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1
In a large bowl, rinse rice several times to remove any excess starch out of the grains.
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2
Keep rinsing until the water runs clear.
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3
While rinsing be careful to not touch or massage the grains too hard cause it may break the grains.
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4
Fill bowl with lukewarm water again and add 2 tablespoon of salt.
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5
Allow rice to soak for about 20 minutes while you boil water.
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6
*The soaking time depends on how old the rice grains are.
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7
The older the rice, the more soaking time.
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8
For the Basmati rice sold in supermarkets 20 minutes is enough, but in Iran usually rice grains are older so they need at least 3-4 hours of soaking.
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9
Add water to a large pot until half of its depth and bring it to a boil.
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10
Drain rice and add to boiling water.
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11
After 5-7 minutes of boiling test to see if the rice is ready.
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12
Rice should be hard in the center and soft on the outside.
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13
Also another way to see if it's ready to drain is that you will see the rice gains starting to come to the surface of the water.
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14
When rice is ready to drain, add one cup of cold water to the pot so it stops boiling.
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15
Then drain it and set aside for a minute while preparing the pot.
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16
Rinse out the pot that you used to boil the rice and place it on medium-high-heat.
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17
Add 2 tablespoon of oil to the bottom of the pot and wait until it heats up a little bit.
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18
Now you can add slices of potato or just use the rice for the bottom.
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19
Carefully transfer in the par boiled rice into the pot.
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20
Place the rice in a pyramid shape but be very gentle to not break the grains.
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21
Reduce heat and cover the lid of the pot.
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22
Mix 2 tablespoon oil with 4 tablespoon water.
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23
Wait 1-2 minutes and then remove the lid and add it on top of the rice.
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24
Again cover the lid, but this time before putting the lid on put two pieces of paper towel or a clean towel over the pot first and then place the lid.
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25
Allow it to steam for 45 minutes.
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26
Add 4 tablespoons of hot water to the ground saffron and let it brew while the rice cooks.
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27
When rice is ready, take a couple of spoons out of the pot and into a mixing bowl.
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28
Add the saffron mixture to it and give it a mix until rice turn from white to yellow.
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29
Now spoon the rice on a serving platter and top it with saffron rice.
