Persian Rice Pudding | Shir Berenj

Shir berenj is one of the best desserts ever. This great dish is made of milk and rice. Imagine how tasty it could be! This awesome side dish can be served both warm and cold based on your preferences.

The positive side of making this dish is that it is really easy to make. You do not need much time spent on it. you also do not need much energy and money either. If you travel to Iran in Ramadan and you are invited to a Persian’s house you will probably see this milk and rice pudding, surely you will love it.

Persian Rice Pudding | Shir Berenj

Shir berenj (translated as milky rice) is a type of traditional pudding in Iran cooked mostly with rice and milk. There is another tasty Persian pudding made by rice named Shole Zard.

Since it is nourishing and the fact that rice holds a lot of properties, It is mostly used as Iftar during the month of Ramadan. Rice Pudding or Shir Berenj (in some cases spelled as Shir Berinj) is a good source of vitamin B and prevents tiredness.

But also you can serve it as breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can serve this pudding cold, or warm. It is worth trying

Cause it's yummy in both cases!

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Dessert, Side Dish

Cuisine persian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups rice
• 8 cups milk
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup rosewater
• ½ cup sugar (which can be replaced with either Rock Candy or Shireh)
• Cinnamon Powder (as much as required)
• Pistachio and almond slices (as much as required)

Instructions

 

• About 12 hours before you want to cook Rice Pudding, leave the rice in some water. This will allow it to cook more easily.
• Choose a suitable pot and add the rice and 2 cups of fresh water to the pot. A small pinch of salt should be added as well. Let the ingredients heat and start boiling gradually on a low flame.
• After the ingredients start boiling and half of the water has evaporated, add the milk to the other ingredients and let it boil (note that at this step the rice is soft and half cooked).
• Some cinnamon powder can be added.
• When the rice is completely cooked, and the dish looks thick, add the sugar to sweeten it. This is only to give the dish a sweet taste and if you do not have a sweet tooth, just skip this step.

  Some people prefer to use a natural type of Shire, which is the stock of a type of fruit such as Grapes or Dates. It can be used as a healthy sweetener because of the fact that it's more natural.

  After adding the sugar, stir the ingredients for 5 more minutes really gently.
• Finally, after you have put out the flame of the gas burner, add some rosewater. It doesn't need to be heated.
• The dish is ready.

Topping and Serving Persian Shir Berinj

• Once the dish is ready, choose either a suitable big bowl and put all of the pudding in it or some small bowls.
• This dish can be served as breakfast, appetizer and side dish or even a prefect tea time snack.
• You can serve it when it is still hot which is absolutely recommended or you can cool it down and serve it as an ice-cream-like snack.
• The surface of Persian Rice Pudding can be topped and garnished with some cinnamon powder (recommended, you will know why), pistachio slices and almond slices.
• As seen in the picture, sweet fruits like strawberry and banana can be minced and added to cooked Shir Berenj.

3 Tips to Remember When Cooking Persian Rice Pudding

• In traditional eastern medicine, both milk and rice have a cold nature. Cold nature can cause stomachache for some people. In order to prevent this, make sure to add some cinnamon powder to the dish. Cinnamon has a warm nature that can outweigh the cold nature of rice and milk.
• Choosing a suitable pot for cooking Shir Berenj is important. because this dish has a really high tendency yo over flow.
• Using half grain rice makes Persian Rice Pudding more pleasant to eat.

5 Persuading Reasons Why You Should Definitely Try Shir Berenj (Persian Rice Pudding)

• If there’s an infant among your family members, Shir Berenj can help the growth of their bones because of the high amount of calcium and Vitamin B (B2) it has.
• Rice Pudding is a really easy to digest this, making it a more suitable dish for infants once again.
• This dish can boost the natural process of collagen making in your body (rice does that) making your skin look more fresh.
• If you have a cold, this type of rice pudding can help you heal sooner and faster.

Your Experience Matters

There are other Persian puddings, such as Shole Zard and Ferni (Fereni). Rice Pudding is not that difficult to cook and it’s quite tasty. Tell us if you have ever cooked or tried this type of pudding.

Which one of the ingredients appeals to you the most. giving the dish a more unique taste? We would love to know about your opinions!