Persian Saffron Rice with Chicken and Barberries (Tah-Cheen)

Serves 4
Barberry Preparation (Zereshk)
1 cup barberries
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup stevia sugar (or any alternative sugar desired)
¼ cup water

Place the barberries in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let soak for about 1-2 hours. Once soaking is completed pour in a colander to drain. Warm oil, sugar, and water in a pan on low to medium heat and whisk mixture while heating until sugar dissolves. Add barberries and coat them with the mixture. Allow to cook on low heat for about 5-6 mins or until liquid mixture is almost gone. Make sure not to burn the barberries or they will become hard. Remove from heat and set aside in preparation for adding to layers.

Rice Preparation
2 ½ cups Basmati rice (can be found in most middle eastern grocery stores)
½ teaspoon salt

Wash rice in a pot several times until water becomes clear. This is to make sure the rice is cleaned thoroughly. Pour water on rice and allow it to soak for about an hour. After soak is completed add salt and bring to a boil. Allow rice to boil for about 12-15 mins. It is important to make sure the rice doesn’t become too soft so if this is your first time making it make sure you are watching the rice. A good test to see if the rice is done is to bite into a piece and it should be easy to bite into and not hard but not mushy. Pour rice in colander and drain.

Chicken Preparation
2 cups rotisserie chicken chopped (I use smart chicken)
1 egg
2 cups yogurt (its better to use non greek yogurt here since you want it to be a bit watery but I still use greek anyways and it works fine as well)
½ cup water boiled
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon saffron, powdered

Mix egg and yogurt in a bowl until creamy. In a separate bowl add dried saffron which is powdered and on top of it add the boiled water. Mix well until the saffron is nearly dissolved. Water will have turned a bright yellow color. Add the saffron water to the yogurt mixture and mix. In a separate bowl add chopped chicken and coat with salt, pepper, and turmeric. Add yogurt mixture to to the chicken and mix. Chicken should be coated. Let marinade sit for 1-2 hours covered in the refrigerator.

Assembly

I prefer using a medium size loaf pan but you can use any desired pan. The pan I use is 9 x 5. Coat the non-stick pan with coconut oil to prevent sticking. You can just rub the coconut oil on the pan with a paper towel. Pour a layer of the chicken yogurt mixture on the bottom of the pan. Add a thin layer of rice and flatten using the back of a spoon. Add the barberries in a thin layer and again press. Continue in this fashion until chicken/yogurt, rice, and the barberries have been used up. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 60-65 mins or until completely cooked.