Iranian Culture - Iranian Food Recipes - Sweet Persian Delights - Rhapsody with Rice
Mariam Noronha
Sweets are an intrinsic part of Persian cuisine; prepared and presented as a fitting climax to a great meal or simply served as snacks they never fail to delight and tickle your taste buds. In this series I'm putting together some simple yet delicious Persian sweet recipes you can use to rustle up a dessert in no time at all!
I'm starting off with Persian sweets made with rice as the principle ingredient:
Sholeh-Zard - Sweet Saffron Pudding
Saffron, known for its fragrant quality and flavor is a must buy when you come to Iran. An essential ingredient which adds flavor and color to Persian food you are sure to find it any Persian kitchen. The best quality saffron is available in attractive packages and is not really hard to find in most Persian bazaars.
The Sholeh-Zard blends the goodness of rice and sugar with saffron to create a yummy dessert which is quite easy to prepare.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
rice, 500 grams
sugar, 1 kg
cooking oil (vegetable oil)
saffron, 1/2 teaspoon
rosewater (Gol Ab), 1/2 cup
a fistful of crushed almonds and pistachio
cinnamon powder, one teaspoon
Directions
Wash the rice a few times until the water is clear and drain. Add water (in a ratio of 6:1, water: rice) and bring to a boil. Keep spooning off the foam which surfaces as the rice boils. Once the rice softens completely, add sugar and stir well.
Dissolve saffron in half a cup of hot water and add to the rice and sugar.
Heat oil and also add to the mix together with the rosewater. Stir well and cover. Cook in oven at low temperature for half an hour or simmer on a medium flame for forty five minutes to an hour. Serve with pistachio, almond and cinnamon powder sprinkled on top.
Fereni - Rice Cream Custard
Another really simple and delicious treat oozing with the goodness of milk and rice, fereni tastes best when serve chilled. This is a Persian treat which can be given an interesting twist by serving it in little bowls you can get from a potter or a pottery store.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
milk, 1/2 liter
rice flour, 50 grams
sugar, 100 grams
rosewater (optional)
To decorate: a fistful of crushed almonds and pistachio, A few strands of saffron.
Directions
Soak rice for half an hour, drain and dry completely before pounding it coarsely or finely (depending on how you would like the texture of your pudding to be). Boil the milk, once it comes to a boil, take some of the hot milk in a bowl and dissolve rice flour in it.
Add this mixture to the rest of the hot milk together with rosewater if you like and boil until the rice is cooked (the mixture will thicken once the rice is cooked). Add sugar to this and boil until the sweet fragrance is completely gone. Simmer over medium heat until it comes to slow boil and thickens. Serve cold topped with almonds, pistachios and some strands of saffron.
Noon-e Berenj - Rice Cookies
A departure from regular cookies, these rice cookies have a nice soft texture only rice can bring to a baked dish.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
fine rice flour, 500 grams
castor sugar, 200 grams
cooking oil, 250 grams
rosewater, 1/2 cup
eggs, 2
Directions
Blend together oil, sugar and egg yolks and beat until soft. Beat egg whites separately until they thicken. Add flour, rosewater, and egg whites to the mix and stir well. Pour this mixture into a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
Spread the dough on a flat non-stick surface (you may use a sheet of plastic if you like) to a thickness of about 0.5 cm. Use a cookie-cutter to cut out desired shapes, and bake in an oven at 300F for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not be alarmed if the cookies still look almost white (that's how they are supposed to look).
Sweet Persian Delights - Part 2 - Baked Goodies
Baked Persian goodies that are ready in minutes are the focus of the second part of my series on sweet Persian delights. For those who love baking these recipes are quick, easy and different!
Noon-e Nokhodchi - Chickpea Cookies
Chickpeas are an intrinsic part of cooking in the Middle East and Iran. Often found in savories, soups, broths and salads this recipe takes them to an altogether new level in the form of a baked sweet snack.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
fine chick-pea flour, 500 grams
Castor sugar, 250 grams
cooking oil, 300 grams
Directions
Beat sugar and oil in to a smooth mixture. Add chick-pea flour to this and mix to get smooth and thick dough. Keep this dough in a plastic bag and keep aside for several hours.
When you are ready to bake take small lumps of dough to form balls about 2 cm in size. Press lightly with a fork to get a ribbed surface for the cookies. Bake in the oven at 300 F for 20-30 minutes. The end product should be slightly golden not brown.
Noon-e Gerdui - Walnut Cookies
Walnuts are often added to cakes, pastries, brownies and cookies. Walnuts are good for your health and this recipe helps you rustle up walnuts in the form of cookies that are crunchy and delicious.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
egg yolks, 6
vanilla, one teaspoon
sugar, 6 spoonfuls
crushed walnuts, 300 grams
Directions
Beat together egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until thick and white. Then add in crushed walnuts and mix well. Take small portions with a teaspoon and press lightly in to a round flat portion. Place on baking paper and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
Persian Baklava
Baklava is a famous sweet of Middle Eastern Origin. Layers of flour, topped off with nuts and dripping in sugar syrup this sweet can be enjoyed by itself, after a meal or as a tea time snack.
