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Home » Indian Mithai & Desserts

Zarda - Sweet Saffron Rice

Published: Jul 9, 2015 · Modified: Oct 16, 2021 by Tanvi · This post may contain affiliate links

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Sinfully Spicy : Zarda /Meethe Chawal , Sweet Saffron RiceA little while away, I got this immense craving to gorge on these sweet saffron rice. It was sparked by the sticky rice pudding that we relished a night before that day. Usually, if you follow me on Instagram or here on the blog, you would have noticed that there is more savory than sweet in my feed. I had this huge sweet tooth in my teens, but somehow it faded away as I grew older. There are certain things I enjoy, a delicious chunk of homemade gulab jamun and a moist slice of butter cake, but usually sugar doesn't get me too too excited. Only when there is a good enough reason to make them, I retort towards making desserts at home. Buying a single serve slice from our favorite bakery almost always seems to be a superior option than baking and frosting a whole 9 inch round which will then lurk at me in the refrigerator for whole week. Its a bit too logical for some of you who swear by regular dessert making but that's how I think.

Sinfully Spicy : Zarda /Meethe Chawal , Sweet Saffron RiceAnyhow, that same night, chatting over a Thai food takeout, we delved into discussing new year traditions growing up. My husband recollected coconut sweet balls & rice pudding, both made with palm jaggery, a typical in east indian homes and I could only think of my grandmother's zarda, only about it. That night, I must have dreamed  about it. The little puffy, steamy bubbles that surface on the top layer when a pot of  basmati is slowly boiled, or of the sniff of saffron which after filling each nook and corner of our big kitchen reached out to those sitting in the verandah through two large, dark brown windows with green painted grille. Next morning this sweet saffron rice was the only thing I could think of. Out of nowhere, in the middle of summer, but I just had to recreate those memories.

Each year, every year at the dawn of the first day of the year, I woke up to a quiet house with busy kitchen. BadI mummy (my grandma) standing right infront of the stove, rice boiling on one side and aroma wafting through a pot of simmering whole milk to which cloves, cardamom and nutmeg had been added. These blonde looking rice, she remarked were an incoming of prosperity into the house. In those days, we lived in a joint family and with few guests added on the new year eve along with distribution to all house help, the quantity of zarda to be cooked would be thrice the amount than usual. Speckled with ground cardamom and streaks of strong-smelling kashmiri zaffran(saffron) all through it, a bowl of it was so delicious garnished with a handful of nuts or raisins. Much like today, in those days saffron was exuberantly priced, so it came to life in cooking a few dishes on special occasions only. New Years day was one.

Sinfully Spicy : Zarda /Meethe Chawal , Sweet Saffron RiceMy mom got me these little packs of saffron from India a couple of weeks back, a delicate virgin variety of this spice, it is sharp and strong. A few strands is what it took to turn rice into a golden looking treat. This recipe can be easily made vegan by using full fat coconut or cashew milk and substituting any neutral oil in place of ghee. Try using a long grain basmati rice and be watchful during cooking period for separated, fluffy grains. I have included a few notes in the recipe which will help making this sweet rice delicacy an easy task.

Sinfully Spicy : Zarda /Meethe Chawal , Sweet Saffron Rice

Ingredients (Serves 3-4)

  • 1 cup long grain basmati rice
  • 1 green cardamom, break open
  • 3-4 cups water to par boil the rice
  • 1 tablespoon ghee (substitute with coconut oil for vegan)
  • 1 cup whole milk (use unsweetened cashew/full fat coconut milk for vegan)
  • 3 tablespoon ghee (substitute with coconut oil for vegan)
  • 2-3 green cardamom, break open
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 heaping teaspoon good quality saffron
  • 1 generous pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar (can go upto 1 cup)
  • 3 tablespoon roasted, unsalted nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews) + more for garnish
  • 2 tablespoon golden raisins + more for garnish

Notes

  1. Use good quality spices in this recipe.
  2. Different varieties of saffron have different sharpness and strength. Adjust the quantity depending on the brand you are using.
  3. To make the zarda more rich, instead of using roasted nuts, you can fry them in a small pan in ½ tablespoon of ghee and add on top.

