Zarda ( hi, ज़र्दा, ur, , ) is a traditional boiled sweet rice dish, native to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

, made with

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma (botany), stigma and stigma (botany)#style, styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

, and flavoured with

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera '' Elettaria'' and '' Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They ar ...

s, raisins,

pistachio The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food. ''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other spe ...

s or

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genu ...

s. The name Zarda comes from Persian word 'zard' meaning 'yellow', hence named since the food coloring added to the rice gives it a yellow color. Zarda is typically served after a meal. In the

, zarda was and still remains a popular dessert on special occasions such as weddings. It is quite similar to Sholezard, a traditional Iranian dessert, and

Zerde Zerde is a traditional Persian, Iraqi, Turkish, dessert. The original rice pudding, infused with a generous amount of saffron giving it a vibrant yellow hue and a delicate floral flavour. This is a festive dish popular at weddings, births, and d ...

, a traditional Turkish dessert. Often in Pakistan, instead of yellow food coloring, multiple food colorings are added so the rice grains are of multiple colors. Additionally, khoya, candied fruits ( murabba) and nuts are an essential part of zarda made at auspicious occasions. There also is a popular use of raisins, and other dried fruits to dish. Dating back to Mughal India, zarda had a variation with an addition of small fried sweetmeat pieces called 'Mutanjan'. This dish was a favourite of Emperor

Shahjahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

and was often made on his request. This rice dish was made for guests at special banquets. The Assyrian people also prepare this dish (with the same name), typically made while fasting during

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...

—thus prepared without dairy products.

References

Indian desserts Pakistani desserts Pakistani rice dishes Rice pudding Hyderabadi cuisine {{India-food-stub

See also

References