Tachin Joojeh is a Persian chicken and rice casserole with caramelized onions. The casserole is cooked upside down. When it's flipped over, the bottom layer, with its beautiful golden crust, becomes the top.
Soon after I got married - more than 20 years ago - a friend gave me a cookbook about Sephardic cooking. I remember thinking the recipes were strange and intriguing. I hadn't thought about that book in years - maybe even decades. It suddenly popped into my mind a few days ago, when I was researching recipe ideas for "Panning the Globe".
I was pretty sure I'd never find it in my house, but I did. It still had yellow post-it notes marking the recipes that had interested me way back when: "Sfongo": Turkish baked spinach and potato casserole, 'Khoresht Zardaloo": Veal and Apricot Stew from Iran, "Kadoo Bichak": Baked Pumpkin and Onion Dumplings from Uzbekistan,"Cous Cous Judgja" from Morocco, and Tachin Joojeh from Iran. It made me smile to be reminded that this journey I'm on with my blog, to explore the exciting food and flavors of unknown countries, started a long time ago.
The term "Sephardic" refers to Jews who were expelled from Spain and Portugal in the late 15th century because they refused to convert to Christianity. It is estimated that 100,000 Jews left Spain and Portugal at this time, and settled in North Africa, Greece, and throughout the Middle East (then the Ottoman Empire).
I'm noticing a pattern in my research that immigration and cultural diversity leads to wonderful, interesting recipes.
Tachin Joojeh get's its delicious flavor and beautiful yellow color from saffron. Saffron is the world's most expensive spice. Luckily a little saffron goes a long way.
Saffron is made from the stigmas of little purple crocus flowers. Each flower has only three stigmas. They are delicate and must be harvested by hand. It takes 450 to 500 stigmas to make two tablespoons of saffron threads.
Saffron is frequently used in Persian cuisine and Iran is one of the world's largest producers of the spice.
Looking back to my newlywed days, I remember making "Tachin Joojeh". My husband and I liked the name, but even more compelling was the description of the rice, egg and yogurt layer which forms "a firm crust at the bottom of the casserole".
When you flip your Tachin Joojeh onto a platter and lift the casserole dish off, you will probably stand back and sigh, as I did, admiring the firm brown and yellow crust and the juicy chicken and onions and steamed rice layers that descend beneath it.
And here's how it looks if you use a rounded bowl-type casserole.
Many countries have wonderful chicken and rice casseroles. Some of my favorites are Indian Biryani, Spanish Arroz Con Pollo, and Jollof Rice from Ghana. Tachin Joojeh is at the top of my list.
Here's the recipe for Tachin Joojeh: Persian Layered Chicken and Rice with Yogurt. If you make this, I hope you'll come back to leave a review and let me know what you think!
Recipe
Persian Layered Chicken and Rice with Yogurt (Tachin Joojeh)
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 mins
- Yield: 6
Description
A festive chicken and rice casserole with caramelized onions. Worthy of a special occasion. Serve with garlicky yogurt sauce on the side.
Ingredients
- Yogurt Sauce
- 2 cups plain yogurt, whole milk or low-fat
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried crumbled mint or basil to sprinkle on top (optional)
- Chicken and Onions
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 ½ pounds)
- 2 large onions, halved and sliced thin
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (divided, see instructions)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt (divided, see instructions)
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
- fresh ground pepper, to taste
- Tachin
- 2-quart glass (see-through) casserole
- 2 cups long grain Basmati rice, swished with water and drained 6 or 7 times
- 2 egg yolks (whites are not needed for this recipe)
- ¾ cup plain whole milk yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon saffron threads crushed with ¼ teaspoon salt with a mortar and pestle or with the curved back of a fork.
- 2 teaspoons salt (divided - see instructions)
- Fresh black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 tablespoons barberries (or substitute currants)
- some olive oil to sauté the barberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Yogurt Sauce In a medium bowl mix yogurt, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Sprinkle mint or basil on top (optional) Keep in fridge until ready to serve.
- Chicken and onions Season chicken on both sides with 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium heat until very hot. Add chicken - it should sizzle - and cook 6 minutes per side, or until no longer pink. (It will be golden brown on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside) Remove from heat, cut into bite-sized cubes and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet, add onions, ½ teaspoon salt, turmeric and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 6-7 minutes over medium heat until onions soften and turn golden brown. Mix with cubed chicken and set aside.
- Tachin: step one Put rinsed rice and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan and add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook, covered, for 7 minutes. Pour into a strainer, drain, rinse with cold water to stop cooking and set aside.
- Tachin: step two Whisk egg yolks, yogurt, saffron, ½ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a medium bowl. Add half the cooked, drained rice, mix thoroughly and set aside.
- Tachin: step three Swirl melted butter and olive oil in the 2-quart casserole to coat bottom and sides. Add yogurt & rice mixture and smooth it out into an even layer with the back of a spoon. Add chicken and onion mixture next, making an even layer. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt to the remaining plain white rice, stir to combine and add to top of casserole, pressing it down gently. Cover casserole with lid or a double layer of foil and bake in the lower third of preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until a light brown crust forms on the bottom. Remove from oven. Carefully flip casserole upside down onto a platter. Cover the top with a clean dish cloth while you give the Barberries a 1 minute stir in a frying pan with a bit of oil. Toss them on top of the Tachin to garnish. Cut Tachin into six servings and enjoy with yogurt sauce on the side.