Ingredients: (Serves 6)
flour, 150-200 grams
milk, 1/2 cup almonds, 500 grams
egg yolks, 2
Castor sugar, 250 grams
sugar, 500 grams
cardamom powder, 1 teaspoon
cooking oil, 2 spoonfuls
baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon
rose-water, 1/2 cup
Directions
Mix together oil, milk, baking powder and egg yolks. Gradually add in flour while mixing. Mix the dough well for a few minutes. Place dough in a plastic bag and let it sit for 2-3 hours.
Meanwhile prepare the rest of the ingredients. Boil, peel and grind the almonds. Add fine sugar and cardamom powder and mix well.
Dust some flour on to a table-top or any hard surface like your kitchen counter. Take a small ball from the dough and flatten into a sheet as thinly as possible using a roller. Use a brush to remove the flour from the sheet. Place a box on the sheet and cut the sheet at least 0.5 cm away from the edges of the box. Then put the sheet of flour at the bottom of the box. Do this 3 times.
Add the almond-sugar mix on top of the sheets to fill the box. Press lightly to ensure you get a flat surface. Drizzle some rose-water on this. Cover with three more sheets of the dough. Cut along a grid.
Heat cooking oil and pour on top of the boxes. Add sugar to 1/2 cup of hot water, bring to boil, add rose-water and boil until it thickens to form syrup which falls smoothly from a spoon.
Pre-heat the oven to 300 F. Place the boxes in the lower part of the oven and allow baking for 15-20 minutes. Take out the boxes and pour some warm syrup on this. Return to the higher part of the oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until the Baklava turns slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for a bit. Keep drizzling some syrup over this every 5 minutes or so.
Persian Sweet Delights - Part 3 - Fruit & Ice Cream
This part of the series on Persian sweet delights focuses on the goodness of fruit and the cool, softness of ice creams. Quick, easy and delicious, all four recipes featured here are truly enjoyable to prepare, and of course, eat!
Salad-e Miveh - Fresh Fruit Salad
Fresh fruits are good for your health and make a great low fat dessert. What's more a fruit salad is colorful and tastes great.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
1 cup fresh red apples (diced)
1/2 pineapple (peeled and diced)
1 cup seedless green grapes, quartered
1/2 pint raspberries or berries, halved
1 cup diced mango
(You can use any seasonal fruits that you like and enjoy)
To top off:
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves
Honey and Rosewater (optional)
Directions
Combine all fruits in a large bowl. Squeeze lime juice over the fruit. Sprinkle mint leaves, and drizzle with honey and rosewater, if desired. Gently toss and transfer to individual dessert bowls or plates.
Jelleh Anar - Pomegranate Jello Surprise
Pomegranate, ruby like in appearance, sweet and crunchy is the core of this interesting recipe.
Ingredients
5 cups pomegranate juice
3 packets unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups sugar
Directions
Combine 2 cups of pomegranate juice with the unflavored gelatin. Place the remaining 3 cups of pomegranate juice in a small sauce pan and bring to boil over medium heat. Then add the sugar, stirring all the while. Remove pan from heat as soon as sugar dissolves, and stir in the juice and gelatin mixture.
Pour into bowls and set aside to cool. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Suggested garnish: whipped cream, custard or mint.
Bastani Akbar-Mashti - Rose Water Ice Cream
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
Vanilla ice-cream (Pack of one liter)
Double-cream, 100 grams
rose-water, 2 tablespoons
Suggested garnish: chopped pistachios and whipped cream
Directions
Leave the double-cream in the freezer until frozen. Cut the frozen double-cream into small pieces and mix with vanilla ice-cream. To this add rosewater and give it a churn in the blender before returning it to the freezer for at least one hour. Serve topped off with whipped cream or sprinkle pistachios.
Faloodeh-ye Shirazi - Rice Noodle Sorbet
A popular sweet from Shiraz, the Faloodeh is a cool treat you would love to try on a hot summer day.
Ingredients
Castor sugar, 2.5 cups
Water, 1 cup
Rosewater, 1/2 cup
Sorbet or ice-cream (vanilla or any flavor you like)
Rice noodles (vermicelli)
Suggested garnish: pistachios, fruit syrup, any berries, fresh lime juice
Directions
Boil the rice noodles in hot water until cooked. Drain and run under cold water and set aside. Boil sugar and water, remove from the fire and add the rose-water to the mixture. Set aside.
Pour this mixture into an ice cream maker together with half of the noodles. Set aside for half an hour. Add the rest of the noodles to the ice cream maker. Use the machine to mix the sorbet in, on sorbet setting.
To garnish: Traditionally, sour cherry syrup, mint, and pistachios are used to garnish a Faloodeh.
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