Shole Zard: Iranian Saffron Rice Pudding

 

Sholeh Zard is a sweet Persian pudding that is famous for its golden color which comes from the saffron used in the dish.

Saffron Rice Pudding used to be cooked only on special occasions such as Nowruz. Nowadays it is more often served as a dessert in parties. Sholeh Zard is especially popular on religious holidays, when some people prepare it in large quantities and invite the extended family and friends over, or share it with the neighbors.

Three very distinct ingredients are used in this dish, rosewater, saffron, and cardamom. Make sure you do not add too much saffron to the dessert. Too much saffron can make Sholeh Zard bitter, and too little of it makes the dessert taste bland.

Contrary to the ingredients of traditional rice pudding, Sholeh Zard does not have any milk or cream. But the dessert is still creamy as the rice is fully cooked until it becomes very soft, and butter or oil is added to make it creamy.

A huge part of preparing Sholeh Zard comes after the dessert is ready, when ground cinnamon, slivered almonds, and pistachio are used to decorate the dish. Sometimes Iranians use pre-made templates to garnish the pudding with mostly ground cinnamon.

These patterns can get repetitive really fast, so our suggestion to you is to create your own patterns by turning foil into a home-made template. Or if you are in a rush to eat the dessert, you can just forget about decorations altogether!

 

How to Make Shole Zard

Serves 8 people

Prep Time: 60 Minutes

 

Ingredients:

White rice: 2 cups

White sugar: 3 cups

Butter: 100g

Ground saffron: ½ teaspoon

Water: 12 cups

Rosewater: ½ cup

Ground cardamom: ¼ teaspoon

For garnish: Slivered almonds or pistachios and ground cinnamon

 

Directions:

Soak the rice in water for 3 hours.

Rinse the rice with water several times until the water is clear.

Bring water to boil in a nonstick pan. Add the rice and reduce the heat. Do not cover the pan with lid, and stir it occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom. Wait until the rice is super tender.

Brew your saffron using the methods in our earlier posts.

Add the saffron to the pan, along with butter and stir some more.

Add sugar to the mix, and stir so that it fully blends with the other ingredients. Let it cook for 15 minutes.

In the final step, add rosewater, ground cardamom, and almonds and turn off the heat after 3 minutes. Depending on your taste, you might want the pudding to be loose or firm. If the pudding was too loose at this point, you can keep stirring it until it gets more firm. If the pudding is too firm, add water and stir.

Pour the pudding in individual serving bowls.

Garnish Sholeh Zard with ground cinnamon, slivered almonds, or pistachios depending on your preference.

Refrigerate the pudding, or let it cool in room temperature until it is no longer warm.

Enjoy!