When creating a Rosh Hashanah menu, I’m always thinking about balance. We eat so many sweet foods to celebrate the Jewish New Year, which is a wonderful tradition– but it can also be overwhelming. Honey, apples, tzimmes, cake, kugel… it’s a lot of sweetness.
That’s why I love serving saffron rice as a Rosh Hoshanah side dish. The subtle, savory saffron flavor compliments all the sweet, rich flavors of the Rosh Hashanah holiday. It tastes buttery, even though it’s dairy free. It’s super easy to make for a large crowd, and takes less than 45 minutes from start to finish. It’s also very pretty and festive.
When my friend Farah taught me some of her family’s Persian Jewish recipes last year, she gave me a tip that helps to open up the flavor of the saffron spice. She suggested soaking the spice in hot water for a few minutes before adding it to the dish. I now do this when I make saffron rice, and it makes a big difference on flavor. The rice becomes rich with saffron flavor and aroma.
Here are three more important tips:
#1: Invest in good quality saffron. I say invest, because saffron can be very pricey. You only use a small amount, but you also get a very small amount in most bottles. If a bottle of saffron threads costs less than $10, it’s probably not worth buying. I don’t recommend the bag full of saffron that costs $5… it’s not the stuff you want, and it won’t give you the flavor you need.
#2: Don’t omit the salt… the combination of salt, saffron, and caramelized onions gives this rice a rice, buttery flavor. You won’t believe there’s no dairy when you taste it!
#3: Buy white basmati rice; don’t substitute long grain rice or brown rice. The flavor and texture won’t be the same.
If you’d like to make this dish pareve or vegan, you can use water in the place of chicken stock. I prefer the chicken stock because it adds a lot of flavor to the rice. If you do use water, add an extra pinch of salt to make up for the salt in the chicken stock.
We eat saffron rice all year round, particularly during the winter months, because it’s both healthy and cozy– it’s the kind of comfort food that is good for you. It’s also gluten free if you use a certified GF chicken stock. Enjoy!!
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Saffron Rice
Ingredients
- 1/4 teaspoon good quality saffron threads
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup minced yellow onion
- 2 cups white basmati rice
- 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock (if using vegetable stock, choose a golden colored stock such as "no chicken" broth)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt (if using a low sodium stock, adjust salt to 1 tsp)
NOTES
Instructions
- Take 1/8 tsp saffron threads and put them in a spice mortar. Grind the spice with a pestle to a powdery consistency.Add the other 1/8 tsp saffron threads to the mortar. Do not crush these remaining threads.
- Pour 1/4 cup of hot water into the mortar. Let all of the saffron soak for 5 minutes. This will open up the flavor of the spice.
- Meanwhile, sort your basmati rice and rinse in a colander. Drain.In a large heavy pot, heat extra virgin olive oil over medium. Add the minced onion to the pot and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring very frequently, until the onion is very soft and begins to caramelize.
- Add rinsed rice to the pot and sauté for one minute longer, mixing the rice together with the cooked onion.
- Pour the yellow soaked saffron liquid evenly across the top of the rice.
- Add chicken or vegetable stock and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, stir. Bring back to a boil for 30 seconds.
- Cover the pot and reduce heat to low. Let the rice cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, but keep pot covered, and continue to let the rice sit and steam in the covered pot for 10 minutes longer.
- Fluff the rice with a fork before serving, stirring well to break up the rice and incorporate the cooked onion.
Scott Sexton says
Yummy! I used veggie no-chicken broth (Butler – Chik-Style Seasoning) and it worked perfectly.
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Barbara says
I have made this recipe and it is really good. I add some coconut oil with the salt. Yum!
Barbara Bolton says
My first attempt and loved by all. My husband had brought a VERY small jar of saffron back from Turkey. It was delicious!
Mitra says
Love this dish! Love to make it with koftas although it was also the perfect Easter side dish today as well. I am lucky to have some real Persian saffron and it really makes a difference.
Tori Avey says
You are correct, Persian saffron makes all the difference!
mia says
Made it tonight using….gasp…Uncle Ben’s & it was still delicious. Nice fluffy flavorful rice.
Topped it with some corn & shaved brussel sprouts (sautéed in wine). Yummm
Ella says
I have just finished making this dish for my husband and it came out perfect. I added corn to this recipe.
