At an early age I learned that if I wanted to get a big piece of tahdig I had to grab it before it made it to the dinner table and it was quickly gone.  Tahdig is the crusty part of the bottom of Persian rice often made with oil, saffron, turmeric, thinly sliced potatoes and rice. A crispy, delicious treat. My grandfather, known as my baba, traveled from Iran to the United States in 1963 for college.  He met my American grandmother, got married, started their family, and worked towards his career in nuclear medicine. Then in 1976 his parents and youngest brother left Iran to come to the United States to be closer to my Baba and some of his siblings. Eventually, as tensions escalated towards Jews in Iran, any remaining family fled and joined them. My great grandparents and my Baba’s youngest brother moved in with my grandparents, my mother who was five, and her older brother. My mom learned how to make tahdig when she was young from my baba and her family.  Like my mom I learned how to make it when I was young, about nine-years-old. Although I don’t feel like I’ve mastered it fully, I’m grateful that I can share their culture and make it for myself and friends. I am also grateful that I can make it for my baba and other Persian family members who are always feeding me. My baba has been a very big part of my childhood, and teenage years and I appreciate his view on life and the world. His experiences and stories are a proud part of my heritage, and he is truly a special, hilarious, wise, and caring person.

– Laadan Jarrett

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant