Sweet Rice (Zarda)

4 Reviews

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 40 min
Ready In: 50 min

“This is a traditional Pakistani sweet dish, which is must for every occasion. It is easy to make and consists of simple ingredients rather than rich and calorie rich ingredients. Try substituting ricotta for the cream and varying the dry fruit and nuts.” - by Shazia Ahmed

Directions

Place the rice in a bowl with water to cover and soak one hour.
Bring a large pot of water to boil with food color and half the cardamom pods. Stir in the rice, reduce heat, cover and simmer until tender, 20 minutes.
In a large skillet over low heat, cook remaining cardamom pods in oil 2 minutes. Stir in cooked, drained rice, and sugar. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream, raisins, walnuts, almonds and orange zest. Serve warm.

Nutrition

Amount Per Serving (16 total)

Calories
394 cal
20%

Fat
3.5 g
5%

Carbs
87.8 g
28%

Based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Reviews (4)

Rate This Recipe

Catfish

Jul. 23, 2006

"This turned out well, but it originally calls for WAY too much sugar. I only put 3 cups instead of 4, and it was still a bit too sweet. Everyone ate it and said they enjoyed it, but there was a discus..." See moresion about the sweetness and the amount of sugar called for. I had to use ground cardamom (couldn't find whole). I also made it in the rice maker, to save time and space. I added the food color and 1 teaspoon cardamom to the rice maker with the rice and water (no soaking). When that was finished I heated 1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom in oil and added cooked rice, sugar, and 2 cups of skim milk. I let this simmer about 5 minutes, and added the nuts, fruits, and ricotta. It was delicious in the end."

MONOU

Feb. 7, 2006

"This is in response to the previous reviewer's question: Usually with Indian/Pakistani etc. sweet rice, use fresh water (so you don't keep too much starch). And if you use basmati rice, the rice/water..." See more ratio is 1:2--so for this recipe, you would boil 8 cups of water."