Do you know the dessert Zerda?!

I was introduced to this dessert for the first time last week when i had it at a family dinner… Apparently Zerdah is a rice based pudding thing like 7alwat 3aish… infused with cinnamon, sugar, and nuts… and it sits on top of a m7albiya like base that is sugar less… you would have to have a bite of both m7lbiya and the yellow top to get the full taste of the dessert and i would have to say it was really good and pretty different yet familiar at the same time!

I went online and couldn’t find any recipes in google for Zerdah… have you by any chance had the pleasure of tasting zerdah before?! Do you know someone who can give me the recipe? Much obliged 😀

33 responses to this post.

  1. Posted by Summer on December 23, 2010 at 1:32 PM

    I haven’t heard of it before! i’ll see if my mom has the recipe! itmoot 3ala hal suwalif!

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  2. Chocolate is always better than these things!

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  3. yeh yeh yeh yalla nabeeha recipe 7eg el blog 😛 We need unique recipes and this is definitely in that category 😛

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  4. اي يم يم حلوه العيش انا احبها وخاصه اذا فيها ماي ورد
    تصدقين اعتقد انها ببلوقي عن طريق مرت اخوي
    ما افكر اسويها لانها يبيلها مجابل
    بس اذا حصلت لي رح اطرش لج :*

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    • Posted by danderma on December 23, 2010 at 3:00 PM

      7yatee :*

      Inzain ihe el zerda nafs.ha 7alwat 3aish?!!!

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      • من شكلها ووصفج لها اهي نفسها
        انا وصيت عمتي تسوي وان شاء الله اول ما تسوي بطرشه لج صج فشوفي اذا نفسها او لء :>

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        • Posted by danderma on December 26, 2010 at 10:33 AM

          7yate laish itkalfoon 3la 3omokom?! Et76oon feha im7albiya?!

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          • حبيبتي ما فيها كلافه
            وما اعتقد تحط فيها محلبيه
            انا ادري انها شكر وعيش وزعفران وماي ورد ومكسرات :>

            اذا تبين محلبيه قوليلي وانا اقولها تحط فيها وتصب حلوة العيش فوقها :>

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            • Posted by danderma on December 26, 2010 at 11:11 AM

              haw wakhzya! 6arar o yetshara6?! La wallah 7yate mo tharore abdan zerdah bro7ha kafee walaw inha qelat adab mini a9lan ini akhale ur aunt itsaweha 3shan i taste it :S fashla !!!

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  5. That looks something they have here in India during Ramdan. It is so sweet and rich. Thanks for sharing 🙂

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  6. Posted by f7ee7eely on December 23, 2010 at 3:37 PM

    hathy moo nafs el spotted dick?

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  7. yshawig! never heard of it..but i do love rice pudding! why is it yellow? saffron? if u find recipe share!

    listen i have seen a dessert in that Garden restarant..its similar, bs magloob…ma7albiya fog and yellowy pudding like thing ta7at and topped with nuts and dried roses..it tastes of rose water 6ab3an and i couldnt make out what that thing at the bottom was..it does sound similar though..

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    • Posted by danderma on December 24, 2010 at 12:00 AM

      ooooh sej?! Ay garden crimson garden!??? Min bacher ana ray7a shayfa shino hathee!!!
      Check il comments shofay cham recipe 7a9alt 😀

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  8. هذا حلو ايراني معرووف … و عيم الكويت يمكن اغلبهم يعرفون الوصفه … اسمها المتعارف عليه بالكويت ” شله زرد ” و يحطون فيها بس صنوبر … لذيذه لووول عاد انا قبل يومين مصوره وحده و حاطتها بالفيس بوك … ايبلج الطريقه .. انا اعشقهاااااااااا لازم تكون مو وايد وايد متماسكه .. لا يعني اكثر من المحلبيه بس اقل من الصوره

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    • Posted by danderma on December 24, 2010 at 12:01 AM

      Shino ma3nat ismha?!
      Fe commentors ygolon iraqi desserts, others pakistani and others indian 😀

      Ee el top ele foog kan shwaya liquidish… bs il m7lbiya kanat metmaska fa ham khoosh contrast between them 😀

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      • شله زرد … شله = العيش الي يصير جذي مطبوخ و ليين حييل .. و زرد يعني اصفر بالايراني و المحلبيه ترى هذا فنتك اهي مالها شغل بالمحلبيه
        و شله زرد تنباع بمطاعم ايرانيه اهني انا اذكر شايفتها بالمنيواات

