Here’s a list of the best 19 Persian desserts that are traditional, authentic, and modernized to suit everyone!
Madeleines inspired by the flavors of Persian love cake, with cardamom, rose, almond, and pistachio.
Ranginak (رنگینک) is a dessert originated in south of Iran. It's a no-bake dessert with simple ingredients and very easy to make. It's packed with dates and walnut and just a small bite is enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. There is small amount of sugar uses in this recipe and most of the sweetness is from date.There are different versions of this recipe but all of them has similar ingredients and the main difference is on layering itYou need to make Ranginak ahead because it needs to set in
As Thanksgiving quickly approaches I thought to share one of my favorite Persian desserts called Firnee. It’s a creamy rose water and cardamom custard so…
Small, melt-in your mouth rice cookies with cardamom and rose that are perfect to serve with a hot cup of Persian tea!
This classic Iranian almond flour dessert is similar to marzipan and gets its sweet, floral aroma from the addition of rose water and saffron.
Persian Chickpea Cookies with Pistachio (Nan-e Nokhodchi) is a crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth cookie, made with the fragrant flavours of rose water, cardamom and pistachio.
Nan-e-Nokhodchi (Persian Chickpea Cookies) are exquisitely delicious and melt in the mouth gluten free cookies. This delicate cardamom and rose flavoured chickpea cookies with a hint of pistachio is easy to make.
The Persian New Year (Nowruz) is one week away and the lead up to the holiday is a very exciting time for Iranians living in Iran and abroad. This year I’m thrilled to be participating in a N…
Let's celebrate Persian New Year with these beautiful chickpea cookies!🌸 "Nokhodchi" is a traditional Persian cookie baked mostly around the new year (which is the 1st day of spring)🍃 They're made with fine chickpea flour and have a hint of cardamom & pistachio.♥
Cardamom rose iced coffee - the warmth of cardamom spice and the floral notes of rose meet in this earthy, delicate Persian-style coffee cocktail.
Persian/Iranian Recipes
The other day I woke up in panic after " hearing " the fire alarm go off. In the midst of my dreamy haze, I ran to the kitchen, positive I'd be running into a room filled with dark, charcoal smoke and could practically hear our upstairs neighbor was cursing my name.&n
Sholeh Zard is a very traditional Persian dessert. It's made with few ingredients yet it's deeply aromatic and packed with flavors. Saffron is a staple to Iranian cuisine and this dessert is no exception. Sholeh Zard translates to yellow pudding in farsi. To make this dessert you need rice which gets cook in water for long time till it gets soft and falls apart. Then sugar, rosewater, saffron and cardamom added to brightening up the pudding. Sholeh Zard can be served either cold or in the room
شیربرنج Shir Berenj is a creamy, sweet and rosewater scented rice pudding. In Persian/Farsi, "shir" means milk and "berenj" means rice. This is my mother's recipe that she used to make frequently. Short grain rice is preferred for shir berenj. As for the milk, since we usually drink 1 percent low-fat milk that's what I used in this pudding too. However, using whole milk is recommended since it would enhance the flavor and makes the pudding more creamy. Eshgh (Love) Shir Berenj - Persian Milk & Rice Pudding Ingredients: Serves 4 1 cup white rice (short-grain) 4 cups whole milk 2 tablespoons sugar 1-2 tablespoons rosewater 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom Water Toppings: Cinnamon, honey, grape molasses or jam Method: Rinse rice with cool water and soak in water, preferably overnight or at least for eight hours. Drain. In a non-stick pot add rice and 2 cups of water on medium-low heat, bring to a gentle boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the rice is tender and the water is almost fully absorbed. Gradually stir the milk into the rice, cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes on low heat, stirring frequently to avoid getting a crusty bottom. This is a dish that we don't want to form a tah-dig at the bottom! Add sugar, cardamom and rosewater. Add more milk if needed. Stir well and simmer on low heat for another 15-20 until it thickens. Remove from heat and transfer the pudding into a large serving platter or single serving bowls or plates. Let it cool. Garnish with cinnamon. Shir berenj is usually served with drizzled honey on top, rose petal jam or grape molasses (shireh angoor). You can cut the amount of sugar in half if you are using any of the toppings. It entirely depends on your personal taste. Enjoy!
Recipe video above. A beautiful Persian cake with a lovely subtle citrus flavour and hint of spice. For an authentic Persian flavour, don't skip the rosewater! They differ in strength so start with a small amount and adjust to your taste - too much can be overpowering.
