Grandma’s Tachin
Submitted by: Saba Farmand / Vancouver, BC, Canada
Recipe origin: Iran
How old is this recipe? At least 50 years old, likely much older
The story behind the recipe:
This is my 100+ year old Grandmother's specialty. No one in the family can make it but herself (or at least with her guidance - she can't make it fully on her own anymore because of her age). It is a favourite among all her kids, grandkids, and great-grand-children. Recipe is/was only in her head until I wrote it down before going to visit my Sister who moved away from Vancouver for a few years, so that we could make it together while I visited my sister. It didn't turnout as good.
Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants
4 cups basmati rice
2 pinches of saffron
8-10 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on)
1 onion, cut into large slices
2 cinnamon sticks
5 egg yolks
About 1.5 cups stiff, drained yogurt
Olive oil
Several handfuls of zereshk (barberries) or dried cranberries
Salt and pepper
How to make it:
The day/night before:
Peel and salt the eggplants, and let them sit for a while to dehydrate. Then slice them lengthwise into ½ inch slices and pan-fry in olive oil. Set aside.
Put a pinch of saffron into a shot glass and cover with hot (not boiling) water to “dahm” the saffron (extract the flavour from it into a sort of ‘tea’ that can be used).
In a large pan, gently simmer the chicken thighs for about 1 hour with the sliced onions, cinnamon sticks, a small pinch of saffron, salt, pepper, and just enough water to barely cover the tops of the thighs. Once the chicken is done cooking, remove it and set it aside to cool, but save the cooking water!
While the chicken is cooling, make a marinade by stirring together 2 egg yolks, about a cup of the yogurt, a pinch of saffron, several spoonfuls of oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
Once the chicken is cooled, remove the bones and place the thighs in the marinade, ensuring they are well-coated. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to let sit overnight.
The day of:
Soak the rice in a large pot of salt water for approximately 1 hour. Pour off any “sar-eh” (white ‘foam’ that accumulates at the top of the soaking water) from the rice before straining it. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the rice to the boiling water, and cook for several minutes, or until it’s soft. Strain the cooked rice, and run it under cool water before letting it cool completely.
Get a large, clear casserole dish (longer and shallow is better than shorter and deep), and prepare the “bed” of the dish: in the bottom of it, stir together 3 egg yolks, 2 spoonfuls of yogurt, the saffron water mix (from the shot glass), salt, pepper, and several spoonfuls of oil. Once this is mixed together, spread it evenly around to cover the bottom (but not the sides) of the dish.
Preheat the oven to 350℉.
Line the bottom and sides of the casserole with a layer of rice, pressing it down as you go. Then squeeze the chicken thighs to remove the excess marinade from them, and place them evenly over the rice. Next, layer on the slices of fried eggplant.
Sprinkle a layer of zereshk (barberries) or dried cranberries over the eggplant, then finish with another layer of the rice.
There should be about 1-1.5 cups of the marinade leftover. Using the leftover chicken water from the day before, thin out the marinade so that it’s loose enough to pour. Then, at an angle, pour it along the edges of the dish in order to coat the sides. Finally, cover the entire dish with aluminum foil and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 2-3 hours; cooking times will vary depending on the oven, but the dish is finished when rice on the bottom and sides is a rich golden brown.
Remove the casserole from the oven and let it rest about 5 minutes. Then carefully place a large platter over the casserole and – holding tightly to both the platter and the dish – flip the casserole over so the tachin inverts onto the platter. Cut into pieces and serve!