Notes
Nutrition Disclaimer: We do our best to provide accurate nutrition values using an online nutrition calculator however our nutrition information should only be used as an approximation.
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Category: Festive Main Course
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Iranian
[Originally published November 2012. Updated with a new video, new photos, added nutritional information and more pertinent information added to the written post.]
Joanna
My familly loved it. Thank you for sharing.
Lisa Goldfinger
That's great news! Thanks for reporting back.
monikamcdNYC
We love this dish. It has so much flavor and is definitely worth the time investment. And, as a shortcut, when we have leftover roast chicken we use that.
Lisa Goldfinger
I'm glad you love this dish!
Katrina
This was so good! Well worth the effort to make.
Lisa Goldfinger
I'm so glad you enjoyed!!
Raven
Thank you for sharing this recipe, it’s absolutely delish.
Hollis Ramsey
I have several Tachin recipes. This is one of the best.
Meg Wise
We didn't have barberries, and I honestly forgot about the sauce, and my 9 year old still didn't have a chance to take a breath because he was literally shoveling it down. I had never had this, but it sounded delightful and I was curious, so I dove in, and I'm so happy I did. It's perfect comfort food. I'm not middle eastern, but this still feels like a hug from a grandmother on a cold day.
e
hi! where is the original recipe from? you mentioned it's from a book that was given to you by someone else, then in your recipe the credit line links simply to your own biography.
could you share the credit/source for the recipe? 🙂 thanks
Lisa
Here's the link to the cookbook with the original recipe: https://amzn.to/3GmVaVV
Molly
I tried the recipe because I love all Middle Eastern food.. This recipe is very bland. The middle eastern recipes I have eaten are always flavorful. After making it, I sauteed some harissa and ras al hanout and then put in all the chicken rice mix to mix it up.
Lisa
I'm sorry you were disappointed by the flavors of this dish Molly. By the way, this is not a Middle Eastern dish. It's an Iranian dish and the featured spice here is Saffron, which has a mild but wonderful flavor that can be overpowered by other spices. But the most important thing is that you enjoy the final dish, so I'm glad you were able to adjust the flavors to your liking.
Lynn
I’ve made this vegan & it’s great… I substituted
with Gardein Chicken Strips & used Kite Hill Plain Yogurt & “Just Egg “- 6 tablespoons for the main dish.
You need to bake a 1/2 hour longer to get the crispy rice crust underneath.
Brought back great memories!
Thank you !
Fernando
I made this and it was a big hit in our house! Delicious flavors and loved the colors too. My flip was a little weak but I did get the crust for the most part. I’ll try cooking it for a little longer next time too. I might even be inspired to buy a round casserole dish as I liked the way yours looked. Oh, and since I had no currants, I used raisins and they worked fine. Thanks!
Muna
AMAZINGGGGGG!!!!!
Marilyn Madden
Awesome recipe and fairly easy to make . Guests were very impressed!
Served w lamb shanks and salad perfect meal for special guests.
Thank you for this recipe
Kathryn
For people who want a vegetarian or kosher (not mixing dairy and meat) version you can substitute cauliflower flowerettes in place of chicken-- simply toss the cauliflower pieces in an egg wash then sprinkle with flour and saute them the same as directed for chicken. A good tip for the flip is to finish cooking and let it sit for 5 minutes then put your platter on top, steady it with your hand for the flip then again let sit for about 5 minutes with the casserole dish in place until it drops on it's own. Works like a charm! I just love your website btw, its loaded with recipes from my lifetime travels that are simplified (getting recipes from grannies that speak a different language results in multiple fails until you get it right, lol) and your directions give me creative thoughts how to turn these complicated dishes into quick and easy dishes suitable for everyday and yet elegant enough to parade out at dinner parties. Stellar! Thank you!
Lisa
Thanks for this vegetarian version Kathryn - I can't wait to try it. And I can so relate to what you say about recipes from grannies. I have a big folder of my maternal grandmother's recipes and they are vague! I really appreciate your detailed note and kind words about the blog 🙂 Happy Cooking!
Dominic
Hello, One question, what foes one do with milk in this recipe? Looks like its been.missednof the instructions?.
Shira
Have you tried this with any yogurt substitute? Something like cashew yogurt for a non-dairy option?
Lisa
Hi Shira, no, I haven't tried this recipe with any dairy substitutes. I would love to know if it can be done. I did some quick googling and found a few recipes using plant-based yogurt for Tachin rice so I know it's been attempted. If you do try this, will you let me know how it goes?
Emily
Could you please just give an actual measurement for how much water goes into the rice? I tried to do 2in but I guess I messed up because it came out really liquidy and gummy.
Lisa
I'm so sorry your rice was gummy Emily - that must have been a big disappointment. You can follow the cooking instructions on your rice package. Usually they say to add 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice, so 4 cups of water for the 2 cups of rice in this recipe. The idea is to cook the rice for half the recommended time so that it finishes cooking in the oven. Also, be sure to rinse the rice well before you boil it, and be sure to immediately run cold water over it in a strainer and then drain it so it's cool and somewhat dry before you assemble the casserole. I hope you'll give the recipe another try and hopefully you'll have a better outcome.