Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Sholeh Zard

For Bee & Jai, this is my entry for event CLICK September 2009 : "HEIRLOOM"







Rice pudding is an ancient dish enjoyed by people of many cultures and cuisines. The history of rice is a long and complicated story. Food historians generally agree that rice came to Europe by way of India

"Shola...the name given to a number of dishes all over the Middle East, Iran, and Afghanistan in which short-grain rice is cooked until soft and thick, with other ingredients chose according to whether the shola is be be savoury or sweet...sholleh was brought to Perisa by the Mongolians in the 13th century...Shola-e-zard is a sweet saffron and rosewater (or orange flower water) flavoured rice dish...It has a religious significance, being made on the 10th day or Muharram (the Muslim month of mourning)...also made as a nazr, which is a custom of thanksgiving or pledge practiced in Iran and Afghanistan. The shola is cooked and then distributed to the poor and to neighbors and relatives."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 720)--

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