AI-generated image
Zarda
زردہ (zarda): saffron-yellow sweet rice with ghee, cardamom, nuts and raisins for weddings and Eid
Its name comes from the Persian word for yellow, and at a Pakistani shaadi the great degh of zarda arrives after the biryani and korma, glowing gold and fragrant with cardamom, cloves and kewra. The grains should be long, separate and glossy with ghee, sweet but not syrupy, studded with almonds, pistachios, plump raisins and often a few cubes of crumbled khoya or glacé cherries. Families also cook a smaller pot for Eid, for a new baby or to send round to neighbours on a happy day, and it is eaten warm or at room temperature on its own. The classic error is boiling the rice all the way before adding the sugar; the sugar then melts into syrup and the over-soft grains break into mush. Chef's tip: boil the rice only until it is two-thirds cooked with a firm centre, because it finishes cooking in the sugar's own moisture during the dum.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the rice
- 10 ½ oz basmati ricewashed and soaked 30 minutes
- 8 ¼ cups water
- 1 /4 tsp yellow food colouror a pinch of turmeric
- 3 cloves
For the sweet layer
- 2 ⅞ oz ghee
- 5 green cardamom podscrushed
- 3 cloves
- 9 oz sugar
- 1 pinch saffronsoaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
- 1 /2 tsp kewra water (optional)
- 1 oz almondssliced
- ⅔ oz pistachiossliced
- 1 oz raisins
- 1 ¾ oz khoya (optional)crumbled
- 8 glacé cherries (optional)halved
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Bring 8 ¼ cups water to a rolling boil with 1 /4 tsp yellow food colour and 3 cloves.
2 minStep 2: Drain 10 ½ oz basmati rice, add it to the water and boil for 5–6 minutes, until a grain pressed between your fingers breaks into two or three firm pieces with a hard white centre.
6 minStep 3: Drain the rice well in a colander.
Step 4: Melt 2 ⅞ oz ghee in a wide heavy pan over a medium heat and fry 5 green cardamom pods and 3 cloves for 30 seconds until fragrant.
2 minStep 5: Add 1 oz almonds, ⅔ oz pistachios and 1 oz raisins and fry for 1 minute until the raisins puff; lift out a spoonful for the top.
2 minStep 6: Add 9 oz sugar and 3 tbsp water and stir for 3–4 minutes until the sugar has mostly melted into a thick, bubbling syrup.
4 minStep 7: Tip in the drained rice and fold it through the syrup gently with a flat spoon, lifting from the bottom so the grains do not break.
Step 8: Drizzle over 1 pinch saffron with its milk and 1 /2 tsp kewra water.
Step 9: Cover with a tight lid wrapped in a cloth, set the pan on a flat griddle or a heat diffuser over the lowest heat and cook for 18–20 minutes, until the syrup is absorbed and the grains are tender and separate.
20 minStep 10: Turn off the heat and leave covered for 5 minutes, then fold through 1 ¾ oz khoya and top with the reserved nuts and 8 glacé cherries. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 82 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does zarda take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of basmati rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cloves?
- Ground cloves, ¼ tsp for every 3 whole cloves.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Baklava
The famous layered pastry: crisp sheets of buttered fillo sandwich a filling of almonds, pistachios and cashews spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. After baking, the hot baklava is soaked in a syrup of sugar, honey, lemon, rose and cardamom and decorated with almond and pistachio flakes. Cut into 40 diamonds; serve with fresh cream or ice cream.
Undu walalu
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Marquesitas
Evening in Mérida's Plaza Grande means the smell of marquesitas: thin batter pressed in hot hinged irons until crisp, then rolled like a cigar around grated Edam cheese and a sweet filling such as cajeta, chocolate-hazelnut spread or jam. Edam came to the Yucatán through the port trade with the Netherlands and became part of the local cooking, and the salty-sweet combination is the whole point. At home you can cook them in a thin, wide frying pan. Edam is usually made with animal rennet, so check the label or use a vegetarian Gouda-style cheese. Chef's tip: roll while the crêpe is still in the pan and hot; within seconds it hardens and will crack.
Mexican