Back to Desserts
Sholeh Zard
Serves 6 Prep 15 min Cook 1 hr 15 min Total 1 hr 30 min Type Dessert Origin Iran

Sholeh Zard

Persian saffron rice pudding: short-grain rice slow-cooked with sugar, saffron and rosewater into a custardy yellow pudding, then chilled and decorated with cinnamon and pistachios in patterns. Eaten at religious commemorations and Nowruz; the colour and aroma matter as much as the taste.

Serves 6 Prep 15 minutes Cook 1 ¼ hours Units Rate

Overview

Rice cooks slowly in lots of water until tender and mashable. Sugar dissolves with bloomed saffron; the lot simmers until thick, like loose porridge. Rosewater and a knob of butter join near the end; the pudding pours into shallow dishes to set. Cinnamon dust and pistachio patterns top each serving.

Ingredients

  • 200 g short (or medium-grain white rice, rinsed)
  • 1 ½ litres water
  • 350 g caster sugar
  • A generous pinch of saffron (steeped in 4 tablespoons hot water 15 min)
  • 50 g unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons rosewater
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 50 g flaked almonds (toasted)

To finish

  • Ground cinnamon (for dusting)
  • 50 g pistachios (chopped)
  • A few rose petals (optional)

Method

Stage 1 - Cook the rice

  1. Combine the rice and water in a large heavy pan.
  2. Bring to a steady boil; reduce to a simmer; cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, 35-40 minutes until the rice has completely broken down and the mixture is thick and creamy.
  3. Top up with hot water if it tightens too much.

Stage 2 - Sweeten and saffron

  1. Add the sugar and the saffron-water; stir well.
  2. Continue cooking 25-30 minutes more, stirring often, until the pudding is thick - when a spoon drawn through leaves a clear path that fills slowly.

Stage 3 - Finish

  1. Stir in the butter, rosewater and cardamom.
  2. Cook 5 minutes more; the pudding should be glossy and a deep saffron yellow.
  3. Stir in the toasted almonds.

Stage 4 - Set

  1. Pour into 6 individual shallow bowls or one wide platter.
  2. Cool slightly; refrigerate at least 2 hours to set.

Stage 5 - Decorate and serve

  1. Just before serving, dust the top with ground cinnamon - traditionally in patterns or stripes.
  2. Sprinkle pistachios and rose petals.
  3. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Notes

  • Stir often after sugar: Sugar makes the pudding catch on the bottom; stirring prevents a burnt base.
  • Saffron quality: Iranian saffron threads (sargol or super negin) give the deepest yellow and most aroma. Cheap saffron tastes thin.
  • Set thick, not solid: Sholeh zard should hold its shape when scooped but still be soft and creamy. Cooking too long gives a dense, sliceable result.

Storage

  • Keeps 4 days refrigerated; eats well cold.

More like this

1 / 4
Dresil

Dresil

A sweet rice that's about generosity rather than complexity: hot basmati glossed with melted butter, fattened with cashews, sweetened just a little with sugar and softened raisins, and (in the traditional version) studded with droma, small starchy wild roots harvested in central Tibet that look a bit like miniature sweet potatoes and taste vaguely chestnut-like. Without droma the dish is still recognisably dresil, just simpler. Yak butter is the real-thing fat, tangier and stronger than supermarket butter; ghee is the closest accessible substitute. The sweetness is restrained, Tibetan sweets in general aren't very sweet by Western standards, which is part of why dresil eats well alongside salty butter tea. Smell is warm butter and toasted nuts. Easy to make: it's essentially a stir-through. The first thing eaten on the first morning of Losar (Tibetan New Year) in many Central Tibetan households, with each family member taking a small bowl as part of the day-one rituals, and a quiet dish despite being a celebration food.

Desserts 1 hour 15 minutes Serves4-6