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  9. Posted by Marwa on December 23, 2010 at 5:14 PM

    Mar7aba!
    Zarda is an iraqi sweet and I LOVE IT..when I saw your post I asked my mom to make some for me today hahha.
    Here you are =)

    المقادير:

    ½ كوب رز , 3 كوب ماء , ½ ملعقة كوب مسحوق الهال او ماء الورد , ¼ ملعقة كوب ملح , ¼ ملعقة شاي صبغة اللوزينة ( صبغة لونها برتقالي ) او الزعفران

    الطريقة :

    غسل و تنقيع الرز لمده لا تقل عن 6 ساعات
    يغلى الماء في قدر ثم يضاف اليه الرز والهيل ويترك يغلى مع التحريك بين حين والاخر حتى ينضج.
    يضاف اليه السكر تدريجا مع التذوق حتى يصبح الطعم بدرجة مقبولة
    تضاف صبغة اللوزينة بحيث يكون لونها برتقالي فاتح مع التحريك
    ترفع من على النار وتصب بالصحن
    وتزين بالدراسين

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    • Posted by danderma on December 23, 2010 at 11:57 PM

      oooh thank you! Ma 3araft el7en dar rasi?! Irani wella Indian wella Pakistani wella Iraqi?!! :p

      Thank you so so SO MUCH for the recipe ! o 3leech bel3afiya insha2 Allah 😀

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  10. Hi Danderma,
    Zarda is actually a Indian sweet, it is rice based. There are variations in the recipes based on town/regional/family differences but basic components are the same. But none I know has a m7alibiya base, it is just the yellow part. If you give me a few days I can get a recipe from my mom since she makes it frequently and is known for her sweets(it helps she is also from an Indian background lol). Remember you asked about kewra once? If I’m not mistaken it can be used in this dish. Anyways give me a bit and I’ll get it for you.

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    • Posted by danderma on December 23, 2010 at 11:51 PM

      ooh u remember about the kewra thing! That was around a year ago mo?!

      Thank you hon i will be waiting for your recipe 😀

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  11. Posted by giggles on December 23, 2010 at 9:04 PM

    Zarda is a traditional pakistani sweet dish, I tried searching the recipe for you but most of them are in pakistani. I found this one that’s in English hope it helps. bil 3afia 🙂

    Here’s Zubaida Tariq’s Zarda recipe:

    Ingredients:

    Rice Saila 3 cups, soaked for 6-7 hours (these are the best but I don’t have saila so I use Basmati rice)
    Sugar 2 ½ cups ( can adjust it according to your taste)
    Milk 1 cup
    Cloves 4
    Pistachios 10, peeled and finely chopped
    Almonds 10, peeled and finely chopped
    Cardamoms 6-8
    Yellow food color ½ tsp (I use orange)
    Colored ashrafies few, cut in twos
    Ghee 1 cup (can use butter)
    Water

    Method:
    Bring water to boil in a large pan, add drained rice, 2 cloves and 3 cardamoms. When rice is almost done, strain in a colander and leave in colander for a few minutes. Turn the rice out in a large open bowl.
    Mix in the food color, milk, nuts, sugar and ashrafies. (I usually just boil milk in pan, add sugar and color and cook for a couple of minutes and then add rice and nuts and ghee at last). Heat oil in a large pan; add cardamom and cloves and rice. Stir with a wooden spoon, cover and cook on high heat for five minutes. Then put the pan on a tawa and put on heat.
    Lower heat after a few minutes, leave till rice is done. Serve hot or cold.
    Serves: 10

    Reply

  12. Posted by C'est la vie on December 24, 2010 at 12:00 AM

    Do u know that the world zarda comes from the color which means yellow in Persian language !!!
    My mother in low is originally persian so she knows how to do it well ,I’ll check with her and get u the recipe but no ma7albia beneath this is a Kuwaiti addition 😉

    Reply

    • Posted by danderma on December 24, 2010 at 12:06 AM

      Thank you hon 😀

      Ok so zerdah means yellow! then i guess the dessert is in fact Iranian or at least the one being made in Q8 is :p

      Wallah khoosh dessert… i think the m7lbiya part is pretty interesting as well!!!

      Reply

  13. […] my Zerda post asking for zerda recipes my dear fellow blogger Bent El Deera contacted me to let me know she […]

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