Pars Automatic Persian Rice Cooker - Tahdig Rice Maker Perfect Rice Crust, 20 Cup

My cousins Mark and Amy in California introduced me to the PARS rice cooker and Tahdig Persian rice cooked with saffron from Usbekistan! The cooker arrived from Amazon in perfect condition. The packaging was great and the delivery was speedy. The PARS company manual instructions in the box and the website are consistently inconsistent and confusing on some points and so it ts worthwhile to Google a couple of websites before making the first batch. I would take away one star for the manual but add the star back for the amazing convenience of the pot and the fantastic quality of the Tahdig you will enjoy. Highly recommended.

I have both the 8 cup and the 5 cup Pars rice cookers. The smaller is easier to use because you put the rinsed rice, water, salt and oil, topped by a paper towel between the lid and pot. Turn the knob and let the rice cook. It comes out crispy every time with little effort. I use less time for smaller rice portions.The larger rice cooker works totally different. You have to boil the pre-measured water in the rice cooker first. Then, you add the rinsed rice, salt and oil, topped with the paper towel between the lid and pot. If you cook an entire pot of 8 cups of rice, I recommend cooking it for at least 1 hour to get the golden crispy color. Do use a lot of oil if you plan to cook the rice past 1 hour to make the sides even more crispy.To serve, I put a glass pie pan on top of the pot of rice when ready. Close the pie pan on top of the pot tightly with heat-safe mits. Quickly flip the finished rice onto the pie pan.Note: the rice cooker works on booth basmati and jasmine rice. Photo shown was my first experiment cooking 2 cups of jasmine rice in the 5 cup rice cooker. The measurements in the manual work for both kinds of rice.I don't know how to make tadig on the stove, so this rice cooker is an amazing tool in the kitchen if you are preparing many dishes to go with it. It really saves me time.

It cooks Persian rice perfectly. I love it and always use it all the time.

I purchased the Pars Rice Cooker in April 2022 with high hopes, given its positive reviews and attractive features. Initially, the rice cooker performed well, cooking rice evenly and quickly, with convenient settings for different types of rice and a useful keep-warm function. However, my experience took a downturn when the cooker stopped working two years after purchase.Here are the main issues I encountered:1. **Durability**: For a kitchen appliance expected to last several years, the fact that it stopped working within 24 months is highly disappointing. I used it regularly but not excessively, and I always followed the manufacturer’s instructions for care and maintenance.2. **Performance Decline**: In the months leading up to its failure, I noticed the rice cooker became less efficient. The rice was often unevenly cooked, with some parts undercooked while others were mushy. The keep-warm function also started to malfunction, causing rice to dry out.3. **Value for Money**: Given the price point of this rice cooker, I expected a higher level of durability and customer support. Investing in a product that fails so soon feels like a waste of money.While the rice cooker had some good features and performed well initially, its lack of durability and poor customer service experience make it difficult to recommend. I would advise potential buyers to consider other options, especially if you’re looking for a long-lasting and reliable rice cooker.

I didn't think I needed to add yet another rice cooker to my kitchen. Then an interesting article about Persian Tahdig in the L.A. Times Food Section peaked my interest.The article mentioned use of the Pars Rice Cooker as an alternate way to make the recipe. (I should add that I already have both big and small Zojirushi neuro fuzzy rice cookers, plus a microwave-style rice cooker. In a pinch I can make rice the old-fashion way-- Asian and Persian style--using a covered saucepan.)The idea of an 'automatic' tahdig cooker was something I just HAD to try. I learned to make tahdig from Cooks Illustrated, tips from Persian friends, and now from the L.A. Times Food Section. The Pars website was out of stock. I lucked out when I was able to buy a 3 cup cooker on Amazon at a great Warehouse price to try it out.Caveat: Looking at the instructions, it was obvious upfront that it would be necessary to make tahdig several times (3 tries in my case) before finally achieving a golden crusty delicious result.I used its standard rice measurer, the SAME measuring size that comes with Asian rice cookers (1 raw rice cooker cup expands to 1 regular cup of cooked rice). I also used the rice, oil, and salt measurements for the 1 cup preparation since at first I was just testing the quality of the tahdig surface. The measurements for oil are in metric (mm) measurements, but fortunately its rice cup included mm measurements.Skip the instructions that come with the rice cooker, which includes perplexing instructions for first adjusting the dial clockwise, looking for a yellow light to then turn the dial counterclockwise while cooking. (I took off 1 star from the Product Review ONLY for this issue regarding the instructions. It takes a few tries to get it right. Do NOT give up after only 1 or 2 tries!)Instead, adjust the dial ONE time, clockwise to the color desired to the shade shown on the dial. (Ex: the black section WILL produce black-scorched rice), so I dialed up to the most yellow color section of the dial--with pleasing golden cooked results.I NEVER saw the light change from red to yellow, then realized it wasn't necessary to look for a color change of the light. Simply look for the light to turnoff, which signals that the rice is done. To prevent soggy-ness, remove the rice pot once done. Otherwise, the rice will continue to steam, ruining the crispiness of the golden crust.Later I tried making the 2 cup size--which made the tahdig plus a portion of regular rice. The tahdig had same desired results. The regular rice section was acceptable. I would NOT advise trying the 3 cup method. The 3 cup method didn’t allow for enough expansion of the 'upper' rice to keep the grains fluffy and separate.Still, if you’re more interested in the tahdig, then all you need to use is the 1 cup method.(In later use, if I did make 2 cups of rice, then after separating the regular rice from the tahdig rice, I transferred the remaining regular cooked rice into my smaller-size Asian rice cooker—using the quick-cooking rice selection to reheat and add fluffiness to the cooked rice that was in the upper section of the tahdig. Hey...I have a thing for Asian rice, and I have the Asian rice cookers, so that works well for me if I need to reheat the regular rice.)Whether to add rice up front - or - wait to add rice once it comes to a rolling boil: The instructions indicate to add the rice once the water comes to a boil. If I'm standing by the cooker doing other things, I'll add the rice once it's boiling. However, if multi-tasking away from the kitchen, then I’ll add the rice upfront so I don’t forget it. I did not find any discernable difference between the two methods.I'm glad I got it. So glad, that I bought another to send to my tahdig-loving sister! She hasn’t received it yet, but I’m confident she will enjoy using it and presenting nice and easy tahdigs for her future parties.

Easy to use. Makes good tahdig. I am an American married into a Persian family and they approve of my rice making capabilities now.