Traditionally, rice was most prevalent as a major staple item in northern Iran and the homes of the wealthy, while bread was the dominant staple in the rest of the country. Iranians pride themselves on their skill in preparation of rice, and there are a vast number of varieties of two common dishes, polow and chelow.
Tahdig is the soul food of Persian cooking. It’s the crisp, golden layer of fried rice at the bottom of the rice pot, and it tastes like a combination of popcorn and potato chips, but with the delicate flavor of delicious rice.
It’s eaten as a side dish, and it’s forgivable to pick it up and eat it with your fingers.
Chelow is plain rice served as an accompaniment to a stew or kebab, while polow is rice mixed with something. A dish of Chelow white rice with kebab is called chelow kabab, which is considered the national dish of Iran. The rice can also be prepared using the kateh method, and hence the dish would be called kateh kabab.
Polow is rice that is usually mixed and cooked with vegetables, herbs, and/or some type of meat (usually poultry, beef, lamb, or fish).