Here’s a list of the best 19 Persian desserts that are traditional, authentic, and modernized to suit everyone!
Sohan-e Qom is a traditional Persian Saffron Toffee candy coming from the city of Qom, Iran. Buttery, crunchy and scented with saffron, this candy is easy to make and utterly addictive with tea.
Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Chill Time: 1-2 hours Yield: About eight 6-ounce dessert cups
In this beautiful Persian Love Cake, a buttery almond crust is filled with a creamy yogurt filling full of Middle Eastern flavors! This gluten free cake has the most amazing taste and is super simple to make.
We're not sure how many recipes sound more enchanting than Persian Love Cake. Swoon! Floral, citrusy, and so easy to make, you'll be falling for this amazing cake recipe hard. The almond meal which forms part of the base of this cake ensure an amazing dense textured cake. Persian cakes are traditionally flavoured with rosewater but we went a step further and added our Gypsy Rose Super Latte for its beautiful rosey taste and colour (not to mention its amazing nourishing superfoods). Now, we know many of you who aren't Coeliac or used to gluten free food recoil at the idea of gluten free cakes, but toss your doubts to the side. This kind of cake is the perfect introduction to gluten free baking as the base isn't supposed to be light an spongey. It's supposed to gloriously dense and moist, ready to soak up the citrusy syrup and sweet glaze. Bonus points, this bad boy is also a super forgiving cake in that even if your cake top is wrinkly and uneven the glaze and dustings of toppings will still make your eyes wide, heart race, and slightly salivate. But enough of the small talk, lets get you to this recipe! Don't forget to tag us #KnowrishWell @knowrishwell so we can see your lovely, delectable Persian Love Cake too!
This past weekend marked my third year anniversary blogging about Persian cuisine, which is the kind of food I grew up with and to this day love to make all the time and gladly share it with you. When I ventured into the world of food blogging I never thought that one day I would be celebrating my blog's 3rd anniversary! The title of my blog, "Turmeric and Saffron" best describes my late mother's kitchen, with her spice jars and herb bottles everywhere on the counter and shelves, except for her small container of deep red saffron threads from Mashhad tucked away in a cupboard. Among the blend of intoxicating aromas in our ashpaz-khaneh (kitchen) there were various yellow turmeric-stained wooden spatulas, mismatched kitchen rags, her favorite plasco plastic containers and an array of over-sized pots and pans. Then there she was, in the middle of the kitchen meticulously preparing food for her family while beautifully humming a tune by one of her favorite singers such as Delkash, Elaheh and Marzieh. Almost every meal that we ate at home was cooked by my mother from start to finish, since she would not allow any helpers to cook for us. She was very picky when it would come to cooking and eating. Of course baking was an exception to this rule. My mother would use zardchoobeh (turmeric) extensively to enhance the flavor and improve the aroma of meat dishes, stews and any recipe that involved using lamb or chicken. When making the traditional abgousht/abgoosht (lamb stew) she would add a full teaspoon of turmeric to the boiling water before adding the lamb shanks and the other ingredients, a cooking technique that I only saw in her kitchen. Zaferan (saffron) on the other hand was used in most rice dishes and some sweets such as shole-zard to give a bold flavor, gorgeous natural orange-reddish color and a delicious aroma. She would usually pour a estekan (small tea cup) of saffron-water mixture over the parboiled rice in the pot before placing the towel covered lid back on the pot to steam. My mother had a vast knowledge of herbal medicine, plants, food ingredients as well as how to make healthy food choices. It is not only writing down my mother's recipes and my memories of growing up in Iran that bring me joy and keep me connected to my roots but more importantly it's the simple sharing of my mother's recipes that I find even more fulfilling. For this sweet occasion I'm making سوهان عسلی sohan asali (honey and almond candy). For best results I recommend using butter instead of vegetable oil. Even though flavored honey is not used in making this candy I like to use the orange blossom honey for an added flavor. I would also like to lightly toast the slivered almonds to improve the aroma and the taste. While cooking, the content becomes very hot so it would be wonderful if someone could give you a hand at the end when you are dropping the spoonful of the hot mixture onto the parchment paper since it dries quickly and you still need to sprinkle the ground pistachios on top. Otherwise, you've got to be very quick. Sohan Asali - Persian Honey and Saffron Almond Candy Ingredients: Makes about 20 pieces 1 cup sugar 3 tablespoons honey 1 cup slivered almonds 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons rose water 1/2 teaspoon saffron powder 1/4 cup pistachios, crushed for garnish Method: Cover a large baking tray with parchment paper and leave the crushed pistachios nearby. In a medium sized heavy pot combine sugar, honey, oil and rose water on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes or until sugar is completely dissolved. Stir and swirl the pot around a few times. Lower the heat and add in the almonds into the sugar mixture, stir frequently, cook for another 7-10 minutes or until they turn light golden. Add the crushed saffron and gently stir with a wooden spoon. When the almonds are well coated with this caramel color syrup, start spooning out the mixture on the parchment paper as quickly as you can and sprinkle the pistachios on top. Allow them to cool completely. Remove the sohan asali from the tray, store in an airtight container and serve them the next day. Serve with a hot cup of tea. * I have tweaked and made some minor changes to the original recipe. I have cut the amount of sugar and made it vegan. Enjoy!
