very slowly. This method results in delicious dry, almost crispy, rice, but it is time-consuming and the rice loses some of its nutritional value.Here’s my way:

This is a great recipe to add for grilled meats or roasted meats. Served with pickled vegetables, this dish combines all flavours for an appetizing meal.

Awesome persian inspired side dish. Would be great served with some grilled chicken. Lastly, saffron is pricey but its flavor is different from anything you've tasted; it's worth the price in my opinion :)

Believe it or not this chicken recipe was cook in a rice cooker!

So very good!!

Delicious! Use the large onion, you will thank yourself.

Saffron Jasmine rice with co-stars lol.

I've always bought frozen shrimp pilaf since I liked it so much, even if I had a lot of rice on hand. If you make your own pilaf it's a lot more economical.Use 1 stock cube for every 2 rice cooker cups of rice.If you stir fry the rice until it's translucent, the grains will stay separate when cooked.You can use fresh shrimp instead of frozen.I've salted this lightly, so if you want it to be saltier add 1 teaspoon of salt. Recipe by Okojo1027

Turmeric is a very good spice anti inflammatory, anti bacterial, anti cancer

Make a couple of chicken pieces and a cup of rice into a healthy and impressive meal. And, all you need is a rice cooker.

All you have to do is put it in the rice cooker and bring out the color. My friend gave me that advice.Heat the saffron and add some hot water to make the color pretty.If you're worried about the rice getting sticky, add vegetable oil and fry it up to flake the grains. Recipe by Kuminchan