Persian Rice Pudding Sheer Berenj Food

PERSIAN RICE PUDDING (SHEER BERENJ)

Steps:

• Wash rice and cook with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt for about 20 minutes.
• Add half & half and 2% milk and cook on low for 1 hour. Occasionally, stir the pot to make sure that the bottom does not stick.
• After one hour the rice and cream will thicken into a pudding consistency. Add rosewater and let cook for a few more minutes.
• Enjoy warm with a very good quality honey or sweet preserve on top!

PERSIAN APRICOT RICE PUDDING

Steps:

• Have a 1qt.
• shallow bowl handy.
• Put the rice in blender,blending until fine.
• Pour into small bowl,add cornstarch& water,stir to dissolve the cornstarch.
• Pour the drained apricots in blender,and blend until smoothy.
• Add just enough milk to total 4 cups (approximately 2 cups milk.).
• Pour into a small saucepan& add sugar& the rice mixture.
• Over medium heat,stir constantly,until it comes to a boil.
• Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat& stir in extracts.
• Stir to blend.
• Pour pudding into a bow,and allow to cool at room temperature for 1/2 hour,Then chill.
• When pudding is cold,serve.

SHOLEH ZARD (PERSIAN RICE PUDDING)

Steps:

• Bring 4 cups of water to a hard boil in a Dutch oven or other large pot over high heat. Add the rice and let it boil, stirring regularly, until the grains begin to soften around the edges but are still crunchy in the center, 1 to 2 minutes. Strain the rice, but do not rinse it. Rinse the pot with cold water to cool it down, then return it to the stove.
• To the rinsed pot, add the milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon stick, cardamom, turmeric, saffron water and kosher salt. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. You may be tempted to turn the heat up to make it boil faster - resist this urge. The goal is to let the spices slowly infuse the milk and cream, like a tea, for deep flavor.
• Slowly stir in the rice, making sure the grains are all well coated. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer, stirring a few times to make sure the grains don't stick to the bottom, until the mixture has the consistency of a loose pudding, 35 to 45 minutes. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, with the rice maintaining a slight chew.
• Add the cubes of butter a few at a time, stirring to incorporate fully between each addition. Remove from the heat and let cool until warm, stirring regularly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the egg yolks, one at a time. The consistency should be velvety.
• Divide the sholeh zard among bowls, and divide the ground cinnamon, strawberry powder and pistachios - in that order - over the top of each one. The strawberry powder should be the thickest layer, covering the entire surface. Crown the bowls with a light sprinkling of flaky salt and serve.