JEFF KURCZEK says
Great recipe! I added a handful of dried chiles. Saved me in a pinch–delicious…
Diane Edwards says
Hi Tory,
I’d like to make a large batch and then freeze into meal sizes. What is your take on it?
Thanks,
Diane
Tori Avey says
Hi Diane, I think that would probably work just fine! Rice tends to freeze quite well. The best way is to let it chill in the refrigerator a bit (even overnight), divide into portions and freeze in airtight freezer bags.
Whitney Weinstein says
Hello Tory,
After following this recipe exactly on making your Saffron Rice, the result was there was no flavor of the saffron. How can I make the taste stronger?
Tori Avey says
Hi Whitney– first thing I would check is the quality of saffron you used. Often people pick up false saffron, which is less expensive but has no flavor. It is often a cheap material like dried corn husk, colored to resemble saffron. If you used a high quality saffron, perhaps you didn’t use enough? Saffron is pretty potent and you don’t need much to flavor a pot of rice, so these are my two best guesses.
Mary Ellen Holgersen says
Oh my God. Best rice ever.
Grace Hill says
If I could give you 10 stars, I would. Although my dad used to make saffron rice and other dishes requiring saffron quite often (I am from the Mediterranean) , I have never made saffron rice nor any other dish using saffron. I guess not knowing how to use it, I was hesitant to waste it since it is quite pricey. Your recipe on the other hand is so unimaginably easy and the rice was super flavorful and savory. The texture, color and flavor were all perfectly balanced. I am so thankful I stumbled upon your site. Thank you Tori so very much for this recipe. Now, do you have a recipe just as delish for challah?
Jessica says
Could this be frozen in vacuum sealed bags?
Mirella says
Yes rice freezes very well!! I’ve done it with Jasmine, Basmati and Risotto.
Tom Ray says
I used this recipe with trepidation since it was my first time using safron. We have a dinner party tomorrow and of the three recipes I tried today, yours was best. I had no idea safron is so delicious. I used Jasmine rice. It turned out extra good possibly because I listened to Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell the whole time- but it cudda been your recipe too!! Thanks.
p.s. I appreciated to photos.
Lori A. Geuy says
Made this tonight for dinner.
it was my first time EVER using saffron threads.
My son whose the picky eater of the house was loving this dish and asked for seconds.
This recipe is a keeper..?
Mandy says
This turned out perfectly. Thank you!
Valerie says
I love basmati saffron rice at restaurants. I wanted to try making it at home for the first time and when I googled it your recipe came up first. Your presentation of this recipe on your blog was super easy to follow and nicely made so that’s why I used it instead of any others on the web. I cut the recipe in half (approximately) since I was making it for 2. I didn’t have a mortar & pestle so I used a 2 cup measuring glass with a small wooden mallet (lol) but it worked! I was able to smash up the first pinch into a nice orangish color and add the 2nd pinch and then a bit of hot water to let it soak. The recipe turned out great, my husband enjoyed it. The only thing I would’ve done a bit differently would be to add some butter. (Also maybe I’ll try slivered almonds or pine nuts in the future) But it went well with some organic chicken breasts and grilled zucchini for a quick and easy meal. 🙂 Thank you
Carly L says
Thank you for this most amazing recipe! I’ve never made or even eaten Saffron Rice before, and this tasted so amazingly luxurious and wonderful. I made it to go with braised shortribs, and my man commented that the shortribs were made to compliment the rice!
Thank you again, and this is definitely going into the Carly’s Favorite Recipes Box! 😀
Julez says
Sooooo tasty! Can’t wait to cook it again, this time with a tagine ?
Patty says
I grew up eating saffron rice. Except my Momma always fix a couple of boneless chicken breast and diced or shredded it and tossed in while the rice was cooking. I loved it in the fall especially because she’d have the windows open & I could smell it while we played outside!! Occasionally she’d drain a can of small sweet peas and add for color, flavor & to stretch it out a little farther. To this day I LOVE the smell of it cooking!! Thanks for a great memory!!
Brian says
Hi from Istanbul. Just tried your recipe using top quality Saffron from Iran. Oh my. Your recipe is perfect. Our first attempt before seeing this was a disaster. Yellow rice with no taste! 🙂 This was perfect, the only thing we added was a small knob of organic salted butter and a little less salt. Thanks a lot….again. It was fantastic.