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Parvarda
Parvarda: Samarkand pulled sugar pillows dusted with flour
Parvarda are small, chewy-crisp pillows of pulled sugar, white and satiny, dusted with flour and served in Samarkand and Tashkent teahouses beside bowls of green tea; they are a winter sweet, because cool air helps the sugar set. Making them is a family job: the hot syrup is pulled again and again until it turns opaque white, then stretched into ropes and snipped. A common mistake is pulling the sugar while it is still too hot to hold, which burns your hands and makes the candy sticky. Chef's tip: wear food-safe gloves lightly oiled with a few drops of oil and pull the candy as soon as it is cool enough to handle, working quickly before it stiffens. Very hot sugar can cause serious burns, so keep children away.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the candy
- 14 oz sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp sunflower oilfor the gloves and tray
- 3 tbsp plain flourtoasted, for dusting
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat 14 oz sugar and ¾ cup water in a heavy pan, stirring, until dissolved. Add 1 tsp lemon juice and boil without stirring until it reaches 275°F on a sugar thermometer.
20 minStep 2: Pour onto a heatproof tray brushed with 1 tsp sunflower oil. Leave for 3–5 minutes, folding the edges in with an oiled spatula as they cool. Take great care: the syrup is far hotter than boiling water.
5 minStep 3: When cool enough to hold in oiled gloves, gather it into a ball and pull it into a rope, fold it in half and pull again, 30–40 times, until it turns opaque white and satiny. Common mistake: starting while it's too hot; it burns and sticks.
10 minStep 4: Pull into a rope 1.5 cm thick and snip into 2 cm pillows with oiled scissors.
Step 5: Toss in 3 tbsp plain flour and leave to firm for 1 hour. Store in an airtight tin.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 110 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 28 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does parvarda take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of lemon juice?
- Lime juice, same amount.
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