Ricetta per torta persiana dell'amore umida fatta con yogurt mandorle e pistacchi con sciroppo di zucchero di canna limone e acqua alla rosa
I do miss the days that my father would come home from work carrying a ja'beh shirini (box of sweets) freshly baked from our local bakery store. He'd almost always walk in through the doors with either some seasonal miveh (fruits), naan (bread), or shirini (sweets). And those delicious sweets would be just as enjoyable for my father as it was for the kids. How could the taste of baghlava make such an everlasting impression upon my mind? Was it that it was brought home by my father usually for Nowruz (Persian New Year) and I would get to eat it while sitting next to him, hearing him make his usual "mmm" sound with every bite? Was it that most desserts tasted delicious as a kid, let alone the most traditional desserts that were made to perfection? Or is it the nostalgic memories of childhood that turn the flavors and aromas into a wonderful experience? باقلوا Baghlava (baklava) was a favorite in our home back then and happens to be a favorite among my own family now. Who doesn't love the decadent taste of baghlava, followed by sips of hot tea or coffee? You can use a combination of any finely ground nuts for the filling, make stacks of several layers of dough and fillings to bite into, or make it as syrupy as you like. However, Persian baghlava is neither chunky or too gooey and is usually made with pistachios and skinless almonds along with ground cardamom and the sugar rose water, saffron syrup. The best baghlava in Iran is from the city of Yazd. Baghlava - Baklava Ingredients: 1/2 pound skinless almonds, lightly toasted, finely ground (I used slivered almonds) 1/2 pound shelled pistachios, finely ground 1 package of phyllo (thawed overnight if frozen), I used 20 pieces of 9" x 14" phyllo pastry sheets 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 2 tablespoons sugar 1 cup of unsalted butter, melted Syrup: 1 cup of sugar 2 tablespoons honey *optional (I used orange blossom honey) 1 cup of water 1/2 cup rose water 1/8 teaspoon powdered saffron Method: In a medium sized bowl combine the chopped almonds, pistachios, two tablespoons sugar and the ground cardamom. Mix well and set aside. Combine sugar and water in a small pot and bring to a boil on medium heat for about 15 minutes until sugar is completely dissolved. Add the saffron to the syrup, lower the heat, simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat, add the rose water and allow to cool. Lightly butter the inside of the baking pan. Place the first phyllo dough sheet down and lightly brush the melted butter across covering the entire surface. Add four more pieces of phyllo dough and lightly brushing each with melted butter. Add a layer of ground almond/pistachios. Add five more pieces of phyllo dough sheets lightly brush each sheet of phyllo dough with melted butter. Add another layer of the chopped nuts covering all areas. Place five more pieces of phyllo dough, lightly brushing each with butter. Cover the phyllo dough sheets with another layer of the crushed nuts. Place the last five layers of the phyllo dough sheets and brush the surface with butter. With a sharp knife cut across diagonally to make diamond shapes. Place the baking pan on the center rack of the 350 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden. Take the tray out of the oven and turn the oven off. Pour half of the cool syrup all over the baghlava and place it back in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and pour the remaining syrup over the baghlava and let cool for at least a couple of hours before serving. (It tastes much better the next day so you may want to make it ahead of time). To sum it all up, this recipe has 4 layers of 5 phyllo dough sheets and 3 layers of ground almonds and pistachios. It keeps well for a few days but more than that I couldn't tell you! Garnish with chopped pistachios, almonds or crushed rose petals and serve with hot tea or coffee. Enjoy!
Moraba-ye Havij aka carrot jam is one of my favourites! My Maman used to make it a lot and so it takes me right back to my childhood. When I tell people about carrot jam, they often react surprised. That’s what I like about this jam! It’s not very common in other cuisines and so it gives people the
