Sholeh Zard

Hello everyone! The Duo Chef's first post is the recipe considered to be one of the successful ones I've tried out. It's a famous Persian dessert called Sholeh Zard. It is a Saffron Rice Pudding and its distinguished by its vivid yellow colour. Zard means yellow in Persian.


As far as I know in Iran Sholeh Zard is also used as part of Nazri which means offering. Once I watched a documentary called A Taste of Iran. When the journalist arrived in Esfahan, he visited a martyrs cemetery and here's where the unique part came in. Apparently there is a tradition which the Esfahanis do every Friday: to visit the martyr cemetery and send their prayers for their loved ones who were killed during the Iran-Iraq war some time in 1980s. They bring some food as offerings who are intended for the soul of the martyrs. Sholeh Zard may be one of those food as well as others such as cakes, soup, juice, etc. I suppose it depends on the season. If it's warm season, they prefer to bring something cool and vice versa.


Honesty I'd had no experience in making it, let alone eating it so basically I'd had no idea how it tasted like. The last time E visited me he brought a small bunch of pistachios and almonds as part of request. I also still had a bit of saffron left and a half bottle of rose water so I thought of giving it a go.


Mind you, pistachios and almonds are very pricey here and they are only sold in supermarkets that sell imported products. Whereas in Iran, I think those things are cheap. I doubt if I can find any saffron here. Once I bought a packaged saffron which was as much as 1 teaspoon in Perth and it cost almost $15!


I have to say that I was nervous during the process of cooking Sholeh Zard because I was afraid it wouldn't turn out as expected. But I was wrong! Not sure if its taste would appeal to Persians' tastebuds but to me it was fantastic. My sister, her husband and my 2 friends tasted it too and they loved it! The most fun part was decorating the pudding with ground pistachios and cinnamon powder.


Enough talking now, here is the recipe!


Ingredients:
Up to 6 servings


1 cup white rice
10 cups water, divided into 8 and 2 cups
1 1/2 cup white sugar (I would suggest you to add 1 cup first to avoid it becoming too sweet)
1/4 olive oil
1/3 cup rose water
2 teaspoons saffron threads (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons blanched slivered almonds
2 tablespoons ground pistachios
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon


Method:


1) Wash rice. Rinse and drain the rice several times until the water runs clear. Add the rice to a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2) Add 8 cups of water to the pot and partially cover with a lid. Bring the rice to a boil over medium heat, occasionally skimming the foam off the top.
3) Grind saffron threads and put it into 2 tbs hot water and set aside.
4) Once rice is soft and boiling (approximately 30 minutes), add sugar and stir gently to dissolve. Add an additional 2 cups of water and stir to combine. Keep the rice partially covered and continue to cook over a medium-low heat for approximately 20 more minutes. Stir occasionally.
5) Add olive oil, rose water and the ground saffron threads along with their water into the rice and stir thoroughly to combine. Continue to cook, partially-covered, for another 20 minutes over low heat.
6) Remove the lid and stir well. The mixture should start to look like a thick pudding-like cream; all the water should be boiled out at this point. Feel free to add more saffron. The more saffron you add the richer the flavour and colour of the pudding will be. Add more sugar too to reach your desired sweetness. You might add less or more than 1/2 cup but be careful not to make it too sweet!
7) Add the blanched slivered almonds and continue cooking over medium-low heat until a pudding-like texture develops (approximately 30 more minutes).
8) Once thickened, remove the pot from the stove and pour the Sholeh Zard into a large, shallow plate and let it cool. Once the top has dried into a thin, yet hard, layer you can decorate with the cinnamon and pistachios in a pretty pattern.
9) Once cool, cover the plate with a plastic wrap, put it into the refrigerator and continue chilling until the pudding has transformed into a jello-like consistency.


Now you notice how long it takes to cook Sholeh Zard. So if you use a gas stove make sure you have enough gas.


At the end you will face this exquisite dessert that will everyone interested to taste. Not only the taste that you will enjoy, but also the fragrance emanating from the pudding and cinnamon.


Cheers!


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