I decided to break up my rice page into pages for each rice growing region. I thought it would not take long - I was wrong. It took at more than 4 days of full time work, but, today, it is done.

One big problem: I couldn't find a photo of Persian Rice that I could use, so I decided I had to make it myself.

Persian rice is the kind of recipe that terrifies experienced cooks. A recipe you're supposed to learn watching you mom do it 100 times. It is complex, and the timing and temperatures are critical at every stage. In the final cooking stage you cannot check on progress, not at all. You have to wait until it's done, and if it's not right, there's nothing you can do about it.

Well, I needed the photo, so I checked my newest Persian Cookbook, by a real Iranian lady, Naz Deravian. I was pretty sure I could trust her - her recipe writing was as precise and detailed as mine, and she exuded experience.

Every reference says you are insane if you do not use a non-stick pot, so I ordered one large enough to do this with 2 cups of rice (heavy aluminum with ceramic coating, imported from Krautland).

Naz's recipe was for 3 cups, different pot, etc. My other, much larger Persian cookbook, also by a real Iranian, called for 4 cups. Even 3 is too much for me - but I knew better than to try with less than 2 cups.

I bought the very best Basmati rice, Dunan Elonga, recommended by another very experienced Iranian lady. Iranians are extremely fussy about their rice. I confirmed I had enough saffron, and ground it to powder as instructed.

My hope was that I'd be able to get a decent photo on the first try. Naz was not encouraging that would happen, but I was ready to do it as many times as needed.

So I wrote up the recipe from end to end, reading it through multiple times and comparing it to Naz's recipe, until I was certain I understood it in detail. I used Naz's timings, and her temperatures as closely as I could estimate them.

I picked Sunday afternoon when I wouldn't be bothered by a lot of junk phone calls, because after the initial soaking of the rice, you can't be distracted.

I had to make a quick run to SuperKing. I found my lavash bread was moldy, and I wanted to do this rice with a disk of lavash on the bottom. A good choice as it turned out.

I started the process, and carried it through, watching my timings carefully, and estimating my temperatures as best I could.

I had set up my studio lighting, set out my Persian background, and selected a dish enough larger than the diameter of my pot.

At the finish time, I put an inch of cold water in the sink, took the pot off the stove and set it in the water for a couple of minutes, as instructed, to make sure the bottom was free.

Then I placed the plate on top of the pot and turned it over. I removed the pot.

I got my photo.

I sat down to enjoy the rice, and it was wonderful. I thought "This is rice for the Gods!".

Then I realized what I had to do. I got a little bowl, filled it with the rice, placed some of the bottom crust on top, and placed it on the altar as an offering to Lady Freya, chief goddess of the household.

The recipe is: Persian Rice

The new rice pages start at: Rice

Oh, and I checked the recipe in the much bigger book by a real Iranian. Turns out she's a big consultant to restaurants. The violations she allows would cause Naz to wonder why she hadn't killed herself in shame.