Persian Saffron Rice Pudding Sholeh Zard

🥘 Ingredients

• short grain rice 200 g
• water ¾ L
• white sugar 400 g
• salted butter 30 g
• liquid saffron 2 tbsp
• ground cardamom ¼ tsp
• rose water 4 tbsp
• ground cinnamon
• slivered pistachios and almonds
• almond flakes
• whole almonds
• dried crushed rose petals
• rose buds
• edible silver or gold leaf

1. 1

   Rinse short grain rice (but not risotto rice) a couple of times and drain.
2. 2

   Place the rice in a large saucepan , along with water , and bring to a boil on high heat.
3. 3

   When the rice is boiling, give it a quick stir, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour (or simmer for 1 ½ hours if using long grain rice).
4. 4

   Add white sugar , stir to mix, then follow with salted butter , liquid saffron (made with a generous pinch of saffron), and ground cardamom (ground seeds of 4 cardamoms). Bring back to a boil on medium heat.
5. 5

   When boiling, reduce the heat to low, stir once, then simmer for 10 minutes .
6. 6

   At the end of the 10 minutes, turn the heat off, remove from the hot stove, and stir in rose water .
7. 7

   Serve into serving dishes, leave to cool slightly for 10 minutes , then cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours (and up to 2 days). The pudding will thicken as it cools.
8. 8

   When you are ready to serve, garnish and decorate as you wish using ground cinnamon , slivered pistachios and almonds (or almond flakes ), whole almonds , dried crushed rose petals (or rose buds ), and optional edible silver or gold leaf .