Safed Zarda

Zarda is a traditional Pakistani dessert that has rice cooked with spices, sugar syrup and milk solids (mawa). Usually it has yellow food coloring added to it but I have skipped it. Enriched with nuts, milk and milk solids, it is one healthy dessert. An interesting variant to the Indian 'Meethay Chawal' or 'Kanika' (Odia recipe).

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 20-25 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 cup Basmati rice 
• 4 tbsp Sugar
• a few saffron starnds
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 star anise
• 1-2 strands of mace
• 1-2 cloves
• 1-2 green cardamoms
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1/2 cup khoya
• 4 tbsp warm milk
• 2-3 pinch salt (optional...not a part of the original recipe)

Preparation - Soak the saffron in the warm milk. 

Boil the sugar with 1/2 cup water till it reaches a thick (one string) consistency. Keep aside.

Cooking - Boil sufficient water for the rice. Add the spices, salt and the washed rice. Cook for 8-9 mins till it is almost done ( 90 % cooked ). Drain and keep aside.

Heat the ghee in a flat bottomed vessel. Add the cashews and raisins. Fry for 30 seconds. Add the rice, crumbled mawa, sugar syrup and milk along with the saffron strands. Cover tightly and cook on low flame for 5 mins. ( one can also place the covered vessel on a tawa to avoid the direct flame ). 

Remove from flame and keep aside for 10 mins before serving.