A 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.
Anyhow, 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.
My 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.
Zarda - Sweet Saffron Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain basmati rice
- 4 green cardamom cracked open, divided
- 3-4 cup water to par boil the rice
- 4 tablespoon ghee or unsalted butter, divided
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 clove
- 12-15 saffron strands
- ¾ cup granulated sugar can go upto 1 cup
- ¼ cup nuts almonds, pistachios, cashews + more for garnish
- 2 tablespoon golden raisins
Instructions
- Wash the rice under running stream of water 2-3 times until the water runs clear. Soak the rice for 30 minutes in excess water. You can soak rice in the same pot that you will use for cooking.
- Drain and add soaked rice to a large pot. Add 4 cup water. Add pinch of salt and 1 green cardamom.Set on a medium flame.
- 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 notice 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 with 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 switch off the stove off. Add sugar, saffron and nutmeg to it. Keep warm
- Add back the parboiled rice in the cooking pot. Pour the warm milk mixture. Add the nuts and raisins. Cover and let cook on low flame for 10-15 minutes until all the milk is absorbed and the rice is fully soft. Switch the stove off.
- After 15-20 minutes of resting, gently fluff the rice with the help a fork.Garnish with more nuts and raisins. Serve.
Notes
- Use good quality spices in this recipe.
- Different varieties of saffron have different sharpness and strength. Adjust the quantity depending on the brand you are using.
Rosa Jeanne Mayland
A wonderful rice recipe! That saffron rice looks amazing.
Cheers,
Rosa
sandraruffing
That looks and sounds absolutely heavenly. Thanks for sharing!
noorainsobiya
I'm a fan of your descriptions and portrayal of food.. Something even I swear by.. â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸
spanglishvegankitchen
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.
carolinependo
Absolutely delicious. I must try it out
Sowmya
Lovely looking rice and awesome shots Tanvi
thejameskitchen
I adore the saffron rice, gorgeous colour and gorgeous taste. Can't wait to try it! Nicole
afracooking
The colours of your rice are just so vibrant! Beautiful!
The Hangry Wife
This looks great! Thanks for sharing! -Angela Davis
http://www.hangrywife.com
scryer
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!
ALLURE
You have such beautiful pictures. it's nice to see that someone puts so much work into his blog!
Tanvi
Thank you. :):)
MyKabulKitchen
We make a very similar dish, for a winter holiday, and I also cant resist 🙂
Abida
Oh my goodness, what perfectly separated grains of rice!