Sholeh zard is the dessert Iranians reach for when there is something worth marking — a golden rice pudding perfumed with rosewater and cardamom, its color drawn entirely from bloomed saffron. Served cold and decorated with cinnamon stripes and slivered nuts, it asks for patience more than technique. Twenty-five threads are enough to turn the whole pot the color of late-afternoon sun.
At a glance
Serves 8
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr
Chill 2 hrs
Saffron: 25 threads (≈0.10 g)
Ingredients
- 25 threads Raihan Afghan Super Negin saffron, bloomed
- 1 cup short or medium-grain rice
- 8 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup rosewater
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 tbsp slivered almonds
- 2 tbsp chopped pistachios
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon (for decoration)
Instructions
- Rinse rice. Combine with water in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low. Cover. Cook 35 minutes until rice is very soft and broken down.
- Stir in sugar. Cook 15 minutes more, stirring often.
- Stir in saffron bloom, rosewater, cardamom, butter. Cook 10 more minutes until thick and golden.
- Pour into a serving dish. Cool. Refrigerate 2 hours.
- Decorate with cinnamon stripes, slivered almonds, and pistachios.
Chef's note
Grind the threads with a pinch of the measured sugar before steeping — the fine powder gives up its color faster and more evenly than whole threads. Add the bloom only in the final stage of cooking, as the recipe directs: saffron's aroma is volatile, and a long boil dulls exactly what you paid for.
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