Shole Zard - Persian Saffron Rice Pudding
Shole Zard is an aromatic Persian Saffron Rice Pudding. The floral fragrance of saffron and rose water, combined with the warmth of cinnamon and cardamom make this dessert a treat for all senses. Shole Zard is made with water instead of milk. That makes it much lighter than the regular rice pudding. It does not lack in flavour though! On the contrary - It’s full of classic Persian flavours: Saffron, rose, cinnamon and cardamom, topped with pistachios.
You can easily turn this aromatic dessert vegan by using alternative sweeteners, like Algarve or maple syrup and replacing the butter with coconut oil or vegan butter.
Cook the most popular Persian dishes at home with the help of my e-book.
Time
Prep/soak: 30 min
Cook: 1h 15 min
Total: 1h 45 min
Ingredients (serving 8)
Approx. 1litre / 9 US cups water
200g / 1 US cup Basmati rice
150g /1.5 US cups sugar
60ml / 1/4 US cup rosewater (or 1 tsp rose water essence)
2 tbsp slivered almonds
2 tbsp butter
1 cinnamon stick
10 cardamom pods (or 1/4 tsp ground cardamom)
Cinnamon powder for serving
Slivered pistachios for serving
1/4 tsp saffron
2 ice cubes
Method of preparing Shole Zard
Prep your ingredients
Wash the rice until the water runs almost clear and let it soak in water for about 30 minutes.
In the meantime grind the saffron with pestle and mortar and sprinkle it over the ice cubes in a glass. Set it aside in a warm place.
Combine the rose water with the slivered almonds and crushed cardamom pods or cardamom powder. If you are using rose water essence, you can combine it with a little water and let the slivered almonds and cardamom soak in it.
Once the rice has been soaking for 30 minutes, gently grind the rice corns between your fingers. Aim to split them into smaller pieces, not too fine though. The whole process should only take 1 or 2 minutes. If it’s difficult to grind the rice into smaller pieces, let them soak a bit longer and try again.
Get your Shole Zard cooking
Drain the soaking water and transfer the rice to a pot. Add 8 cups of cold water to it and bring the water to a boil.
Once the water is boiling, reduce the temperature to low and skim off the foam from the surface. Now let the rice simmer gently until most of the water is absorbed by the rice corn or has evaporated. This will take about 30 min.
Now you can add the saffron water, cinnamon stick, rose water, almonds, and cardamom to your Shole Zard. Stir regularly to prevent the rice pudding from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Boil 240ml / 1 cup of water and combine it with the sugar until dissolved. Add it to the Shole Zard and stir it in.
Let your Shole Zard simmer gently until it has the desired consistency. Remove the cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods. Add the butter and stir it in.
Time to decorate
Transfer the Shole Zard into portion-sized bowls and decorate it with cinnamon powder and slivered pistachios. Enjoy it hot from the pot or let it cool down and store it in the fridge to serve it cold. Enjoy!
I’d love to see your Shole Zard! Feel free to tag me with @igotitfrommymaman on Facebook or Insta so I can take a look and give you a thumbs up!
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