Method

Wash the rice under running stream of water 2-3 times until the water runs clear. Soak the rice for 45 minutes in enough water (add a green cardamom to it) required for parboiling. You can soak rice in the same pot that you will use for cooking.

Once the rice has soaked. Parboil the rice until 80% cooked (takes about 10 minutes).The cooking time will depend on quality of rice.  To check the rice, take a grain and press it between the index finger and thumb. The rice grain will we brittle (break easily) and you will feel & see hard whitish bits in the center of the grain. Once the rice has parboiled, immediately drain it and gently mix a tablespoon of melted ghee in the warm rice.

 While the rice is boiling, add milk, 3 tablespoon ghee, cardamom and clove to a small pot and set it to simmer on a medium low flame. Let milk simmer for 5-7 minutes on low heat and then put the stove off. Once the milk has cooled off a bit and is warm(not hot) to touch add sugar, saffron and nutmeg to it. Let sit.

In the same pot in which you parboiled the rice, add the warm spiced milk sugar mixture. Very gently add the drained rice to the milk. Add the nuts and raisins. Cover and let cook on medium low heat for 10-12 minutes until all the milk is absorbed and the rice is completely done. Put the stove off.

After 15-20 minutes of sitting, gently fluff the rice with the help a fork.Garnish with more nuts and raisins if you want.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

More Indian Mithai & Desserts

  • Til Mawa Roll (Makar Sankranti Recipe)
  • Besan Ki Barfi
  • Brownie Trifle
  • Masala Chai Tiramisu

Filed Under: Indian Mithai & Desserts, Indian Streetfood & Indo Chinese, Side Dishes - Rice Tagged With: eid recipes, foodphotography indian food, glutenfree indian recipes, indian cuisine, indian desserts, indian festival recipes, indian food blogs, indian spices, Lucknawi cuisine, meethe chawal, nawabi cuisine, Recipe from blogs, sweet saffron rice, zarda recipe from scratch

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rosa Jeanne Mayland

    July 09, 2015 at 7:44 am

    A wonderful rice recipe! That saffron rice looks amazing.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  2. sandraruffing

    July 09, 2015 at 8:45 am

    That looks and sounds absolutely heavenly. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  3. noorainsobiya

    July 09, 2015 at 11:20 am

    I'm a fan of your descriptions and portrayal of food.. Something even I swear by.. ❤️❤️❤️

    Reply
  4. spanglishvegankitchen

    July 09, 2015 at 11:39 am

    This looks absolutely heavenly! I'm going to attempt to make a vegan version. Thanks so much for sharing. I really love how you combine recipes with personal narrative.

    Reply
  5. carolinependo

    July 09, 2015 at 12:11 pm

    Absolutely delicious. I must try it out

    Reply
  6. Sowmya

    July 10, 2015 at 2:38 am

    Lovely looking rice and awesome shots Tanvi

    Reply
  7. thejameskitchen

    July 10, 2015 at 10:20 am

    I adore the saffron rice, gorgeous colour and gorgeous taste. Can't wait to try it! Nicole

    Reply
  8. afracooking

    July 10, 2015 at 11:35 am

    The colours of your rice are just so vibrant! Beautiful!

    Reply
  9. The Hangry Wife

    July 10, 2015 at 1:33 pm

    This looks great! Thanks for sharing! -Angela Davis

    http://www.hangrywife.com

    Reply
  10. scryer

    July 15, 2015 at 12:14 am

    As a fellow cooking enthusiast, an addict of piquancy, as well as an admirer of photography, I really have to compliment what you are doing here. I'll be sure to try some of these recipes.

    Great job, and keep it up!

    Reply
  11. ALLURE

    July 25, 2015 at 2:52 am

    You have such beautiful pictures. it's nice to see that someone puts so much work into his blog!

    Reply
    • Tanvi

      July 25, 2015 at 5:21 pm

      Thank you. :):)

      Reply
  12. MyKabulKitchen

    August 04, 2015 at 5:40 pm

    We make a very similar dish, for a winter holiday, and I also cant resist 🙂

    Reply
  13. Abida

    September 16, 2015 at 3:02 am

    Oh my goodness, what perfectly separated grains of rice!

    Reply

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