Faloodeh Shirazi

The story

Faloodeh Shirazi is a Iranian dessert with a clear sense of place. Faloodeh is one of Iran’s ancient frozen desserts, with Shiraz especially famous for its noodle-and-rosewater style. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Ingredients

• 220 g caster sugar
• 600 ml water
• 80 ml rosewater
• 150 g fine rice or starch noodles
• 60 ml lime juice
• 80 ml sour cherry syrupoptionaloptional

Method

1. Dissolve sugar in 400 ml water over

   Dissolve sugar in 400 ml water over low heat, then cool completely. Stir in rosewater and pour into a shallow freezer-safe container.

   Tip: Keep every component cold before combining and scrape repeatedly during freezing. Avoid: Warm noodles melt the ice, long freezing without scraping makes a solid block and too much rosewater becomes soapy.

2. Freeze for 2–3 hours, scraping every 30–40

   Freeze for 2–3 hours, scraping every 30–40 minutes with a fork so large solid ice blocks do not form.

3. Cook the fine noodles according to their

   Cook the fine noodles according to their type until just tender, then rinse under very cold water and drain thoroughly. Cut very long strands if necessary.

   Look for: just tender, then rinse under very cold water and drain thoroughly

4. When the syrup is mostly frozen into

   When the syrup is mostly frozen into soft crystals, fold the cold noodles through evenly. Return to the freezer for another hour.

5. Scrape and stir again before serving

   Scrape and stir again before serving. Faloodeh should be icy and loose enough to spoon, with noodles suspended throughout rather than frozen into one brick.

6. Serve in chilled bowls with lime juice

   Serve in chilled bowls with lime juice or sour cherry syrup added at the table according to taste.

   Look for: Ice forms fine spoonable crystals and the noodles remain separate rather than clumped.

Nutrition

per serving

Estimated from the listed ingredients and default serving size. Actual values vary with brands, trimming, absorption and cooking losses.