Shoe Lizard
After much experimentation and cobbling together of recipes, I give you:
Sholezard (Persian Rice Pudding)
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked rice
6 cups water
1/4 cup butter
1 pinch salt
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp rose water
2 Tbsp boiling water
1/8 tsp crushed saffron strands
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Cinnamon to taste
Rinse rice to remove as much of the starch as possible.
Boil water in large pot. Add rice, butter, and salt, and return to boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often to prevent sticking on bottom, until rice is soft but not mushy, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare saffron by crushing strands into 2 Tbsp boiling water. Leave to soak while rice is cooking.
Add sugar, rose water, and saffron "tea," and continue cooking and stirring until rice breaks up
and is consistency of polenta, 15 to 20 minutes.
Spoon into rectangular pan. Sprinkle almonds and cinnamon over top and chill at least 2 hours. The end result will be solid enough to cut like cake.
The recipe I originally worked with said it made 12 servings, but I ended up with two pans of the stuff! So this version is cut in half. I ended up using the cheaper Spanish saffron, and discovered that while a little saffron goes a long way flavor-wise, the color of the finished dish wasn't as bright a yellow as I remembered from the restaurant, so I cheated and added a few drops of food coloring. :) The final product was pronounced very good, and I will definitely be making this again.
Sholezard (Persian Rice Pudding)
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked rice
6 cups water
1/4 cup butter
1 pinch salt
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp rose water
2 Tbsp boiling water
1/8 tsp crushed saffron strands
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Cinnamon to taste
Rinse rice to remove as much of the starch as possible.
Boil water in large pot. Add rice, butter, and salt, and return to boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often to prevent sticking on bottom, until rice is soft but not mushy, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare saffron by crushing strands into 2 Tbsp boiling water. Leave to soak while rice is cooking.
Add sugar, rose water, and saffron "tea," and continue cooking and stirring until rice breaks up
and is consistency of polenta, 15 to 20 minutes.
Spoon into rectangular pan. Sprinkle almonds and cinnamon over top and chill at least 2 hours. The end result will be solid enough to cut like cake.
The recipe I originally worked with said it made 12 servings, but I ended up with two pans of the stuff! So this version is cut in half. I ended up using the cheaper Spanish saffron, and discovered that while a little saffron goes a long way flavor-wise, the color of the finished dish wasn't as bright a yellow as I remembered from the restaurant, so I cheated and added a few drops of food coloring. :) The final product was pronounced very good, and I will definitely be making this again.